Humanities & Social Sciences
DGRT & DICTS embark on the development of a tracking system for staff & graduate students’ research
Whereas Makerere University has a number of systems, these have not been addressing a number of issues such as the ability to track and consolidate information in various schools and the Graduate school.
As the university moves towards being research led, the Directorate of Graduate Research and Training (DGRT) and the Directorate for ICT Support (DICTS) have embarked on developing a tracking system that will help collect and consolidate information about all research in the university, the researchers and graduate students generally.
With support from the Makerere University Research and Innovations Fund (Mak-RIF), DGRT received the needs-based-funds for a project called, Research Information Management System (RIMS).
The project which commenced about six months ago will collect information about all staff involved in research, about the research they are doing, what areas, to make up the research agenda of the university.
On the side of graduate students who are research students, the Directorate would like to have information on where they are in their research so that they can be tracked.
Assoc. Prof. Julius Kikooma emphasising the need to understand the Graduate Handbook 2013This initiative was disclosed by the Deputy Director, DGRT Associate Prof. Julius Kikooma while speaking at the opening of the three-day CHUSS 2023 Graduate Supervisors induction workshop at Essella Hotel on 18th April 2023.
Prof, Kikooma was invited to present on the general rules for graduate studies at Makerere University and the Research Ethics and guidelines for information and use by supervisors of graduate students.
Kikooma said, one of the key problems in the Directorate has been information about research and researchers and graduate students generally in the way they are handled and scattered. The system he said will track every process about researchers in Makerere University both academic and graduate students.
“The system will support us to have all information about graduate students in one place so that we can be able to address key questions because we have never been able to develop a system that can quickly tell us beyond those students who have completed course work, and where they are”.
It will be possible to know that if a student had a two-year program, and they completed their course work, when did they complete it, when did they start a research proposal, where is it, was it approved, if it was approved, are they doing field work and if it is field work, when was it approved, who are their supervisors etc?”
Noting that the Directorate is a coordinating unit for graduate training with the actual work on graduate students in terms of teaching and supervision taking place in the schools. Prof. Kikooma said, the system will be helpful in terms of record keeping and reduction of reliance on information in hard copy files.
“Meaning that while we have a file for these people because we admit them, the school also keeps hard copy files of the students and sometimes depending on what is happening to the student at what level, the school may have information but which we do not have. And therefore we have been missing a system that can help us all consolidate that information about students and researchers”. He said.
The system according Prof. Kikooma is being designed to ensure that what is held on ACMIS system is the same as what is held on RIMS of the DGRT so that there is no conflict of information for different management purposes. The ACMIS is for the academic registrar’s department which is mainly registration, but RIMS will be for all processes about research for staff and graduate students.
Two weeks ago, Prof. Kikooma said, the Directorate carried out a stake holder consultation where they tried to pilot some of the modules of the program. The different users of this information system gave feedback and the system experts were revising it.
It is hoped that in the next two-three months, the system will be rolling out the first modules.
Graduate supervisors’ induction training a good development
Kikooma commended CHUSS for initiating the program for retooling graduate supervisors saying, it is supposed to be a practice for a graduate school.
The capacity for supervisors should according to Kikooma continuously be built. As DGRT, he encouraged colleges to work with the directorate to ensure that every year supervisors are given some kind of refresher regarding what they are supposed to do as supervisors.
“It is one of the best practices for capacity building and colleges should go ahead to organise them tailored to their specific needs.
The way things happen in the world of academia, research and theory keep changing and so, it is right that continuously, there is a time created where supervisors are taken through some of the new developments, thinking, and how to support graduate students”. He added.
He urged participants to acquaint themselves with the university graduate handbook where different policies and guidelines are put together. The university has a current Graduate Handbook 2013 but the directorate is undertaking an exercise of revising it. The draft he said, will in two to three weeks be presented to the Board of Graduate research for approval and eventually to Senate.
Dr. Zaid Ssekitto giving the background to the graduate supervisors training CHUSS Coordinator for Graduate programmes Dr. Saidi Ssekito said the idea to have the Graduate supervisor’s induction trainings emerged last year when some staff enrolled on a similar program in the university.
While enrolment and graduating numbers of PhD and Masters students were increasing in CHUSS, Dr. Ssekito said, the number of staff was constant or reducing. In many departments many staff were retiring and leaving but not replaced.
