Natural Sciences
74th Graduation: Prof. Leif Abrahamsson Honoured for His Contribution to the Development of Mathematics in E.A
Makerere University has awarded Prof. Leif Abrahamsson a Honorary Doctor of Science in recognition and appreciation of his contribution to the development of Mathematics in East Africa, and particularly in Uganda. The award was presented to Prof. Leif Abrahamsson by the Acting Chancellor, also Vice Chancellor of Makerere University, Prof. Barnabas Nawangwe on the first day of the 74th graduation ceremony, Monday, 29th January 2024.
Prof. Leif Abrahamsson, formerly Programme Director at the International Science Programme (ISP), Uppsala-Sweden, and Coordinator of the Bilateral Programme of Sida at Makerere University, has immensely contributed to the development of teaching mathematics, and research capacities in Ugandan universities and globally through quality and mass PhD training and postdocs and research publications. It all started in 2001 when Prof. Abrahamsson convened a meeting of key African Mathematicians from Nigeria, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Madagascar, Ghana, and Kenya in Arusha-Tanzania to discuss the poor state of mathematics in the region then. His initiative under the Eastern Africa Universities Mathematics Programme (EAUMP) later built a solid background for Sida support to Mathematics in the region, which has seen the training of over 30 PhD students, over 20 Master students, and over 15 Postdocs in Mathematics and its Applications in Uganda since 2002.
Presenting Prof. Abrahamsson for the award, Prof. John Mango Magero, Coordinator of Sida Project- 316 Capacity Building in Mathematics and Its Applications informed the congregation that over 100 publications in Mathematics at Makerere University are direct outcomes of Prof. Abrahamsson’s EAUMP and Sida initiatives. “Makerere University and Uganda as a whole are a big beneficiary of Prof. Abrahamsson’s work which rhymes with the country’s Development Plan of developing sciences.”
Prof. Abrahamsson has extended similar contributions to Mathematics in Tanzania, Kenya, Rwanda, Zambia, Mozambique, Ethiopia, Mali, Senegal, Niger, Ghana, Burkina Faso, Cameroon and some countries in South East Asia (i.e Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar).
CoNAS graduation
Overall, the College of Natural Sciences (CoNAS) has presented 331 students for the award of degrees of Makerere University. Of these, 12 have graduated with PhDs (1 female and 11 male), 35 with Masters (12 female and 23 male), and 284 with BSc (79 female and 205 male).
During the course of the 74th graduation ceremony, a total of 12,913 graduands will receive degrees and diplomas of Makerere University. Of these, a total of 132 students will graduate with PhDs, 1,585 with Masters degrees, 11,016 with Bachelor’s degrees, 156 with postgraduate diplomas, and 24 with undergraduate diplomas. 53% of the graduands are female and 47% are male. In the category of PhD graduands, 46 are female and 86 are male. In the category of students graduating with Master’s degrees, 699 are female and 886 are male.
Remarks by the Vice Chancellor
In his remarks, the Acting Chancellor, also Vice Chancellor of Makerere University, Prof. Barnabas Nawangwe applauded the Government of Uganda, parents, guardians, sponsors, and development partners for the enormous financial and moral support provided to the graduands.
Status of research and innovations at Makerere
Commenting on the status of research and innovations at Makerere, the Vice Chancellor noted that as a result of the various partnerships forged over time, the University’s research output in terms of innovations and publications had tremendously increased.
Vice Chancellor’s Research Excellence Award
Through his inaugural Makerere University Vice Chancellor’s Research Excellence Awards, in recognition of outstanding performers in research and publication, the Vice Chancellor presented plaques and certificates of recognition to the best five researchers from each of the 10 colleges. Based on the highest number of publications between the year 2017 and 2023 according to the Scopus database, Prof. Moses Robert Kamya and Prof. Rhoda Wanyenze from the College of Health Sciences emerged the best overall male and female researchers. Prof. Moses Robert Kamya has 271 publications and Prof. Rhoda Wanyenze has 153 publications in the aforementioned period.
