Business & Management

EfD Uganda hosts renown energy economist, Marc Jeuland – Duke University

Published

3 years ago

December 12, 2022

Prof. Edward Bbaale (Left) addresses some of the participants attending the seminar on 1st December 2022 at the EfD-Mak Centre, Makerere University.

The EfD-Mak Centre Uganda on 1^st December, 2022, hosted renown scholar in the area of economics at the EfD Network and University of Duke in the United States. Marc Jeuland was invited for the seminar to share his work and inspire the research fellows and students of economics because of his deep wealth experience in the area of energy economics.

Presenting a paper on Sustainable energy transitions in developing countries: Research knowledge and research gaps, Marc explained why energy transition is important.

“Energy is the golden thread that connects economic growth, social equity and environmental sustainability. Modern energy can help avoid lung diseases and millions of deaths, and support children to study after dark, farmers to pump water for crops, households to refrigerate food, clinics to keep medicines, and poor people to reduce time-consuming drudgery and entrepreneurs to develop small businesses”, he said.

The seminar held via zoom provided an opportunity for researchers and graduate students to learn from him as far as energy transition is concerned by sharing some of the insights, experiences, and the main research gaps and advise about a country like Uganda that is still using unclean energy in all sectors.

Uganda as a country, is still very far on the transition project just starting to think about clean e-vehicles etc. As researchers and graduates, this is an area where they need to go deeper if they are to contribute to this cause of sustainability, adaptation and resilience.

Centre Director Edward Bbaale says, the center is trying to focus on a number of issues that are intended to mitigate climate change, which are much related to energy. According to Bbaale, some of the fellows have done research in energy economics and still have that drive to go deeper into it given the central role of energy transitions as far as resilience, adaptation and sustainability issues are concerned. This is also very important for Uganda that is still very much dependent on unclean energy for many purposes.

Prof. Edward Bbaale speaking during the training.

“We wanted to understand the major theoretical aspects that are concerned with developing research in energy economics and we wanted to tap into the experience on how to theoretically model the aspects of energy economics but also understand his experience as far as the empirical methodologies of approaching energy studies are concerned”, the Director said.

Marc Jeuland started with the historical perspectives on energy transition and a narrative dominated by the historical account of the industrial revolution and gave the broader definition of energy transition as a change in the fundamental state of an energy system and moved into understanding how different countries are doing as far as energy aspects are concerned.

Some of the graduate students attending the training.

At the same time, he presented the research gaps, missing knowledge and data gaps as well as things to look out for when developing research proposals and the gender nexus as an issue.

“The main issue is the gaps to do in the energy economic literature, but also the methodological aspects that we can look out for when trying to find proposals in energy economics”, Bbaale explained.

The EfD Mak Seminar series

The centres hosts a series of seminars on different research aspects bringing together research fellows, undergraduate and graduate students with the aim of helping the faculty learn new things and at the same time help students pick up new ideas.

A section of students during the seminar.

As young economists, these seminars are meant to help students understand what economists do in the profession they are going into beyond a narrow perspective of passing their degrees.

These seminars also open up the students’ world into accepting what the subject matter is all about and to appreciate that the journey they have started on answers to global challenges and are therefore relevant in pursuing this profession.

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Business & Management

Cementing the Mak-UNISA partnership: Prof. Sarah Ssali meets Dr. Sizile Makola

Published

21 hours ago

April 15, 2026

Ritah Namisango

L-R: Associate Prof. Godfrey Akileng, Dean,School of Business, Visiting Scholar-Dr. Sizile Makola, DVCAA-Prof. Sarah Ssali, Ms. Agnes Sansa-PhD Student during the meeting on 13th April 2026.

On 13^th April 2026, Prof. Sarah Ssali, the Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academic Affairs) of Makerere University, hosted Dr. Sizile Makola, a Visiting Scholar and Senior Lecturer from the University of South Africa (UNISA).

Makerere University and the University of South Africa committed to partnership and collaboration through a signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). Consequently, Dr. Makola, a researcher and an expert in human resource and business management is scheduled to spend two weeks at Makerere University, interacting with the leadership at different levels, researchers, students, as well as staff in the Department of Marketing and Management, School of Business under the College of Business and Management Sciences (CoBAMS).

Additionally, the visit accords Dr. Makola the golden opportunity to finalise her comparative studies with members of staff from the Department of Marketing and Management on behalf of Makerere University for the Ugandan context.

The meeting between the Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academic Affairs) and Dr. Sizile Makola was attended by Associate Professor Godfrey Akileng-the Dean, School of Business, and Ms. Agnes Sansa from the Department of Marketing and Management.

Welcoming the Visiting Scholar, the Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academic Affairs) urged Dr. Makola to solidify the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between both universities through academic exchanges and deepening scholarship on African-centred leadership.

Prof. Ssali shared a brief trajectory that has shaped Uganda’s workspace. She mentioned the critical role of three pillars that have fundamentally influenced the human resource development landscape in Uganda namely: Cultural practices, Structural Adjustment Programs (SAP), and Spirituality/Religion. She also acknowledged the distinct historical differences between Uganda and South Africa.