At the same time, the college had over 40 Assistant Lecturers with PhDs, yet to be a graduate supervisor, the policy allows those at a rank of Lecturer.
“Some of the PhD Assistant Lecturers had applied pending promotions and as they kept on waiting, the college management bought into the idea and organised induction training to take them through what a graduate supervisor should do.
We want to be taken through the issue of graduate supervision training as a pedagogy. We are here to be trained as we wait for promotion so that we can be legally allowed to be graduate supervisors”. He said.
The 2023 Graduates supervisor’s induction workshop brought together over 40 Junior staff facilitated by officials from the Graduate school and the College of Education and External Studies (CEES).
On day one, Dr. Peter Ssenkusu handled the aspect of Graduate supervision and knowledge production, a pedagogy and the Trainees Expectations.
Dr. Dorothy Ssebowa presented on Graduate student’s experiences of graduate supervision at Makerere or in other University while Dr. Betty Ezati handled the aspect of the roles of Heads of departments, Deans and Principals in the management of Graduate Training and Supervision at Makerere University.
Presentations
- Roles of HoDs, Deans and Principals in Graduate Training and Supervision-Dr. Betty Ezati
- Graduate students’ experiences at Makerere/other Universities-Dr. Dorothy Kyagaba Sebbowa
- Fitting your supervision within the DRGT Rubric and Timelines-Dr. Betty Ezati
- General Rules for Graduate Studies at Makerere University-Assoc. Prof. Kikooma Julius
- Knowledge discourses in the research field of Graduate Supervision-Dr. Peter Ssenkusu
- How to Manage Graduate Supervision-Dr. Peter Ssenkusu
- The Theory and philosophy of graduate supervision-Dr. Betty Ezati
On the morning of Friday, February 27, when the academic procession winds its way across Makerere University’s Freedom Square for the last day of the 76th Graduation Ceremony, Whitney Najjuka will walk into history with a number beside her name: 4.46.
At Makerere, that number means First Class Honours. It means the Vice Chancellor’s List. It means she graduates as the only First-Class student in Journalism and Communication this year. But numbers, as Whitney has learned, rarely tell the full story.
Born on March 27, 2002, in Nabbingo, Kyengera Town Council, to Margaret Kusemererwa and Fred Kasirye, dreamt she would do Law, one of the disciplines, prestigious, almost inevitable next steps for a student who had excelled in secondary school. She had done everything correctly. Studied hard. Scored well. Followed the script.
But Makerere University had other plans. She missed the pre-entry mark, but found her name under Journalism and Communication, another prestigious course offered by the Journalism and Communication Department at Makerere University.
Najjuka began her academic journey at Muto Primary School in Buwama, earning 8 aggregates in the Primary Leaving Examination, a performance that positioned her strongly for secondary school.
She would later join St. Lucia Hill School, Namagoma, where she earned 20 aggregates at O-Level and 17 points in History, Luganda, and Divinity at A-Level.
Missing her dream course, Law, felt at first, like a detour. But Whitney was encouraged by Sanyu Christopher, her uncle, and she settled for a government-sponsored slot in the Bachelor of Journalism and Communication at Makerere, which she had applied for before.
She entered uncertain. But she graduates transformed.
The Pivot That Became a Purpose
Whitney speaks of her early university days with candor. She did not arrive at the Department of Journalism and Communication with a burning childhood ambition to be a journalist, but because another door had closed.
Then, Social and Behavior Change Communication happened. Applied Strategic Communication happened. She began to see media not as headlines and microphones, but as architecture, shaping how societies think, argue, and act.
The turning point came in her third year. The Female Journalist Foundation published her story on Sexual Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) and its emotional toll on survivors. What startled her was not its publication but the reaction. Comments flooded in. Debates ignited, especially about the role of men in combating GBV.
“I realized media doesn’t just report,” she says. “It frames how society views a crisis.”
Her voice, once tentative, had entered a national conversation.
The Discipline Behind 4.46
At Makerere University, a First Class CGPA is not built on brilliance alone but on ritual.
Whitney’s ritual began with showing up, on time, every time. She treated lectures as appointments with her future self. She refused to confine her learning to the syllabus. While attending workshops at the Aga Khan Graduate School of Media and Communication and obtaining external certifications, she sought and was open to mentorship through the Public Relations Association of Uganda (PRAU).