The five members of staff at CoNAS recognized for their research excellence included; Prof. Charles Masembe form the Department of Zoology, Entomology and Fisheries Sciences; Prof. Godwin Kakuba and Prof. John Mango Magero from the Department of Mathematics; Dr Godwin Anywar from the Department of Plant Sciences, Microbiology and Biotechnology; as well as Prof. Robert Byamukama and Dr Patrick Sebugere from the Department of Chemistry.
Speaking about the awards, the Vice Chancellor urged members of staff to continue conducting research on national development priorities as well as matters of global interest. “I also implore you to continue publishing your work in high-impact journals so as contribute to our drive to become a research-led university. Needless to say, the research should lead to patents, copyrights and trademarks, and tangible innovations in the form of products, policy briefs, manuals and others.”
Transforming Makerere into a research-led University
On the aspirations to transform Makerere into a research-led University as stipulated in the 2020/2030 Strategic Plan, the Vice Chancellor noted that with funding from the Government of Uganda through the Makerere University Research and Innovations Fund (Mak-RIF), the University was supporting PhD research ideas that generate knowledge that addresses national development priorities. “Additionally, through the same fund, we are supporting the commercialization of projects that have demonstrated the potential for scaling up. These commercialization efforts have been complemented by our partners including the UNDP who have supported the establishment of state-of-the-art Innovation Pod, the first of 13such pods to be established across Africa. The Pod will facilitate students to apply design thinking to solve societal problems and will offer collaborative working spaces to enable students create business ideas as well as host community and collaboration building events.”
Appreciation to Government
The Vice Chancellor appreciated the Government of Uganda for its continued support to Makerere University. “It would not be possible for Makerere University to realise all these achievements had it not been for the unwavering support of our Visitor, our Minister, Parliament and the entire Government. I wish to convey our appreciation to H.E. the President and the entire Government for the continued support to Makerere University, especially the support to staff welfare and the Research and Innovation Fund. We once again pledge our commitment to serving our country with maximum dedication through training of highly skilled human resource, research for development and support to Government programmes including the Parish Development Model and measures aimed at achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.”
He also appreciated all stakeholders who are providing scholarships to enable bright, but economically disadvantaged students to attain education at Makerere and to support research and innovation. These include: Makerere University Council through the Female Scholarship Foundation, the Madhvani Foundation, the Government of Uganda through the Higher Education Students Financing Board, Sida of Sweden, the Embassy of China, the Chinese Chamber of Commerce, Government Ministries, State House, NORAD, Gerda Henkel Foundation, Mellon Foundation, USAID, NIH, Melinda and Bill Gates Foundation, Centre for Disease Control, ARUA, RUFORUM, IUCEA and many others.
Makerere University Transcripts and Certificates
The Vice Chancellor noted that the University had come up with measures aimed at making the issuance of academic transcripts and certificates very fast and convenient by shortening the clearance process. “With the support of the University Council and Senate, the Department of the Academic Registrar, the Directorate of ICT Support Services, and the leadership at the Colleges, the academic transcripts for students graduating during the 74th graduation ceremony were printed before graduation. The academic transcripts are ready and they are due for issuance to graduands who have satisfied the academic and financial obligations. I therefore urge all our graduands to pick their transcripts from their respective colleges at the end of this graduation ceremony.”
Advice to the students
The Vice Chancellor cautioned the graduands against indiscipline noting that success only comes with discipline and hard work. “With regard to our efforts to continue improving student discipline, I appreciate the First Lady and Hon. Minister of Education and Sports, Hon. Janet Kataaha Museveni for coming up with a programme – the Emerging Leaders Program (ELP) aimed at building a critical mass of the next generation of leaders through character building and formation.
