General
Graduate Forum Concludes with Calls to Embrace Feedback, Publication & Protect IP
The two-day Annual Forum for Graduate Research and Policy dialogue concluded on Friday 26th April 2024 with the Directorate for Research and Graduate Training (DRGT) calling on PhD candidates to embrace the feedback received from peers and mentors as well as seek avenues of identifying and protecting any Intellectual Property (IP) arising out of their work. The Director DRGT, Prof. Edward Bbaale particularly reminded candidates that whereas their papers had been subject to single-blind peer review and passed, additional feedback should always be expected in an academic environment. The Deputy Director DRGT, Prof. Robert Wamala on the other hand called upon candidates to visit the Intellectual Property Management Office (IPMO) to receive insights on aspects of their research, innovations and services that are unique and ought to be protected.
Day two of the forum was officially opened by the Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academic Affairs), Prof. Umar Kakumba, who was represented by the Academic Registrar, Prof. Buyinza Mukadasi. The DVCAA in his remarks reminded PhD fellows that their research will be of ultimate benefit to society when it transcends the initial objective of generating new knowledge, to translation into effective technologies, innovations and strategies that can be appropriately delivered to beneficiaries.
“It is therefore gratifying that this convention has helped to establish a supportive community of doctoral students and promote social and intellectual interactions among students and researchers from academia, industry and government” he appreciated.
Prof. Buyinza further highlighted that the current drive by Ugandan Universities to transition into centres of excellence in graduate training will be facilitated by training of high-calibre staff and enabling the development of new PhD curricula. Makerere University in particular, he noted, is currently developing Taught PhD curricula in most disciplines as a way of tapping into crosscutting knowledge that empowers graduates to tackle today’s multifaceted challenges.
He nevertheless urged PhD fellows on the current curricula to embrace the philosophy of interconnectivity by attending research dissemination outside their disciplines and incorporating those insights that help their research address the bigger picture.
Prior to this, the Chairperson of the Annual Forum’s Organising Committee and Deputy Director DRGT, Prof. Julius Kikooma had painted a picture of what had transpired on day one. He started off by thanking Hon. Dr. John C. Muyingo for presiding over the opening ceremony, where he launched the Research Information Management System (RIMS) as well as the Vice Chancellor for delivering an impromptu keynote address, which demonstrated his passion for research and the power that it’s commercialisation holds for driving industrialisation that can propel Uganda’s and Africa’s development aspirations.
Prof. Kikooma further highlighted that papers presented on day one each highlighted the importance of research as an awareness raising tool that can foster implementation of innovations that impact various spheres of societal well-being. Researchers on Day one nevertheless admitted that a lot of their findings never make it to the implementation stage, hence the need for research uptake strategies.
“Noteworthy were calls for multidisciplinary research teams, which were reechoed as a catalyst for championing a broader understanding of the different issues that may impact development, and foster reception and implementation by policymakers at both local and international levels” continued Prof. Kikooma.
The papers he highlighted equally took note of; increasing minority groups and marginalised persons albeit no interventions in sight, the need to close the knowledge gap in different interventions across numerous development sectors, financing for capacity building and interventions so as to create meaningful and lasting impact of interventions, and the need for more bankable data to foster decision making and policy formulation in areas such as health, environment and energy.
Highlights by Prof. Kikooma further took note of; the resourcefulness of community engagement and collaboration in research undertakings as an essential step to foster uptake and use of research findings, as well as socio-cultural biases, attitudes and stereotypes and constraints in the form of resources and technologies that affect scaling up of research efforts.
Prof. Kikooma equally took lead in the reflections on mental health and well-being for graduate students. He addressed the prevalence of mental health problems among graduate students and environmental factors that could actually be the source of these mental health challenges.
“It is crucial that we start more open conversations about mental health and well-being on campuses, to breakdown the stigma, to support students to build up their emotional resilience, and to enable more people to seek support from counseling and mental health services when things get tough” Prof. Kikooma proposed.
Graduate students as architects of knowledge production, pioneers of innovation, and catalysts of progress are an integral part of Makerere’s quest to become a research-led university. This position was reiterated by Prof. Edward Bbale’s remarks, wherein he further emphasized, “we count on you in terms of your dedication, your thirst for discovery, that must shape the future of our university and contribute to the socio-economic transformation of Uganda”.
He called upon PhD candidates to interest themselves keenly in the policies that govern their environment such as the; Intellectual Property Management Policy, Research and Innovations Policy as well as the Intellectual Property Management Office as structures that have been put in place to ensure that their research is well-facilitated.
“Makerere University is very resolute to explore and walk the entire journey along the value chain from research and innovation to commercialisation. In line with this, the Makerere University Innovation Pod was established to package and market research outputs and innovations for impactful adoption within communities” explained Prof. Bbaale.
In addition to emphasis that the Innovation Pod is multidisciplinary and therefore open to innovations from all disciplines, he equally reemphasied the need for staff and students to use the Makerere University Press (Mak Press) to publish their work. Mak Press, Prof. Bbaale noted, is well recognised across the globe and works published therein will receive wide consumption and appreciation.
Addressing the audience, the Managing Editor Mak Press, Dr. William Tayeebwa clarified that all scholars at Makerere University have the privilege of having their works published free of charge by his unit, and better still, are eligible to receive 20% of the proceeds from the sales of their publications. To practically illustrate the opportunity at hand, Dr. Tayeebwa admitted that paper presentations from the two-day forum were good candidates for compilation into a book that can be published by Mak Press.
He revealed that talks with College Principals had addressed the need to support Graduate Students to publish their work in college-based journals. “The commitment we want to make as Makerere University Press under the Directorate of Research and Graduate Training is to continue this conversation with College Principals, especially to have special issues dedicated to PhD student work.”
The President PhD Fellows at Makerere University (Pf@Mak), Ms. Clare Cheromoi not only thanked Mak Press, DRGT and the University Management for putting in place a supportive environment for the students to thrive but like the proverbial Oliver Twist, also asked for more. She called upon PhD candidates to not only consider university-wide events such as the Annual Forum as a marketplace for their powerful ideas but also an avenue to build lasting relationships.
“I thank you and welcome you all to our training on policy briefs that will be held on Wednesday 1st May 2024,” added the President to the PhD community.
Prof. Bbaale concluded the day’s remarks by inviting the President and Executive Committee of Pf@Mak to consider making the Annual Forum a Bi-annual event so as to grant even more PhD candidates the opportunity to present their work.
“As the Directorate, we are committed to enhancing such meetings and interactions and we are very grateful that the University Central Management and Vice Chancellor is very passionate, and we received their utmost support financially and otherwise” he added.
Prof. Bbaale paid tribute to his predecessor and Principal Investigator RIMS, Prof. Buyinza Mukadasi for ensuring that his idea saw the light of day. He reassured PhD candidates that they would receive priority in the implementation of RIMS, so as to make their journey even smoother.
He thanked the Annual Forum and Policy Dialogue’s Organising Committee led by Prof. Julius Kikooma for a job well done in organising the inaugural event, and tasked them to aim higher so as to make future events bigger. He singled out the contribution of the Forum’s moderator, the Principal Public Relations Officer, Ms. Ritah Namisango for seamlessly steering the event, and the Media and ICT Teams for ensuring that the research findings shared at the Forum made their way to virtual audiences both in real-time and subsequent news broadcasts.
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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