General
HERS-EA Sixth Academy – A Call to Rise
The HERS-EA Sixth Academy officially kicked off on 3rd July 2023 at the Grand Global Hotel, Makerere Kikoni, based on the Maya Angelou-inspired theme ‘And Still I Rise’. This year’s theme is aimed at challenging participants to rise above and beyond institutional and personal barriers to women leadership. Launched in 2014, the Higher Education Resource Services, Eastern Africa (HERS-EA) is a non-profit organisation affiliate of HERS, established in the USA in 1972. The goal of HERS-EA is to raise the proportion of women in leadership and management positions in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in Eastern Africa through intensive leadership and management training and mentorship.
The Sixth Academy due to be held until Friday 7th July 2023 has attracted 42 aspiring women leaders from universities and organizations across East Africa, with Gulu University sending a ten-strong contingent of participants. The hybrid nature of the academy will allow both participants and facilitators to join the training virtually.
Delivering the welcome remarks, the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Barnabas Nawangwe congratulated HERS-EA’s Founder and Board Chair, Prof. Margaret Khaitsa as well as the Co-founder and Executive Director, Ms. Naomi Lumutenga on their persistence that has seen organization empower tens of women since its founding in 2014.
“Recently while appointing Deans (of Schools) it was pleasant to note that five (5) out of seven (7) of them were women… we intend to continue like that because we now have a revised policy on Gender Mainstreaming, and we are really thinking about even putting quotas in the policies” remarked Prof. Nawangwe. The quotas, explained the Vice Chancellor, will offer clear guidance on what is deemed as fairness when it comes to percentage of women appointed as leaders.
In the same breath, Prof. Nawangwe congratulated Prof. Khaitsa on being nominated for the 2023 Excellence in Community Partner Engagement Award by the Engagement Scholarship Consortium for her work with HERS-EA. The Award will be presented in October this year. “All the research we do will only be meaningful when we bring in the community because we should be doing research in order to improve the conditions of our people.”
Prof. Nawangwe equally thanked Prof. Maggie Kigozi, also a long-term supporter of HERS-EA, for accepting to deliver the keynote address. He observed that the work that HERS-EA is doing in mentoring women leaders is extremely important and encouraged the organisation to conduct a tracer study of its alumnae.
The keynote address by Prof. Maggie Kigozi was a heart-to-heart from a medical doctor turned businesswoman, who had been through many highs and lows including two flights into exile. She awed her audience when she shared that she was only two days shy of celebrating her 73rd birthday (on 5th July), despite her youthful appearance and agility.
Describing an eventful career peppered with many turning points, Prof. Kigozi couldn’t help but appreciate the pivotal role that her parents’ reassuring love and her medical degree played in her life.
“’You are wanted, you are enough. I don’t need any other daughter’” she said, quoting her parents’ reassuring words. “When your parents tell you this, you grow up with that confidence, you take that into any room and don’t let people overlook you,” added Prof. Kigozi. As an only girl and a middle child with two elder and two younger brothers, this reassurance, she said, was all she needed to avoid feeling overshadowed by her equally outstanding siblings.
“I truly believe that education is the foundation for everything” she continued, before saying of her alma matter, “There is no way I would be standing here talking to you if Makerere had not taken me in, if I did not have my medical degree”.
“And for seventeen years I was a doctor. In those years of political turbulence here, I was able to take my famous Makerere University Medical School degree, wave it in Zambia and come out with a job the next day… three years later I went to Nairobi and again I just went into the Ministry of Health with this famous degree of mine and I was employed so education is power” she emphasised.
Prof. Kigozi equally urged participants to define the big and small fights and stop fighting the latter. “I have worked with men and women and I find we do tend to worry about the small things, as women, by nature.” Additionally, she urged the women to take part in sports to stay healthy and forge friendships, accept people for their various religious beliefs, volunteer their time and expertise to the various NGOs in need of board members and not limit their networks to their professions, education or economic levels.
In line with the Sixth Academy theme, ‘And Still I Rise’, Prof. Kigozi said that whereas many would regard 72 as the age to slow down, she still rises, not for herself but to effect change for others that are not doing so well as well as many other causes. One of these causes is the Makerere University Endowment Fund (Mak-EF), where she serves as the Board Chairperson.
“When I was asked to join the Makerere University Endowment Fund last year, I didn’t even take one minute to think about it. Yes I’m tired, yes I’m overworked, but I can make a difference and so I’m going to do this because if I can raise money to get scholarships and get research done and get buildings put up, I will drop other things and do it but we need your help” remarked Prof. Kigozi. She therefore urged the alumnae to sign up on the Endowment Fund Platform and give back to their alma mater.
