Makerere University to focus on Research for Development

We are now living in the era of knowledge-based economies. Those in the know are the ones who develop. Those not in the know will not develop. Knowledge comes from research. Research leads to innovations and it is these innovations that change the world. We have excellently produced human resources for the country and the region for the last 100 years.

However, we don’t not only want to be the university that produces good human resources, but also an institution that accelerates national development through research and innovation like many leading universities around the world have done. It is universities through research and innovation that made America what it is today. Universities are no longer places where people produce knowledge for the sake of it, but places where people do research that leads to national development through innovation. That is what we have resolved to do in the next 100 years, starting in 2023. We must be different.

We must be led by research and innovation. Being a research-led university means that all undertakings by our staff at the various levels are guided by research. When you are guided by research you address current issues.

To enable us to achieve this, our research budget has increased to $120m from $30m in the last four years. Subsequently, our research publication output has increased to 1,200 from 600 papers. Most importantly, we have used our research to solve our national problems.

That came out clearly during COVID-19 pandemic when Makerere made enormous contributions to the innovations and guidelines that were being used by the Government to manage the situation. Beyond COVID-19, of course, there have been groundbreaking innovations in agriculture, engineering and other areas including the social sciences. We are fully committed to undertaking new research and innovations in 2023.

Prof. Barnabas Nawangwe
VICE CHANCELLOR