Remarks by the Minister of Education and Sports
In her remarks presented by the State Minister for Higher Education, Hon. J.C. Muyingo, the Minister of Education and Sports, Hon. Janet Kataaha Museveni congratulated the graduands upon the milestone, and faculty for their unwavering commitment to academic excellence. “The Government of Uganda and the Ministry of Education and Sports are prioritizing the youth because you are very central in the transformation of Uganda. I am glad that the students and youth I am addressing during this 74th graduation ceremony of Makerere University have acquired the academic knowledge and skills, which set the pace for you to come up with ideas that can be turned into business ventures and entrepreneurship sites.”
Natural Sciences
Makerere Department of Mathematics, Industry Partners Explore Strategies to Strengthen Collaboration in Addressing Societal Challenges
The Department of Mathematics at Makerere University recently hosted a three-day workshop aimed at enhancing the contribution of mathematics to sustainable development, with a particular focus on strengthening academia-industry collaboration and advancing regional integration.
Held at the Senate Building, the workshop brought together academics, researchers, and industry practitioners from Uganda and across the East African region to discuss how mathematics can be more effectively applied to address pressing societal challenges.
The workshop formed part of the activities of the Africa-Europe Cluster of Research Excellence in Mathematics (CoRE-MATH) initiative, implemented in collaboration with the NORHED II project, Mathematics for Sustainable Development (Math4SDG). The programme seeks to establish sustainable structures and platforms for Academia-Industry-Society collaboration in applications-oriented mathematics and data science through Mathematics in Industry Contact Workshops (MICW) and Mathematics in Industry Study Groups (MISG).
Addressing the Academia–Industry Gap
Despite significant growth in mathematical research across East Africa in recent years, its impact on industry and broader societal development remains limited. This gap is largely driven by weak knowledge transfer mechanisms and a lack of structured collaboration between academia and industry.
The workshop was designed as a “contact forum” to foster direct engagement between researchers and industry representatives, with the aim of identifying practical challenges that can be addressed through mathematical modelling, data science, and computational techniques.
Specific Objectives
- Foster academia-industry collaboration
- Promote applied and industrial mathematics in society
- Support research and innovation
- Strengthen regional and interdisciplinary networks
Coordination and Leadership
The CoRE-MATH (Africa–Europe Cluster of Research Excellence in Mathematics) is co-led by Prof. John Mango Magero (Makerere University) and Prof. Bengt Ove Turesson (International Science Programme / Uppsala University, Sweden). They Coordinate the cluster’s activities across African and European partner universities.
The workshop was coordinated by Prof. John Mango Magero and Dr. Alex Behakanira, Senior Lecturer at the Department of Mathematics and member of the academic network contributing to capacity building and collaborative research activities in the CoRE-MATH initiative.
Expert Insights on the Role of Mathematics in Real-World Challenges
A key highlight of the workshop was a series of technical presentations demonstrating the wide-ranging relevance of mathematical sciences in addressing real-world challenges across health, urban development, energy, finance, agriculture, and environmental systems. The presentations reinforced the workshop’s overarching goal of strengthening academia-industry collaboration through applied research and innovation.
European technical expert, Prof. Matti Heilio, set the tone with a keynote address on the global evolution of industrial mathematics. He outlined how structured partnerships between universities and industry have historically driven innovation and economic transformation in advanced economies, and emphasized the importance of building similar ecosystems to support Uganda’s research and innovation agenda.
In her presentation, Dr. Rebecca Nsubuga, Visiting Professor at Hasselt University, Belgium, shared insights on the growing role of mathematical methods in medical research and clinical decision-making. Similarly, Dr. Irumba Richard, former Director of Physical Planning at Kampala Capital City Authority, demonstrated how mathematical modelling can inform sustainable urban planning in rapidly growing cities such as Kampala. His presentation highlighted the importance of data-driven planning tools in managing urban expansion and infrastructure pressures.
Focusing on aquaculture, Dr. Kubiriza Kawooya Godfrey, Head of the Department of Zoology, Entomology and Fisheries Sciences at Makerere University explained how investment and production decisions are fundamentally grounded in mathematical reasoning. He emphasized the need for robust modelling of biological and economic variables to enhance productivity, efficiency, and decision-making in the sector.
