General
iCARTA Workshop Empowers 37 Makerere University Academics, Professionals & Administrators
A total of 37 staff drawn from the various units at Makerere University have successfully completed the Training of Trainers (ToT) Academic, Professional and Administrative staff -APAS course, thanks to the Consortium for Advanced Research Training in Africa (CARTA).
In line with CARTA’s mainstreaming initiatives, the weeklong workshop from July 17–21, 2023, aimed to improve institutional responsiveness to graduate training and research and equip trainees to efficiently lead APAS workshops for their units.
The Consortium initially applied for and was awarded a NORHED II grant for the institutionalization of Advanced Research Training in Project Africa in order to institutionalize the gained experiences and best practices for sustainability.
Dr. John Bosco Isunju, a Lecturer at MakSPH and CARTA Focal Person Makerere University remarked; “The APAS workshop is one of these innovations to enhance the capacity of institutional functionaries to create an enabling environment for high quality research and graduate training.”
Professor Anne Kisaka Nangulu, an economic historian and the Principal of Bomet, a Moi University constituent college in Kenya, challenged iCARTA trainees to demonstrate good academic citizenship and integrity.
She also gave advice to the trainees on how to lead ethically: “Leading in a manner that respects the rights and dignity of others, knowing your core values, and having the courage to live them in all of your life as well as parts of it in service of the common good are important.”
Prof. Nangulu observed, “Whenever we have new graduates, I just feel wonderful. I not only feel nice but I sleep well. CARTA philosophy is to stop brain drain and demonstrate to the rest of the world our independence. Just remember there’s is no institution without people as you go about your day. Please make a tiny adjustment where you are. I believed that we all have great potential. Although I’ve never believed in teamwork, I do believe in group work. Let this APAS be a community that exists. Change using this platform.
Dr. Daphney Nozizwe Conco, a Senior Lecturer at University of the Witwatersrand School of Public Health and CARTA facilitator urged the ToT graduands to; “Use this platform for connecting and enhancing the CARTA vision. What pays us is the impact. You can’t quantify it. Most of the time, such a training is a stepping stone. Such moments are overwhelming. Being in Makerere University is a moment of pride as South African. Historical moments.”
Dr. Rhoda Wanyenze, Professor and Dean, MakSPH hailed CARTA for the opportunity to train the staff citing that Makerere University cannot improve graduate training when its support system improve including the administrators is not improved.
Professor Wanyenze urged the trainees as strong support system of the university to work with diligence and ensure the university stakeholders good experience and services from the university for improved relations.
“How can we provide quality support system to our students so that they can come to us again? We like to create alumni networks and we want them to engage with us, contribute the money. Are we sure they want to see us or look in our eyes? You are supporting your future collaborators when you are supporting your students. There has to be quality, quality is more of perception. What people feel about what we do is the quality that lasts in their minds. Forget about the standards, people will always remember how they are treated whenever they interact with us,” said.
Professor Wanyenze thanked the organizers of the training under CARTA for supporting Makerere University towards realizing its ambitious target of becoming a “research-led” institution with a multi-faceted research agenda.
“We are talking instutionalisation. CARTA was helping us to do what we were supposed to do. It is excellent because it talks about training people locally. CARTA is a great program for me in many ways. I hope we can institutionalise some of those good practices,” she noted.
According to Professor Wanyenze, every time universities have policy shifts they tend to focus on professors but not both the professors and the support systems.
“The biggest challenge that we have in our graduate training in most of the universities in Africa that I know; is support systems. We are not going to improve graduate training in Makerere University unless we improve support systems. Everybody that comes in contact with or interfaces with graduate students has a role to play in graduate training. In terms of ensuring training quality and an enjoyable time at university. How do you handle the students when they come to you as finance officers, what about the administrators, who delays submission of the dissertation books when they have been submitted? We need to put the systems right and start looking at a student as a human being. We have to interface with the students and engage them as human beings,” observed Prof. Wanyenze.
Professor Edward Bbaale, Director of Research and Graduate Training at Makerere University, stressed the importance of providing students with excellent experiences during their time at the university. He highlighted that these students could become future leaders, and their experiences could have a significant impact, potentially holding consequences if mishandled.
“The current Permanent Secretary Ministry of Finance/Secretary to the Treasury was my student in economics through his undergraduate degree. Still, when he came back for his master’s degree, I taught him and also supervised his research, but I didn’t know that this young man would at one time be the one making decisions on how much money comes to Makerere University,” said Prof. Bbaale.