She wanted theory anchored in practice. And then there was the commute.
From Nabbingo, a hill in Wakiso District, some 18.6 km to Kampala, where the Makerere Main campus is situated, and back, nearly 20 hours a week dissolved into Kampala traffic. Two-hour journeys before 8:00 a.m. lectures. Dust. Noise. Headaches. She learned to manage energy the way others manage time. Fatigue became a tutor in resilience.
“I had to be intentional with every remaining hour,” she says. “Excuses were not an option.”
Learning to Practice Communication
If classrooms taught her analysis, presentations taught her courage. Pitching projects, defending research, and standing before peers quick to critique forced her to think on her feet. She was no longer simply studying communication; she was practicing it.
In 2024, the AGMES Fellowship at the Aga Khan Graduate School of Media and Communication pushed her further. She received funding to produce a capstone project on the mental impact of gender-based violence on survivors. She identified sources, conducted interviews, handled trauma with care, and worked with professional editors.
The Communication, she learned, is logistics and ethics as much as eloquence.
The Future She Sees
Whitney is optimistic about Uganda’s media landscape. The digital shift, she believes, has democratized influence. Young communicators are no longer confined to legacy newsrooms or offices.
Yet she sees a gap in the absence of structured research on sustainable, ethical, profitable independent media ventures in Uganda. Her ambition is not only to practice communication, but to study it. To produce data-backed frameworks that help young Ugandans transition from graduates to media entrepreneurs.
She wants to make the impact scalable.
What Remains
As the only First-Class graduate in her cohort, she is careful not to mythologize herself. “Success isn’t brilliance alone,” she says. “It’s a daily commitment when nobody is watching.”
Even before graduation, Whitney had stepped into the industry through a mentorship internship at Capital One Group (COG EA Ltd), a strategic marketing communications agency operating across East Africa.
At Capital One Group, we spoke to Paul Mwirigi Muriungi, the Managing Director and Head of Strategy, who spoke of Najjuka as a progressive and intentional young professional who approaches her work with curiosity, maturity, and responsibility.
“Her attitude is exemplary. She is teachable, receptive to feedback, and eager to grow. While technical skills can be taught, character, work ethic, and mindset determine long-term success, qualities that Whitney consistently demonstrates. Given her academic excellence and professional application, we believe she has a bright future both at Capital One Group and within the wider communications industry. She represents the kind of talent the profession needs: thoughtful, adaptable, and committed to excellence.
“We look forward to seeing her next chapter unfold,” says Mwirigi.
Najjuka’s gaze extends beyond her own trajectory. She speaks of what the Department could become. Furnished and equipped with industry-standard equipment, newsroom simulations, and deeper investment in data journalism as prayers. Her excellence is not self-congratulatory, but it is forward-looking.
“The University should support the Department to procure industry-standard equipment. Access to high-quality cameras, sound booths, and updated editing software like Adobe Creative Suite is critical to our learning environment,” she says.
Adding that, “We need a newsroom simulation, a physical or digital space where students work under real-time deadlines to produce content for the public. That would prepare us for industry and even strengthen the University’s own media platforms.”
In an era defined by metrics, algorithms, and digital traceability, data journalism is no longer a niche skill but a sine qua non of credible reporting. “There should also be more focus on data journalism and search engine optimization. These are no longer optional skills. Students would benefit immensely from stronger training in these areas.”
Dr. Aisha Nakiwala, the Head, Department of Journalism and Communication, says the faculty are very proud that she is graduating with a First Class—the only one in this year’s cohort.
“This achievement reflects not only exceptional intellectual ability but also discipline, resilience, and sustained dedication to the highest standards over four years. Graduating with first-class honors is no small feat; it requires consistent outstanding performance.
“Her accomplishment sets a powerful example for continuing students and reaffirms our department’s commitment to nurturing excellence. We are confident she will make meaningful contributions to the communication profession and society at large,” says Dr. Nakiwala.
On graduation day, applause will crest and recede. The gowns will fold back into wardrobes. The transcripts will be filed away in cabinets. But something quieter will endure; a young woman from Nabbingo who once missed her Law mark, who spent 20 hours a week on the road, who discovered that storytelling is power, and who now walks into Freedom Square not by accident, but by intention.
Life, as she has come to understand it, lives on.
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