Dr. Dennis Ndanguza from the University of Rwanda presented mathematical models supporting the extraction of methane from Lake Kivu, illustrating how applied mathematics can contribute to sustainable energy development and improved resource management.
From the financial sector, Mr. Grace Semakula of Stanbic Bank Group highlighted the growing importance of mathematical sciences in enhancing financial decision-making, risk assessment, and long-term investment planning. From the healthcare sector, Dr. Iddi Ndyabawe presented on retinopathy of prematurity in Uganda, showing how quantitative approaches can improve early diagnosis, guide clinical interventions, and ultimately enhance treatment outcomes for vulnerable neonatal populations.
Towards Sustainable Collaboration
The workshop concluded with a shared commitment to sustained engagement between universities and industry, aimed at ensuring that mathematical research contributes more directly to economic development and societal needs.
Participants recommended the establishment of structured follow-up activities, including future Mathematics in Industry Study Groups, where selected industrial challenges will be further explored through joint academic–industry research teams.
About the CoRE-MATH Initiative
The CoRE-MATH (Cluster of Research Excellence in Mathematics) Initiative is an Africa-Europe collaborative research programme established in 2024 under the partnership of the African Research Universities Alliance (ARUA) and The Guild of European Research-Intensive Universities.
The initiative seeks to strengthen mathematics research, postgraduate education, and academic collaboration between African and European universities. Its core objectives include building research capacity in African institutions, enhancing the quality and volume of joint mathematical research, supporting doctoral training, and promoting the participation of women in mathematics. It also aims to apply mathematical knowledge to address social, economic, and developmental challenges across Africa.
The initiative brings together leading universities from both continents. African partner institutions include Makerere University, the University of Nairobi, the University of Rwanda, the University of Dar es Salaam, Addis Ababa University, the University of Zambia, and Stellenbosch University. These institutions collaborate with European universities such as Uppsala University, the University of Amsterdam, and the University of Oslo.
Through joint research projects, academic exchanges, workshops, conferences, and collaborative PhD programmes, CoRE-MATH fosters knowledge sharing and strengthens international research networks. In Uganda, Makerere University plays a central role in advancing mathematical sciences and developing highly skilled researchers for the region.
Pictorial of the workshop: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1if6y8bYPOt8vW6Tm6k50Wspg0XFibl02?usp=sharing
Natural Sciences
Change of Guard: Prof. Michael Owor Hands Over Office of Dean, School of Physical Sciences to Prof. David Ssevviiri
Prof. Michael Owor has officially handed over the office of Dean, School of Physical Sciences to Prof. David Ssevviiri. Prof. Owor has served as Dean since 1st February 2022. Following his appointment by the University Council, Prof. Ssevviiri will serve as Dean for the next four years, effective 6th May 2026.
Handover Ceremony
Held on 28th May 2026 in the office of the Dean, the handover ceremony was overseen by Makerere University Chief of Internal Audit, Mr. Patrick Akonyet. It was attended by the Deputy Principal of the College of Natural Sciences (CoNAS), Prof. Juma Kasozi; the Head of the Department of Chemistry, Dr Emmanuel Tebandeke; the representative of the Head of the Department of Physics, Dr. Nicholas Kwarikunda; the representative of the Head of the Department of Geology and Petroleum Studies, Dr Denis Mutebi; the College Human Resource Officer, Ms. Kevin Nabiryo Mikwano; and the College and School Registrars.
Remarks from the College leadership
On behalf of the College leadership, Prof. Juma Kasozi commended Prof. Owor for his dedicated service and leadership throughout his tenure and congratulated Prof. Ssevviiri upon his appointment, wishing him success in his new role.
Achievements and remarks by the outgoing Dean
During his tenure, Prof. Owor chaired the School Academic Board and several key committees, including the Establishment and Appointments Committee, the Examination Malpractices Committee, and the Irregularities and Appeals Committee. He also presided over MSc viva voce examinations and PhD public defenses. Under his leadership, he ensured the timely submission of results, eliminated academic backlogs, and strengthened the coordination of graduate examinations, while also supporting the development and review of academic programmes. He has also served as the Patron of the CoNAS Students’ Guild.