“I don’t know how I treated him as a student. Recently, the undersecretary in the ministry of finance, who is now a council member, was our PhD student in economics, and I don’t know how we treated him. Those two people combined, if they are to fail the university in terms of financing as a payback, can Both of them were our students in the same environment, but we really thank God that maybe they are working in our favor. One of them is a council member making critical decisions,” he added.
Huzaifah Mutyaba, an administrator at MakSPH, committed to implementing the APAS program after receiving facilitator training. “I have met a lot of new friends. We are going to meet soon, and we shall be discussing how to support our other colleagues to support graduate training and research at Makerere University,” Mutyaba said.
Jackie Norah Nanteza, an iCARTA trainer, emphasizes that quality goes beyond standards; it’s about how the recipients of your services perceive them. “This has been a very wonderful group to facilitate speaking sincerely. Continuously building on capacity and enthusiasm, you feel like there is power inside you. Get that energy and commit to doing better things.”
Alison Annet Kinengyere, a Library and Information Scientist at Sir Albert Cook Medical Library, commended the participants for their dedicated attendance throughout the five-day course. “I am impressed by the participants’ commitment. At Makerere University, for participants to be available for the five days is a great thing, and I congratulate all of you on your successful completion of this course.”
Twenty years ago, CARTA was formed to address a critical gap in research capacity in African public universities through a suite of interventions to enhance individuals’ and institutional capacities for high quality research at eight institutions.
The Consortium composed of African (Malawi, Uganda, Rwanda, Kenya, Tanzania, Nigeria, and South Africa) and non-African partner universities and institutions from Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, and the UK sought to produce high-quality early career researchers (ECRs) who will, in turn, become research leaders enhancing the engagement between the CARTA community (ERC’s, supervisors, graduates) and society to influence policy and programmatic change to improve long-term health outcomes.
Dr. Isunju observes that CARTA trains doctoral and post-doctoral students and other institutional functionaries that support research and graduate training. “So far 22 PhD fellows have graduated and another five in the pipeline to graduate soon. We are very grateful for what CARTA has done.”
CARTA not only trains doctoral students but also provides support to various university staff members, including administrative, professional, and academic roles. APAS was initially targeted at administrative and academic staff. It was later expanded to include crucial professional roles like communications, procurement, and registrars, recognizing their pivotal role in advancing graduate education and research within our institutions.
The first APAS ToT which was held at Makerere University where CARTA trained three people from each of the main institutions in Uganda, Nigeria, Ghana, Wits, Malawi, Nairobi -Moi and University Rwanda. who have since become our local trainers. In Makerere University, Jackie Nanteza, Dr. Andrew Tamale and Dr. Alison Kinengyere benefited from the initial training.
According to Prof. Bbaale, Makerere University’s strategic plan 2020-2030 aims at transforming a university into a research led institution and that one of the building blocks for this realization is to increase graduate enrolment and knowledge production that responds to national, regional and global developments and challenges.
He highlighted that Makerere University is determined to have the share of graduate students at 30% by 2030 many of which must be international students. “The School of Public Health and the entire College of Health Sciences has already gone over and above this target but definitely your performance is dampened by the rest of the units in the university taking us to around 12%,” Prof. Bbaale said.
He added that; “We want to internationalize as much as possible, out of the 30% target for graduate students, we want to have 10% international students but currently we are around 2%. The second building block of our strategic plan is establishing research entities that leverage largescale multidisciplinary and multi-institutional research activities. The third block is packing and marketing of research outputs for appropriate adoption to impact communities. Makerere University through UNDP has established an innovation hub in an effort to package the research outputs and innovations.”
Dr. Bbaale emphasizes DRGT’s commitment to graduate education and research. “Collaboration with various units continues to improve,” he says. The number of PhD students enrolled and graduating has steadily risen, and despite resource limitations, every department at Makerere can at present supervise doctoral students.
Prof. Bbaale is enthusiastic about participants becoming trainers since it is in line with Makerere University‘s ambition on being a research-led institution. The program boosts facilitators’ abilities, addressing PhD training capacity.
“It is interesting to note that the ToT program seeks to enable trainees to effectively create a multiplier effect in their respective units. This model is quite unique. It will build a critical mass of trainers with a requisite capacity to manage doctoral studies in respective units. I would like to congratulate the MakSPH for taking lead in this front and for building synergies with DRGT as we strive to take graduate training and research at our university. I would like to appreciate the CARTA secretariat that combined effort with Makerere University that led to the grant that is enabling all these activities to take place. I would like to appreciate the vice chancellor for the able and visionary leadership that has identified,” he said.
Today 8th October 2026, Makerere University has hosted the EU Uganda Research and Study Fair 2026, bringing together government officials, European Union representatives, researchers, academics, students, and young professionals to explore opportunities in education, research, innovation, and international collaboration.
