General
Mak Council Launches Grants Management System, Underscores Support Role
The Makerere University Grants Management System (MakGMS) was on Tuesday 12th March 2024 officially launched by the University Council at a ceremony presided over by the Chairperson, Finance, Planning, Administration and Investment Committee (FPAIC), Mr. Bruce Kabaasa. The hybrid ceremony held in the School of Food Technology, Nutrition and Bioengineering Conference Hall was graced by Members of Management led by the Vice Chancellor Prof. Barnabas Nawangwe, the Leadership and Staff of the Grants Administration and Management Support Unit (GAMSU) as well as Makerere University Research and Innovations Fund (Mak-RIF) and project Principal Investigators.
In his remarks, the Vice Chancellor who credited Chairperson FPAIC with not only conceiving the idea but also following up on the development of MakGMS concluded that there was no one better placed to launch the same. Mr. Kabaasa in turn thanked former members of FPAIC such as Prof. Winston Tumps Ireeta for going the extra mile in contributing to the formulation of the supporting regulation, the Makerere University Grants and Administration Management Policy. In the same breath, he thanked the Head GAMSU, Prof. Sylvia Antonia Nakimera Nannyonga-Tamusuza for working hard and swiftly to ensure that the MakGMS is developed and launched.
Mr. Kabaasa reassured his audience that the essence of the policy and system is not to control, but rather provide an institutionalised support mechanism for those winning grants to execute them efficiently. Additionally, he said MakGMS is meant to “support those who don’t have the grants to understand where the grants are, and to perform mentoring that those of you who are successful are meant to perform with those who are emerging because academia is a mentoring field.”
Still on academia, the Chairperson FPAIC noted that “we live in a University where statements like inter, intra and multidisciplinary are the mantras of academic discourse.” He added that these mantras are not possible if people are not relating, hence underscoring another function of the MakGMS – to provide a dashboard where at a glance, it will be easy and possible to see the research being undertaken at institutional level and how researchers can augment each other’s work.
Earlier, Prof. Nawangwe in his remarks had noted that as Makerere University aims to shift from a research-intensive to a research-led paradigm, it was important to organize and automate the various systems so as to ensure that all staff and students contribute to the university’s strategic direction. Citing China’s continued rise in global influence as a result of a robust research and innovations output, the Vice Chancellor reiterated that unless systems such as MakGMS were put in place, it was going to be hard to monitor and evaluate how Makerere’s research contributes to national and continental growth aspirations.
“MakGMS is one way to streamline what we are doing so that we can do more research, attract more grants, get more people involved and know who is doing what and how it is useful for our country and continent” he stated.
Prof. Nawangwe therefore congratulated the Head GAMSU and her team for bringing the much-needed energy that has propelled the MakGMS to launch stage. He lauded the GAMSU Steering Committee headed by the Acting Deputy Vice Chancellor (Finance and Administration), Prof. Henry Alinaitwe, acknowledging that with their combined strength, the system could not fail. In the same breath, he commended the Directorate for ICT Support (DICTS) headed by Mr. Samuel Mugabi for doing an excellent job in as far as the in-house development of systems is concerned.
Acknowledging that GAMSU is a key unit of the university that cannot be taken for granted in terms of generating data for off-budget reporting, Prof. Henry Alinaitwe introduced members of the Steering Committee namely; the University Secretary-Mr. Yusuf Kiranda, Dr. Sabrina Kitaka, Dr. Charles Masembe, Dr. Agnes Rwashana Semwanga, Dr. Helen Nambalirwa Nkabala, Dr. Godfrey Akileng, Dr. Robert Wamala, Mr. Gyaviira Lubowa and current Head GAMSU-Prof. Sylvia Antonia Nakimera Nannyonga-Tamusuza. He equally acknowledged the contribution of former Heads of GAMSU, Prof. Grace Bantebya and Prof. William Bazeyo, whose efforts, he said, laid the foundation for developments such as MakGMS.
“Makerere is aspiring to be a research-led University and GAMSU is at the centre of that aspiration. This is where we consolidate all the data regarding grants, support research or grant writing, and report about grants in terms of topics, amounts of money received and their distributions per quarter or annum” Prof. Alinaitwe explained.