As a mother and grandmother, Prof. Kigozi stressed the need for fellow women to prioritise their children’s school activities over their own professional engagements, noting that this would greatly encourage and motivate them.
On a motivational note, Prof. Kigozi introduced Ms. Jackie Nansubuga, a Makerere alumna and co-founder of Quality Management Services, a business that has been in operation since 2002. Ms. Nansubuga urged participants to always choose great partners when starting up businesses, have a personal vision and equip themselves with a growth mindset that allows other people in the team, particularly the younger ones, to communicate freely. She equally urged them to never compromise on honesty, integrity and excellent service, always work hard, accept criticism and always persevere.
In her remarks, Ms. Naomi Lumutenga thanked the Prof. Barnabas Nawangwe for being a dependable and long-term supporter of HERS-EA as well as Prof. John David Kabasa for his ardent backing of the organisation’s vision. She equally thanked Prof. Kigozi for her keynote address and generosity towards HERS-EA, as exemplified by her bringing along Ms. Nansubuga and many other inspiring professionals at previous academies.
Ms. Lumutenga shared that the training programme will be woven around the three core themes of (1) Personal Development, (2) Institutional Development and (3) Networking. She said that participants had received one template for a leadership project and another to prepare participants to pitch about collaborative interests of their respective universities to fellow participants.
Particularly addressing herself to the impact that past leadership projects have had, Ms. Lumutenga said, “The fact that we are here today running this workshop in-person is part of an outcome of last year’s alumni who worked with us and sought a small grant that has managed to cover registration for most of you or subsidize it at the very least.”
Furthermore, on the impact of presentations by participating teams on future institutional collaborations, she cautioned, “Don’t underestimate that because previous pitches by other universities have led to faculty exchange and student exchange programmes, just because somebody did a good pitch during those ten minutes.”
The HERS-EA Sixth Academy sessions will cover topics such as; Gender Mainstreaming, Navigating gender stereotypes, Grants Management, Grant Writing and Budgeting for Grants. Other sessions will cover; Mentorship, Collaborative Opportunities, Navigating the Political Environment, Developing a Career Map and Evidence-based Community Engagement. The academy will officially close on Friday 7th July with a certificate award ceremony presided over by the President and Executive Director of HERS, Dr. Gloria Thomas.
Zoom Link for the Closing Ceremony
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89133216548?pwd=ZEVnRFhldmdOK1NEU0h2M2orRzFOQT09
Meeting ID: 891 3321 6548
Passcode: 197775
The Principal of Makerere University Business School (MUBS), Prof. Moses Muhwezi, has called upon Ugandans to emulate the life of the late Frank Kalimuzo.
Today, (Friday, June 13, 2025), Makerere University hosted the 2nd Frank Kalimuzo Memorial Lecture, an event that brought together distinguished public servants, University leaders and stakeholders to honor the legacy of the late Frank Kalimuzo, Makerere University‘s first Ugandan Vice Chancellor.
The event held under the theme ‘Building a culture of service in Public Institutions’ highlighted lessons from Frank Kalimuzo’s leadership and provided an opportunity to examine how institutions of higher learning can cultivate these same qualities of service in an era where universities are increasingly called upon to be engines of innovation, drivers of economic development and guardians of knowledge.
In his welcome speech, the Acting Vice Chancellor, Prof. Winston Tumps Ireeta, noted that the Frank Kalimuzo Annual Public Lecture serves not only as a commemorative event but as a platform for critical reflection on the principles and values that should guide our institutions in an ever-evolving world.
“The late Frank Kalimuzo remains an exemplar of dedicated public service and transformational leadership. As Makerere University‘s first Ugandan Vice Chancellor, he navigated the institution through a critical period of transition with wisdom, integrity, and unwavering commitment to excellence. His legacy extends far beyond his tenure at this university, as the first Head of Public Service, first Ugandan Secretary to Cabinet, and first Permanent Secretary in the Office of the Prime Minister, he helped lay the foundation for Uganda’s administrative structures,” Prof. Ireeta, noted.
Prof. Ireeta explained that what distinguished Frank Kalimuzo, was not merely his succession of firsts, but his approach to leadership, characterized by humility, service, and an unyielding dedication to the common good.
“As we continue to build on the strong foundation laid by pioneers like Frank Kalimuzo, we must ask ourselves: How do we nurture leaders who serve with integrity? How do we create institutional cultures that prioritize the common good? How do we ensure that our graduates carry forward the values of service and excellence that have defined this university for over a century,” Prof. Ireeta, pondered?