The fair also marked 50 years of partnership between Uganda and the European Union, providing a platform for participants to learn about scholarships, research funding, exchange programmes, fellowships and opportunities for collaboration with European institutions.
Officially opening the fair, Acting Minister of Education and Sports Hon. Dr. John Chrysostom Muyingo commended the European Union, its member states, Makerere University and other partners for organising the event, describing international cooperation as important to Uganda’s education and research agenda.
The Minister said Uganda’s young population presents a significant opportunity for national development if supported with the right investments in education, skills, creativity, research, innovation and entrepreneurship.
He encouraged universities and research institutions to strengthen links between education, research, innovation and the world of work, noting that research should not only generate academic knowledge but also contribute to policies, technologies and practical solutions to national challenges.
Dr. Muyingo also encouraged students and young professionals to engage with the European Union, its member states and alumni to understand the opportunities available and prepare themselves for future applications.
Makerere highlights value of partnership
Prof. Sarah Ssali, Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academic Affairs), Makerere University, who represented the University at the event, said the fair provided an important platform for bringing education, research, innovation and international cooperation together.
She noted that the event was particularly significant as Uganda and the European Union celebrate five decades of partnership, with Makerere’s relationships with some European institutions extending even beyond 50 years.
Prof. Ssali said the partnerships have supported education, research, skills development, innovation, institutional strengthening and human capital development, creating opportunities for Ugandans to acquire knowledge and skills, conduct research and establish international networks.
She called for the next chapter of the partnership to place knowledge, research, innovation, technology and young people at the centre.
“Research needs to move beyond publication of research, to influence policy, improve practice, create products and services, strengthen communities and contribute to the economic development of our country,” she said.
Prof. Ssali also encouraged participants to explore opportunities for scholarships, research, exchange programmes, doctoral studies, joint research and fellowships available through European partnerships.
She said the ultimate value of international education and research partnerships lies in how knowledge, skills, networks and technologies acquired through such opportunities contribute to Uganda’s development.
Human Response programme strengthens partnerships
The fair also showcased Makerere’s partnerships through programmes such as the Human Response, Health and Displacement Erasmus Mundus Joint Master Programme.
Dr. Justus Twesigye, Dean of Students, School of Social Sciences, Makerere University and Co Principal of the Human Response Programme, explained that the programme has created partnerships between Makerere and universities in Europe and Africa.
These include the University Institute of Lisbon in Portugal, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, University of Athens in Greece, University of Cape Verde and University of Rovuma in Mozambique, alongside associate partners including the Uganda Red Cross Society, Allied Uganda, Refugee Led Organisation Network and the Ministry of Water and Environment.
Twesigye said the partnerships have introduced new approaches to teaching and learning by involving practitioners directly in training and giving students opportunities for concurrent field practice.
He noted that organisations such as the Uganda Red Cross Society have participated in delivering classes, while students also gain practical experience in the field before returning to class for reflective learning.
The programme is also promoting joint research between academics and practitioners, moving away from approaches where researchers and practitioners work separately.
CEES project supports competence based education
The College of Education and External Studies (CEES) also presented an EU supported project aimed at helping higher education institutions and regulators transition to competence based education.
Assoc. Prof. Josephine Esaete, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Science, Technology and Vocational Education, said the project brings together nine partners from Uganda, West Africa and Europe.
She explained that the project seeks to strengthen the capacity of universities and higher education regulators in designing competence based curricula, teaching, assessment, monitoring and evaluation.
Makerere University is coordinating the four year project, with Mountains of the Moon University among the Ugandan partners.
Assoc. Prof. Esaete said the project is timely as universities work towards transitioning their programmes and curricula to competence-based education.
The project also seeks to strengthen collaboration between higher education institutions and industry so that students can acquire skills relevant to the world of work.
Fair creates opportunities for students and researchers
The exhibition brought together different EU supported research projects, academic programmes and institutional partnerships, allowing students, researchers and other participants to interact directly with project teams and representatives of European institutions.
The fair also provided opportunities for participants to learn from Makerere alumni who have benefited from international study and research opportunities.
Prof. Ssali urged participants to use the opportunity to “engage, explore, connect, and discover” new possibilities while encouraging young people to dream boldly, seek knowledge, build networks and use what they learn to contribute to Uganda’s transformation.
The fair reaffirmed Makerere University’s commitment to strengthening international partnerships that support research, innovation, human capital development and national transformation.
Before becoming an optometrist, researcher, programmer, and eye health entrepreneur, Timothy Khabusi walked barefoot to school along rough roads in Manafwa District, Eastern Uganda. For most of his primary school years, Timothy walked more than nine kilometres each day from his home to Bubulo Mixed Primary School in Manafwa District.