In his capacity as the University Accounting Officer, Mr. Yusuf Kiranda used the launch as an opportunity to remind the audience that all grants received by the University are subject to the supreme law in the administration of public funds i.e. the Public Finance Management Act, as well as guidelines of the Treasury Instructions 2017. Nevertheless, he noted that Section 44 of the Act provides a waiver for public entities such as Makerere to maintain the funds in-house upon obtaining exemption from the Minister responsible for Finance. He concluded by observing that whereas it had hitherto been nearly impossible to obtain the aforementioned waiver, “with the launch of this system (MakGMS), I believe that problem is resolved.”
The woman of the moment Prof. Nannyonga-Tamusuza couldn’t help but thank the Vice Chancellor for entrusting her with the huge responsibility of heading GAMSU, noting that there was no better way to commemorate her first year in office than the launch of MakGMS. She equally acknowledged the support rendered by the University Secretary and the entire Management to GAMSU during the development of the system. MakGMS was developed in-house by DICTS, with Mr. Denis Wamala as lead developer seconded by the Director Mr. Samuel Mugabi.
Speaking broadly about the research infrastructure at Makerere, Mr. Mugabi described ICT as “a critical enabler of the research ecosystem”, and that it is important that the University establishes state-of-the-art digital research infrastructure. He added that the approach taken by Makerere in this regard is to gradually shift from procuring expensive proprietary systems to building in-house capacity to develop systems that can solve institutional and national problems.
“We are now an integrated process-driven University but we need to become a data-driven institution and that is where the big data analytics comes in. And we need to adopt emerging technologies, which we are starting to do” Mr. Mugabi shared.
Speaking more about the system, Prof. Nannyonga-Tamusuza noted that MakGMS will require authentication using the Makerere University email credentials and all who are going to access the system will be required to sign oaths of confidentiality so as to build trust among system users. MakGMS will also support archiving of supporting documents and research data, and will be able to automatically issue certificates to users for grants received. The system will also integrate automatic communication between GAMSU and Principal Investigators so as to notify researchers on the progress of grant applications. SMS notifications to users will be incorporated in the future.
Supplementing Prof. Nannyonga-Tamusuza’s submission, the Lead Developer, Mr. Denis Wamala shared that MakGMS has been built on robust, scalable infrastructure that is primarily open source. The merits of this is that the system will be easy to integrate with other existing Information Systems, which will greatly enhance data sharing.
Prof. Nannyonga-Tamusuza concluded by reassuring all Principal Investigators that the MakGMS is here to support their work, and that GAMSU remains committed to providing training on grant writing in partnership with the Directorate of Research and Graduate Training (DRGT) as well as providing all supporting documents required during application processes. She added that MakGMS will greatly enhance monitoring and evaluation of grants performance so as to offer insights on how to improve or mitigate any risks that could arise.
Proceedings of the launch were moderated by the Principal Public Relations Officer, Ms. Ritah Namisango and committed to God Almighty through a prayer led by the GAMSU Accountant, Ms. Christine Ninsiima.
Makerere University has officially launched its Strategic Plan 2025-2030, marking a major milestone in its commitment to strengthening research, innovation, and human capital development in line with Uganda’s national development priorities.
The launch brought together senior government officials, university leadership, and development planners, including the Minister of Finance, Planning and Economic Development, Hon. Henry Musasizi, and a representative from the National Planning Authority (NPA), alongside the University Vice Chancellor.
A Vision Anchored in National Transformation
Speaking at the launch, the Vice Chancellor underscored the University’s ambition to significantly expand graduate training and strengthen its contribution to national development. He noted that the institution is targeting a return to pre-COVID enrolment levels and a substantial increase in postgraduate numbers by 2030, with a focus on producing highly skilled graduates, innovators, and researchers.
He emphasized that the Strategic Plan positions the University as a key driver of Uganda’s transformation through knowledge generation, innovation, and entrepreneurship, aligned with national priorities.
“The staffing distribution is shown here. Under the approved establishment, we intended to have 419 Professors, but we currently have only 75. We planned for 473 Associate Professors, but currently have only 144. This clearly demonstrates that we still have considerable room for growth in strengthening our academic staff profile,” the VC said.