Presenting a paper titled ‘Building a culture of service in Public Institutions’ Prof. Muhwezi, noted that Mr. Kalimuzo was not merely an academic administrator but more importantly, a servant-leader whose life exemplified the highest ideals of public service.
“Mr. Frank Kalimuzo’s life teaches us that public service is not a career choice but a calling, a commitment to using one’s talents, position, and influence to advance the common good. His example shows us that it is possible to maintain integrity, drive innovation, and achieve excellence even within imperfect systems,” Prof. Muhwezi, said.
In his keynote address, Prof. Muhwezi, explained that Mr. Kalimuzo consistently demonstrated that effective public service requires placing institutional objectives above personal ambitions. He added that when faced with unprecedented resistance from various quarters, like academics who questioned his credentials to those who opposed political appointees in university leadership, Mr. Kalimuzo responded not with defensiveness but with dedication to proving himself through service.
To deal with challenges of the 21st century, Prof. Muhwezi, pointed out that the Country needs public institutions that are fit for purpose and leaders who understand that their primary responsibility is to serve, not to be served.
“We need to leave some legacy when we are out of our institutions. We should be brave. As public servants, we learn that Mr. Kalimuzo kept brave even after disappearance of other prominent personalities. As a leader, you should not be the first person to panic,” Prof. Muhwezi, said.
Prof. Muhwezi reminded leaders that they do not need many years to create impact. He explained that although Mr Kalimuzo’s tenure as Vice Chancellor was short-lived, his impact, like a writing on the wall, remains for all to see.
“When given an opportunity to serve, don’t be distracted. Offer skilled leadership execution even in the middle of the storm. As we play around with politics, we should promote peace. As an educated class, we should be good examples. We should appreciate the freedom of speech we enjoy at the moment,” Prof. Muhwezi, noted.
On 23rd June 2022, the University Leadership dedicated the Frank Kalimuzo Central Teaching Facility in his honor, that stands as a physical reminder of his contributions. But more importantly, it symbolizes the University’s commitment to ensuring that his values and principles continue to shape generations of students who will go forth to serve Uganda and the world.
During the event, Mr. Kalimuzo’s family expressed gratitude to the University Leadership for always honouring a man who served the University, nation, and its people with distinction.
Addressing guests, Mrs. Esther Kalimuzo, the widow of the late Frank Kalimuzo, noted that although to-date the family has no grave, no explanation and no closure, his silence has not been wasted. On the contrary, it has become a witness, and his disappearance has become a declaration that Uganda has known men who refused to bow.
“After Frank was taken, I was left with our children young, tender, full of questions I could not answer. They were raised with memory instead of presence, with principle instead of protection. And yet, through all the hardship, uncertainty, and pain they endured. They overcame. Today, our children stand tall. They are proud citizens of Uganda, and residents in nations far beyond. They have carried their father’s spirit into classrooms, workplaces, and communities across the world. They embody the values they barely had time to hear him speak, values they absorbed through the echo of his life and the strength of his memory,” orated Mrs Kalimuzo to an audience that listened silently in great admiration.
Delivering the closing remarks, the Chairperson of the University Council, Mrs. Lorna Magara, noted that Makerere’s strategic plan echoes Mr. Kalimuzo’s spirit of innovation and visionary leadership.
“The insights shared today provide a valuable framework for addressing current leadership challenges within African institutions. Makerere University Council is already advancing key recommendations through our Strategic Plan (2020/21–2024/25), with an emphasis on building a responsive and research-driven institution,” Mrs Magara, said.
Mrs. Magara also pointed out that Mr. Kalimuzo’s values deserve continued critical reflections and practical application in leadership development, noting that they remain relevant not just for Makerere’s transformation, but for the renewal of public institutions across the continent.
“As the late Prof. Asavia Wandira reminded us during Makerere’s 90th Anniversary, our historic mission is “to be the Golden Apex of the Education System, consistent with National Development.” This mission remains unfinished. Rising societal challenges from youth unemployment to public health demand the very kind of ethical, visionary leadership Mr. Kalimuzo embodied,” Mrs. Magara concluded.
During the interactive discussions chaired by Mrs. Allen Kagina, the Chairperson of the Technical, Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Council, Mrs Kalimuzo shared with the guests that when her husband went missing, she did all kinds of odd jobs to see her children through School and put food on the table. Hard work and the grace of God, she said, were the hallmarks of how she managed to raise her young family.
Organized in partnership with Makerere University Business School, the 2025 lecture was crowned with a surprise 90th Birthday celebration for Mrs. Esther Kalimuzo. It was all tears of joy as she cut cake with her grandchildren surrounded by family and friends.