He would leave home at about 6:00 a.m., walk to the highway, and join other children on their way to school. On the murram road, sharp stones pressed into his feet. When the rains came, he sometimes arrived at school completely drenched. Occasionally, a truck carrying market vendors would stop and offer them a lift. “Those were few lucky days,” Timothy recalls.
At the time, however, Timothy did not see his life as unusual. It was simply how life was for many children in his village. What he did not yet know was that those long walks were helping shape a determination that would eventually take him from rural Manafwa to Makerere University and, later, the University of Edinburgh in Scotland.
Timothy Khabusi is the sixth of eight children (5 boys and 3 girls). His father, 68, a retired primary school teacher, and his mother, 60, a small retail shop owner, had limited resources but were determined to give their eight children opportunities they had not enjoyed themselves.
The family tried several ways to make ends meet. His mother ran a small local brew joint, selling malwa, a traditional fermented cereal drink. When Timothy was about ten, the family closed the malwa joint and moved on, first trying farming and later, in 2009, opening a small retail kiosk with money earned from selling a small coffee harvest.
The family kiosk changed things. Timothy started taking snacks to school and also began developing an interest in business. He sold sugarcane and later teamed up with his younger brother, Mark, to make mandazi, a popular delicacy among schoolchildren.
Behind these modest ventures were sacrifices his parents made for their children’s education and health. His father took loans to support the family through school, while both parents repeatedly emphasised the importance of education.
Timothy’s own academic journey was far from perfect.
At rural Bubulo Primary School, Timothy performed very well and earned a place at one of the best secondary schools in Eastern Uganda, Mbale Senior Secondary School, in Mbale city.
At Mbale Secondary School, he became a strong academic performer and earned a renewable merit-based bursary that covered most of his school fees. Mr Mabaku, his Mathematics teacher, taught him to connect classroom concepts to real-life problems—a way of thinking that would later shape his interest in technology and programming.
Then came a setback.
Timothy’s A-level results (15 points in Physics, Chemistry, and Mathematics) were far lower than he had expected. For someone who had always seen himself as a top student, the outcome was deeply disappointing, and he missed out on the much-coveted government scholarship. He even wondered whether university was still possible. He considered repeating his A-levels but instead applied to Makerere University on private sponsorship. He was admitted to study Optometry, although he had initially wanted to pursue Medicine and Surgery.
Then came the opportunity that changed everything.
In 2017, Timothy became a Mastercard Foundation Scholar at Makerere University, receiving support that enabled him to continue his university education. The financial uncertainty that had threatened his university education was resolved. What initially felt like failure became an opportunity that redirected him towards a field he had not planned to enter. Through optometry, he discovered a profession that linked clinical care with science, technology, research and public health.
His career journey after graduation.
After graduating from Makerere University in January 2022, Timothy set out to fulfil his ambitious mission to improve eye health in Uganda. His career began far from his village home in Manafwa: he started at a private clinic in Arua town, West Nile, hundreds of kilometres from Manafwa in Eastern Uganda. Asked why he didn’t find a job in Kampala, as most of his peers did, Timothy quickly explained that his mission is to provide the best eye health care to communities with limited access to these services.
After working for one year in Arua, he returned to Kampala. He first worked at Dr. Agarwal’s Eye Hospital from 2023 to 2025, then moved to Med-Optics, another popular eye clinic in Kampala. In February 2026, he opened his own eye clinic, Khabusi Vision Care Centre, a modern optometry centre dedicated to providing eye care services at subsidised rates to individuals and families who may face financial barriers to accessing these services.
His leadership journey
For Timothy, leadership is not about collecting titles. At Mbale Senior Secondary School, he led the Science Club, organising seminars and holiday revision programmes. At Makerere, he served as a minister at the College of Health Sciences and as a leader in the Optometry Students’ Association. Those experiences shaped a simple philosophy: leadership means seeing what needs improvement, taking responsibility, and bringing others along.
That philosophy now drives his ambitions for Khabusi Vision Care. In the coming years, he aims to strengthen the organisation’s clinical, public health, digital and research work. His longer-term vision is to build a major Ugandan eye health organisation with branches across the country, comprehensive services, research programmes and locally developed diagnostic and ophthalmic technologies.
Impact in the community
Asked about his impact in the community, Timothy quickly pointed to the number of patients whose sight he has helped restore at a modest cost they otherwise couldn’t have afforded.