In his remarks, Prof. Owor expressed gratitude to the University Council and Management for the opportunity accorded to him to serve as Dean. He also thanked the College leadership and staff for their support and reaffirmed his commitment to continue serving the University.
“I want to thank the University Management through the Chief Human Resource Officer for appointing me as dean, School of Physical Sciences for the last four years. I pledge my total support to the incoming Dean of the School. I also pledge to continue offering my services to the University through my mother Department, Geology and Petroleum Studies.”
Remarks from the Directorate of Human Resources
Representing the Directorate of Human Resources (DHR), Ms. Kevin Nabiryo Mikwano commended Prof. Owor for his leadership and contributions during his tenure.
“You have steered the school through curriculum reforms, staff development, student growth, and your commitment to both staff and students has not gone unnoticed. The foundation you have laid will continue to support the school’s progress. Thank you for your partnership with the Directorate of Human Resources in ensuring staff welfare, recruitment, and performance processes were handled with integrity and care.”
She also congratulated Prof. Ssevviiri on his appointment, expressing confidence in his leadership and vision. She reaffirmed the Directorate’s readiness to support him in team building, talent management, and fostering a positive working environment for academic, administrative, and support staff. She further encouraged staff to maintain strong collaboration with the incoming Dean, emphasizing: “The success of the school depends on how well we work together. At the DHR, our commitment is to ensure that policies, processes, and people management practices support the school’s academic mission. May this handover mark the beginning of another strong chapter for the School of Physical Sciences.”
Guidance on the officially recognized Government handover procedure
The Chief of Internal Audit, Mr. Patrick Akonyet, commended both the outgoing and incoming Deans and emphasized adherence to the Government of Uganda handover and taking of office procedures. He noted that strict compliance with established guidelines is essential for accountability, transparency, institutional continuity, and smooth transition of responsibilities.
Remarks by the incoming Dean
In his remarks, Prof. David Ssevviiri thanked Prof. Owor for his service and appreciated the University Management for his appointment. He emphasized the importance of the School of Physical Sciences in advancing science and innovation. “We have a responsibility of nurturing our students into innovative problem solvers. The future of Science depends on how well we prepare our students. Building on the successes of my predecessors, and working collaboratively through our Departments, we can further contribute to solving real world challenges.
Profile of Prof. David Ssevviiri
Prof. David Ssevviiri is a Ugandan mathematician and academic leader serving as an Associate Professor of Mathematics at Makerere University, College of Natural Sciences. He is widely recognized for his work in pure mathematics, particularly in algebra, module theory, ring theory, algebraic geometry, and local cohomology.
He holds a Bachelor of Science with Education in Mathematics and Chemistry from Makerere University, as well as a Master of Science in Mathematics from the same institution. He also obtained an additional MSc and a PhD in Mathematics from Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (now Nelson Mandela University), South Africa. His doctoral research, A Contribution to the Theory of Prime Modules, focused on advanced module theory and algebra.
Prof. Ssevviiri joined Makerere University in 2011 as an Assistant Lecturer and rose to the rank of Associate Professor in 2022. He previously served as Head of the Department of Mathematics from 2015 to 2020, where he contributed to strengthening teaching, research collaboration, and postgraduate training.
His research interests include primeness and nilpotency in ring and module theory, torsion theory, radical theory, homological algebra, and the interaction between algebra and algebraic geometry. He has authored and co-authored several peer-reviewed publications in international journals, contributing significantly to advancements in abstract algebra.
Beyond teaching and research, he has contributed to mathematics development in East Africa through student supervision, external examining, and coordination of regional academic programs. He has also participated in initiatives aimed at promoting mathematics education and encouraging young people to pursue careers in science and technology.
Pictorial of the ceremony: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1pmWX5H46UHbFkTT-I4OIJwFbXIwuO6e1?usp=sharing
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