Frank Kalimuzo at glance
Born on 24th September 1925, the late Kalimuzo was the first Vice-Chancellor of the newly formed Makerere University away from the colonial and white man’s control. He was appointed on 1st July 1970 by the then President H.E. Apollo Milton Obote. Frank Kalimuzo transformed the institution from a colonial-era university into a truly national institution serving Ugandan society. His brief but impactful tenure established principles of service-oriented leadership that continue to influence public institutional management across East Africa
He held an Overseas Course B from Wadham College in Oxford, UK (1956), an Honors Degree (Economics Major) from the University College of Aberystwyth in Wales (1955), and a BA in Education from Makerere University (1946).
In his brief tenure, courses like Bachelor of Commerce, Bachelor of Forestry, Bachelor of Laws, and Bachelor of Technology were added to the University’s Curriculum. Veterinary Medicine, which was being offered at the University of Nairobi, was also introduced at Makerere University, while Music, Dance, and Drama became diploma subjects. The Main Library and Albert Cook Medical Library were extended in 1972. Later that year, during former President Idi Amin’s rule, Mr. Kalimuzo was picked up by security personnel and was never seen alive again.
By: Moses Lutaaya
The Directorate of Graduate Training is rolling out the Research Management Information systems (RIMS) to efficiently and effectively monitor the academic progress of all graduate students.
“RIMS will be used to track efficiently every stage of activity of graduate studies from course works, research concept to thesis completion.” The Director of Graduate Training, Prof. Julius Kikooma said.
He added, “The RIMS team is here to share developments on the system that are designed to support the agenda of Makerere university. When graduate students enter a given chapter of their research works, their supervisors will automatically receive mail prompts to swiftly handle, give comments and guide the students on the way forward.”
During the roll out training recently at the College of Health Sciences in Mulago, Prof. Kikooma said, “The Directorate of Graduate Training is working in collaboration with Directorate of Innovation, Research and Partnerships (DIRP) and the Directorate of Information Communication and Technology Support (DICTS) to ensure a smooth training to all the schools and colleges. Digitalising the graduate management process is anticipated to increase the number of graduate admissions and completion in the long run.”
“As the three directorates, we sat and reviewed the university graduate strategy and policies around it. We got reviewed policies and procedures approved by the University Senate last year. We no longer have provisional admission letter requirement for our PhD students. It is now full admission straight away and we follow a cohort system of admission for the PhD by research students.” He added.
RIMS is a version of how the Directorate of Graduate Training aims to handle the process of systematic tracking of every point of progress in the entire academic journey of graduate students.
The Directorate of Graduate Training has so far conducted the RIMS training at three Colleges namely; College of Health Sciences (CHS), College of Business and Management Sciences (COBAMS) and College of Natural Sciences (CONAS).
The critical stakeholders on the RIMS value chain include Heads of Departments, College Principals and Deputy Principals, Directors, School Deans, Supervisors as well as Graduate coordinators. “All the above are key actors and must be able to use RIMS in the graduate process, capturing all profiles of students and supervisors and should be able to use it appropriately.” He emphasized.
He said that RIMS will bring all stakeholders on the same page and will be able to adequately troubleshoot any hinderance to progress when course works are done, to dissertation and thesis completion. Makerere university target is to increase its graduate students’ enrollment from 19% to at least 30% in the next five years.
Prof. Bruce James Kirenga, Principal College of Health Sciences welcomed RIMS training saying that this kind of E- learning and supervision tracking is the way to handle graduate studies as it seems to reduce the turn around time for student- supervisor responses.
“Every activity in the graduate students learning journey is monitored swiftly. Whatever the students upload on to the system, supervisors get message pop-ups on their mails, review the works immediately and attach comments for the students to appreciate and manage appropriately.” He said.
Prof. Kirenga added that the audit trail created under RIMS will provide good progressive academic reports and improve the journey to Doctoral studies.
“Heads of Departments are able to see all students in the department, any pending system approvals, observe completion rates and total progressive over view of each student and that the total overview of department performance will be clearly seen under RIMS.” He added.
Dr. Robert Kalyesubula – the Chair. Dept of Physiology, Makerere University College of Health Sciences said RIMS will improve the efficiency of supervisors while handling the graduate students.
“RIMS views all documents and proposals of students. We will be able to observe which supervisor takes long to respond, the number of days they have taken to respond and how long an issue has pended undone at a certain level.”