“I am proud to have treated more than 10,000 patients and enabled them to see better since I began my optometry practice in 2022. Among the patients, I vividly remember a police woman who was on the verge of going completely blind due to a misdiagnosis she had received at different facilities she had visited in Kampala, until she came to Khabusi Vision Care Centre in Kyanja, where I was able to help correct the optical issue she was grappling with.” Timothy proudly states.
Timothy further enumerates the number of young people he has mentored and continues to mentor in optometry. He also offers graduate internships at his clinic and employs five young people as permanent staff. He also conducts regular community outreach activities, offering free eye check-ups in the community and subsidised treatment for those who need it.
A word to the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Community
Timothy expressed his gratitude to the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program and Makerere University for giving him the opportunity to pursue a quality university education at a time when he had lost hope of attending university after failing to secure a government scholarship.
“I am forever grateful to Mastercard Foundation and Makerere University for giving me a scholarship that changed my whole life; without the scholarship, I would not have been able to afford the university fees; therefore, I wouldn’t have become what I am today,” Timothy points out.
Asked what advice he would give to current Mastercard Foundation Scholars, Timothy urges them to take advantage of the additional skilling and development programmes the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program offers.
“I urge my young brothers and sisters on the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program currently to take the capacity-building training the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program offers; it is what will give you an advantage over others in the job market,” Timothy advises.
Looking ahead
Beyond healthcare, Timothy is a writer, programmer, and researcher. He has published “From the Slopes of Mount Elgon”, a novel about a young girl who confronts poverty and betrayal while pursuing education and dignity. Timothy’s story is not a straightforward journey from challenge to success. It is about unexpected turns: the barefoot walks, the disappointing A-level results, the unexpected scholarship, and the career he never originally intended to pursue. His advice to young people comes from that experience: one disappointing result or difficult season need not decide the rest of your life. Sometimes, you have to keep walking.
“Keep learning, keep improving, and when opportunity comes, use it—not only to change your own life, but to create opportunities for others,” Timothy advises.
Timothy is now pursuing a Master’s degree in Patient Safety and Clinical Human Factors at the University of Edinburgh. The programme has reshaped his approach to healthcare. Rather than focusing solely on individual mistakes, he examines the systems that allow failures to occur and how to redesign them to improve patient safety.
On October 5, 2026, Makerere University welcomed Mrs. Anne Twinomugisha Muhairwe, the Deputy Inspector General of Government (DIGG) and her delegation for a courtesy visit ahead of the International Ombuds Day 2026 commemoration under the theme “Ombuds: Office of Options”.
The delegation was received by Professor Barnabas Nawangwe the Vice Chancellor of Makerere University in his office where they discussed the Ombuds Day theme, the university’s successful reconciliation-based conflict resolution, ongoing infrastructure projects, and a renewed commitment to institutional partnership.
Mrs. Twinomugisha Muhairwe, who also spoke as the President of the African Ombudsman and Mediators Association (AOMA), emphasised that her office aims to be a partner in building and strengthening public institutions rather than merely a critic. Therefore, this visit marked a big step in the evolving relationship between public institutions and the Office of the Ombudsman at the Inspectorate of Government, where it is headed by Director Kakooza Savio Ntensibe, who was also part of the delegation.
The DIGG shared that the office provides essential options for resolving grievances such as administrative injustice, where people feel victimised, and unheard.
Reconciliation Underscored
While addressing the delegation, Professor Nawangwe, framed the visit as a turning point in the institution’s relationship with oversight bodies. He welcomed the DIGG, an alumna of Makerere, and commended the Ombuds methodology that prioritizes reconciliation as initiated by neutral persons or bodies to resolve disputes.
“The style of reconciliation has worked very well for us as well, ever since we started talking to the students, it has kept peace in the university,” the Vice Chancellor remarked.
“We started talking to the students and… eventually, they started to understand. Today, if you come and begin talking of strike, fellow students will tell you, ‘We came here to study’”, added the Vice Chancellor.
The engagement also discussed the practical realities of student welfare. Mrs. Twinomugisha Muhairwe, with specific interest, probed the Vice Chancellor on the status of hall renovations. In response, the Vice Chancellor explained the phased approach to renovations, noting that the university is systematically upgrading facilities to improve the living conditions.
The Vice Chancellor thereafter invited Mrs. Twinomugisha Muhairwe and her team to visit the university museum, as a gesture to underscore the spirit of the day where the Ombudsman and the university stand together.
About Ombuds Day
Ombuds Day is an international observance held annually on the second Thursday of October to raise public awareness of the ombuds profession.
According to the International Ombuds Association, an ombuds is an independent, neutral, and confidential professional who helps resolve disputes, investigate complaints, and address systemic issues within an organization, government agency, or institution.
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