_{By Bernard Buteera}

In its quest to become a research-led university and in line with its vision 2030; a thought leader of knowledge generation for societal transformation and development, Makerere University is headed in the right direction.

From 11^th to 15^th June 2023, Prof. Umar Kakumba, the Deputy Vice-Chancellor of Academic Affairs, led a delegation of three members that comprised; Prof. Justine Namaalwa, the Head, of the Department of Environmental Management and Program Coordinator, Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program, Dr. Godfrey Mayende, a lecturer at IODEL and the Project Manager, Mastercard Foundation E-learning Initiative, and Mr. Tonny Oluka, a member of staff from Directorate of Information & Communication Technology Support (DICTS) to a bench-marking visit at Arizona State University (ASU) in the United States of America.

The main purpose of the visit was to Benchmark the eLearning Ecosystem,Practices, and technologies at ASU. However, Prof. Kakumba took advantage of the visit, to initiate and sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Makerere University and Arizona State University for collaboration in Research and other aspects of teaching and learning. The MoU also stipulated other key areas of collaboration;

• The e-Learning Ecosystem at ASU
• Enterprise Technology
• The Multi-media Studios- Set-up and Functioning
• The Human-centered Design Thinking Approach
• The Services of EdPlus at ASU
• Student Support Services
• The Student Success Coaching Program

The Memorandum of Understanding was signed by Dr. Julia Rosen, Vice President, of Global Academic Initiatives on behalf of Arizona State University, and Prof. Umar Kakumba on behalf of Makerere University.

During the Bench-marking visit, Prof. Kakumba and his team held a number of key conversations and meetings with various members of the faculty at ASU, in which a lot of experiential sharing and learning took place. The key takeaways from the bench-marking visit include;

• How to leverage Enterprise Technology in the University Functions/Operations = Tech-enabling.
• EdPLus (the equivalent of IODeL) – Supports the Pedagogical aspects of Integration of Technology into teaching, learning, and research.
• The Critical Importance of Instructional Designers, educational Multimedia Specialists, and eLearning Special Needs officers.
• The Enterprise Technology (the equivalent of DICTS)-Supports the Digital aspects of Learning and Research.
• Capacity Building for Staff/Onboarding Faculty for Online Teaching through a Mandatory Master class/Course = “Online Teaching Course” Can be customized for Makerere University Faculty Onboarding Students to Online learning:
• Mandatory I CU Course: Tech-enabled Learning at Makerere University
• Setting up cost-effective Multi-media Studios (Small and standard size)for recording online course materials. 
• Continued Technical Support from Enterprise Technology, at Arizona State University.

The bench-marking visit was a step in the right direction for Makerere University in many ways, critical among them being the internalization of the University through such collaborations and signing MoUs with universities such as Arizona State University.

Bernard Buteera is the Communications Officer for the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program at Makerere University.