The Ambassador of Israel in Nairobi accredited to Kenya, Uganda, Malawi, Tanzania and the Seychelles, H.E. Michael Lotem on 11th June 2025 made a farewell visit to Makerere University as his tour draws to a close. He was accompanied by his Deputy Ambassador, H.E. Ariel Arviv and received by the Chairperson of Council, Mrs. Lorna Magara and the Acting Vice Chancellor, Prof. Winston Tumps Ireeta. Also present in the meeting were the Deputy Principal College of Engineering, Design, Art and Technology (CEDAT), Assoc. Prof. Kizito Maria and the Dean Margaret Trowel School of Industrial and Fine Art (MTSIFA), Assoc. Prof. Amanda Tumusiime.
Mrs. Lorna Magara in her welcome remarks informed the Ambassador that Makerere is translating into a research-led University, with innovation hubs taking root. “Just last week we signed into operation an organization fully owned by the University called the Makerere University Technology and Innovation Centre.
“What that is going to do is coordinate all the innovations in the units as well as knowledge transfer, startups, and linkages with industry and Government” Mrs. Magara explained. “What we are seeking to do is commercialize research, to foster startups, incubation centres, but also knowledge transfer” she added.
Mrs. Magara noted that this aspiration feeds directly into the Government’s drive to promote Science, Technology and Innovation. “For a very long time Makerere has just been a knowledge hub; you have all these PhDs but knowledge that does not translate into industry,” she clarified.
Explaining how the component of intellectual property (IP) is addressed, the Acting Vice Chancellor, informed Ambassador Lotem that the University has in place an Intellectual Property Management Office (IPMO) headed by a Manager as well as a Deputy Director in Charge of Research, Innovation and Partnerships. The IPMO, he added, is tasked with registering all the IP that arises from staff and student research.
“We have an Intellectual Property Management Policy that stipulates how intellectual property created by staff and students is owned, managed, and used,” explained Prof. Ireeta. The Makerere policy stipulates that the University shall keep 60% of the net revenue coming out of the commercialization of IP with 40% going to the researcher/ research team.
Prof. Ireeta further shared that innovations currently undergoing IP registration are from the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences (CAES) and the CEDAT. He reiterated the University’s commitment to establishing the Makerere University Technology and Innovation Centre to coordinate all innovation IP management efforts. “We want to have the University at the fore of registering all IP with the Uganda Registration Services Bureau (URSB) as opposed to individual researchers as it was in the past.”
On the question of venture capital/funding, Mrs. Magara explained that although individual researchers have been winning grants to fund their projects, Government’s annual allocation of UGX 30 billion through the Makerere University Research and Innovations Fund (Mak-RIF) has gone a long way to boost research and innovations.
Using Israel’s thriving agricultural innovations in the desert as an example, Ambassador Lotem noted that to maximize output and profitability, innovation ought to simultaneously work on both ends of the equation i.e. adapting plants to grow in challenging climates while devising appropriate technology to supply much-needed nutrients.
Picking up on Mrs. Magara’s statement that the College of Health Sciences (CHS) conducts a great deal of Makerere’s research in the areas of Malaria, Tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS, Ambassador Lotem said he would be happy to link Makerere researchers to ongoing collaborative efforts between Israeli companies and the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI), especially in Malaria.
“To give you an idea about what innovations we are talking about, we have one company that developed a technology/protocol to sterilize mosquitoes and it is environmentally friendly because they sterilize only one generation, and they are looking to do a pilot” he noted.
“We have another Israeli company that does a big pilot with biological nets” Ambassador Lotem shared before adding, “a third uses drones to identify the habitats of mosquitoes. These kind of things can be done here and we know how to bring others.”
Other examples of Israeli companies shared by Ambassador Lotem that are seeking to conduct pilot studies include one that developed a special type of shrimp that eats snails that host bilharzia causing parasitic worms. The other is a biological material that when put in contaminated water kills the germs and reduces turbidity.
Chipping in on the discussion, Ambassador Arviv said, “on our side we know that there are a lot of opportunities and a lot of projects that have already began and we want to see how we can help them.”
Earlier, Assoc. Prof. Kizito Maria had informed the meeting that his tenure as Dean MTSIFA played witness to a number of academic exchanges and workshops with Bezalel Academy Jerusalem and Shenkar College of Engineering, Design and Art, facilitated by CoCuDi Center and The African Studies Gallery. However, he added that these collaborations were never formalized by signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).
In response, Ambassador Arviv reassured, “We will find the contacts to understand the specific needs; if its students exchange, etc. and then they will work on a Memorandum of Understanding as a basic” she stated, adding “I think we can take it from there.”
The visit concluded with presentation of Makerere University Souvenirs by Mrs. Lorna Magara to Ambassadors Michael Lotem and Ariel Arviv in her office.
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