Dr. Makola’s discussion with the Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academic Affairs) also featured the ongoing comparative study that Dr. Sizile Makola and Ms. Agnes Sansa are conducting in relation to how organizational and human resource management conditions shape the recognition and conversion of women leadership resilience in Uganda and South Africa.

The study is titled: Ubuntu/Obuntu Bulamu, Emotional Capital and Women’s Leadership Resilience: A Comparative Study Across Public and Private Sectors in South Africa and Uganda.

Impressed by the ongoing study, Prof. Ssali implored the visiting faculty-Dr. Sizile Makola to share with her the findings in due course.

Prof. Ssali expressed the readiness of the Office of the Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academic Affairs) to work with the different units within Makerere University, and the University of South Africa, to support programmes aimed at strengthening collaboration, partnership, research, and internationalization.

On 10^th April 2026, Dr. Makola delivered a captivating guest lecture titled,Re-Imagining Human Resource Management in Africa, targeting undergraduate and postgraduate students pursuing human resource management courses at Makerere University.

Emphasizing the need to integrate indigenous knowledge and organizational practice, Dr. Makola argued that researchers should theorize from African contexts, treat indigenous knowledge as a source of theory, use methodologies capturing moral, communal, and context-bound dimensions of work, and build concepts from African languages, values, and institutional histories.

She stressed the need for African-centered human resource management thinking, rather than just adding local case studies to Western frameworks. Dr. Makola’s argument was informed by limitations of Western human resource management frameworks, which assume autonomous individuals, formal institutions, and technical organizations, which are separate from family and community.

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Business & Management

Call For Applications: Student Mobility – University of Padova, Italy (Oct 2026-Jan 2027)

Published

2 days ago

April 14, 2026

Mak Editor

Group Photo of the trainers and trainees that took part in the workshop on multivariate statistics and time series analysis, held 11th-20th June 2024 between the School of Statistics and Planning, CoBAMS and University of Padova, Italy. Makerere University School of Statistics and Planning-University of Padova, Italy dynamic workshop on multivariate statistics and time series analysis, 11th to 20th June 2024, Makerere University, Kampala Uganda, East Africa.

Arising from an existing Memorandum of Understanding (until September 2028) between University of Padova, Italy (UniPd) and Makerere University (Mak), the two institutions partnered and will jointly implement the Bilateral Agreement for the mobility for students between 2026 and 2027. At Mak, the Departmental Flow Coordinator is Symon Peter Wandiembe (PhD) and the project Principal Investigator and Contact Person is Saint Kizito Omala (PhD), both of Department of Statistical Methods and Actuarial Science (DSMAS).

In this regard, the Department of Statistical Methods and Actuarial Science wishes to announce opportunities for student mobility to the Department of Statistical Sciences, University of Padova, Italy for the Winter Semester, October 2026 – January 2027.

The selection process shall entail five-steps:

Step 1: Submission of documents by candidates for nomination, with an internal deadline of April 20^th, 2026, 05.00 p.m. (EAT) to allow for time to process nomination applications;
Step 2: Meeting of the Nomination Committee to review documents received from applicants;
Step 3: Submitting the list of nominated candidates, by April 30^th, 2026, to the International Projects and Mobility Office of the University of Padua, Italy;
Step 4: Eligibility check and communication to successful candidates by the International Projects and Mobility Office of the University of Padua, Italy; and
Step 5: Application for the Mobility opportunity by successful candidates.

Please see download for detailed call.

Inquiry

S.K. Omala via +256 772 491545 before April 20^th, 2026.

Advert Bilateral UniPd_Mak_Agreement_for Student Mobility Download

Business & Management

Mak CoBAMS Hosts UNISA’s Dr. Sizile Makola

Published

1 week ago

April 8, 2026

Ritah Namisango

L-R: Dr. Zaina Nakabuye, Dr. Jude Mugarura, Dr. Agnes Sansa, Dr. Sizile Makola, Prof Edward Bbaale and Dr. Anthony Tibaingana at the 8th April 2026 meeting in the Office of the Principal. Principal of the College of Business and Management Sciences (CoBAMS), Prof. Edward Bbaale welcomes Dr. Sizile Makola, a Senior Lecturer in Human Resource Management from the University of South Africa (UNISA), to the College and Makerere University, Kampala Uganda, East Africa, 8th April 2026.

On Wednesday 8^th April 2026 the Principal of the College of Business and Management Sciences (CoBAMS), Prof. Edward Bbaale received and welcomed, Dr. Sizile Makola, a Senior Lecturer in Human Resource Management from the University of South Africa (UNISA), to the College and Makerere University.

The interaction meeting held in the Office of the Principal brought onboard the following members of staff from the Department of Marketing and Management, School of Business: Dr. Jude Mugarura, Dr. Zaina Nakabuye, Dr. Agnes Sansa, and Dr. Anthony Tibaingana.

Dr.Sizile Makola is visiting Makerere University for two (2) weeks to cement the MoU between Makerere University and UNISA and to finalise her comparative studies with staff from the department of marketing and management on behalf of Makerere University for the Ugandan context.

Dr. Makola is scheduled to deliver an interactive guest lecture to undergraduate and postgraduate human resource management students on Friday 10^th April 2026 from 2:00pm to 4:00pm in the School of Business, Conference Hall.