The VC appreciated researchers and research centres, that continue to attract substantial research funding. He highlighted the Infectious Diseases Institute (IDI) and the Makerere University Walter Reed Project which attracted approximately US$70 million in international research funding into Uganda.
“When you combine the grants won by all our researchers through competitive international funding, the total exceeds US$200 million,” he said.
In her remarks, the Chairperson of the University Council, Dr. Lorna Magara, described the Strategic Plan as more than an institutional roadmap, calling it “a public covenant with the people of Uganda.”
She noted that the Plan marks “the launch of Makerere University’s next chapter,” adding that decisions taken over the next five years will shape not only the future of the institution, but also Uganda’s development trajectory through graduates, research, innovations, and leadership.
Dr. Magara emphasized Makerere’s unique national role as Uganda’s premier public university, entrusted with public resources and public confidence.
“Every investment made in Makerere must produce measurable value for the people of Uganda,” she said, underscoring the need for accountability, integrity, and impact.
Ambitious Targets for Transformation
The Council Chairperson and the Vice chancellor outlined bold performance targets under the Strategic Plan, including doubling postgraduate enrolment, increasing STEM enrolment from 30% to 55%, improving PhD completion rates from 10% to 35%, and more than doubling peer-reviewed research output, alongside a significant rise in patents and innovations.
Dr. Magara stressed that these targets are not aspirations alone but binding commitments against which institutional performance will be measured.
“Ambition is precisely what this moment demands. A strategic plan is not measured by the elegance of its language, but by the lives it transforms,” she said.
Call for Stronger Governance and Legal Reform
Dr. Magara also highlighted the need for reform of the Universities and Other Tertiary Institutions Act, Cap. 262, noting that the current legal framework has not kept pace with the evolving realities of university governance and innovation.
She called on Government and Parliament to support a timely review of the Act to enable universities to better optimise knowledge systems, productive assets, and innovation capacity in support of national development.
Government Endorsement and Strategic Alignment
Hon. Henry Musasizi commended the University for developing a forward-looking Strategic Plan aligned with Uganda’s Vision 2040 and the Fourth National Development Plan (NDP IV), which serves as the foundation for the country’s Tenfold Growth Strategy.
He explained that Uganda’s ambition to grow its economy from about USD 50 billion to USD 500 billion requires accelerated growth driven by productivity gains, innovation, and strong human capital development.
“Universities are central actors in national transformation. They are engines of knowledge creation, innovation, and human capital development,” he said.
The Minister stressed that government priorities include strengthening research, promoting industrialization, and ensuring that knowledge generated in universities is translated into practical solutions that support economic growth. He further highlighted the importance of accountability, efficiency, and value for money in public investments in higher education.
Universities as Drivers of the Tenfold Growth Strategy
In his presentation, the Senior Planner at the National Planning Authority, Samuel Kasule, emphasized that the Strategic Plan is firmly anchored in Uganda’s comprehensive development framework under Vision 2040 and NDP IV.
He noted that the Tenfold Growth Strategy seeks to accelerate Uganda’s economic growth into double-digit territory, enabling the country to achieve structural transformation and reach upper middle-income status.
Kasule underscored that universities play a critical role in this transformation through labour productivity, research, and innovation. He pointed out that priority sectors such as agriculture, tourism, minerals, oil and gas, and ICT depend heavily on skilled graduates and strong research ecosystems.
He also highlighted the importance of competency-based education, alignment of academic programmes with national human resource needs, and strengthening postgraduate training and research outputs.
A Shared Commitment to Transformation
Across all speeches, a strong message emerged: universities are central to Uganda’s development agenda and must evolve into research-intensive institutions that directly contribute to economic transformation.
The Strategic Plan 2025-2030 was widely commended for its focus on innovation, industry collaboration, digital transformation, and the commercialization of research outputs.
Government leaders reaffirmed continued support for higher education institutions through research funding, innovation ecosystems, and strengthened university–industry partnerships.
Conclusion
The launch of the Strategic Plan 2030 signals a renewed commitment to positioning the University as a key partner in Uganda’s development journey. With strong alignment to national priorities, the Plan is expected to accelerate research, innovation, and skills development necessary for achieving Uganda’s long-term economic ambitions. The Strategic Plan may be accessed at: https://mak.ac.ug/about/strategic-plan
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