General
Mak, UNAM Renew MoU To Strengthen Collaborative Research
By Maureen Agena and Agaba Issa Mugabo
Makerere University (Mak) and the University of Namibia (UNAM), on 13 August, 2024, renewed their Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to strengthen collaborative academia and industry research.
The two partnering universities are both members of the Regional Universities Forum for Capacity Building in Agriculture (RUFORUM), an organization of 170 universities in 40 countries across Africa hosted by the Government of Uganda at Makerere University.
The signing of the MoU was on the sidelines of the second RUFORUM Triennial Conference taking place from 12-16 August, 2024 in Windhoek, Namibia under the theme “Operationalising Higher Agricultural Education and Research Ecosystems for Innovation, Industrialisation, and Economic Development in Africa: A Call for Action.” The Conference is also a landmark celebration for RUFORUM’s 20th anniversary.
Relatedly, the African Union (AUC) and European Union (EU) have agreed on an EU-Africa strategy within the Global Gateway, which aims to mobilise up to €300 billion in investments through a team Europe approach, bringing together the EU, its member states and their financial and development institutions. It seeks a transformational impact in the digital, climate and energy, transport, health, and education and research sectors. Part of that investment is an allocation of €978 million for intra-Africa mobility, open to all African universities and accessed on competitive basis.
For Universities in Africa, the main objective is to increase skills and qualifications across the African continent while collaborating with universities in Europe. This way, inclusive learning mobility opportunities will be promoted, the quality and relevance of Internationalisation of higher education, especially in Africa will be improved and unemployment among higher education students and trainees will be addressed.
The eligible consortium composition must have a minimum of four and maximum of six Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) from Sub-Saharan Africa with one HEI from one for the EU member states (EU technical partner). Only one HEI in Africa can be lead applicant/coordinator. Other organisations from Africa can participate as Associate Partners. In order to benefit from this, Africa must be represented by at least three of the five regions on the continent. For instance, if a University in Southern Africa applies for the grant, it must do so with one from East Africa, West Africa or North Africa and together must have an EU university. If a university has the capacity to, it must host students from another partner university for academic mobility to be achieved.
Makerere University and the University of Namibia will under this MoU take full advantage of what the project will offer. Each project will receive up to the tune of €1.8 million.
Prof. Barnabas Nawangwe the Vice Chancellor of Makerere University confirmed an already existing collaboration with UNAM on a number of projects with a lot of their staff coming to Makerere University for exchange programs. He stated that Makerere was been instrumental in helping to set up UNAM’s School of Pharmacy with many students from Namibia coming to Makerere for training.
Prof. Nawangwe added that the solutions of Africa will be found within Africa and the work that the universities are going to do together will help move Africa out of poverty.
He signed the MoU in the presence of the Principal of the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences (CAES), Prof. Gorettie N. Nabanoga.
Speaking at the MoU signing ceremony in Windhoek, Namibia, Prof. Kenneth Matengo, the Vice Chancellor of UNAM said that for a long time, universities in Africa have had more research collaborations with universities in Europe and America than with their African counterparts, a position that must now change. “We need to focus on South to South Cooperation within the Context of Africa.”
Partnerships between RUFORUM member universities are envisaged to help strengthen foresight capacity at African universities and other partners and support capacity building in this important area to support planning and future implementation of key programs. Furthermore, they are projected to increase ‘academic mobility schemes’ and strengthens Centres of Excellence to enhance mobility, regional level training, and economies of scope as well as scale.
The Board of the Zambia Research and Education Network (ZAMREN) led by the Chairperson, Prof. Mundia Muya on 14th October 2025 paid a courtesy call on the Vice Chancellor, Makerere University. The Board which is on a two-day exposure visit to the Research and Education Network of Uganda (RENU) was received by the Acting (Ag.) Vice Chancellor and Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academic Affairs), Prof. Sarah Ssali in the Vice Chancellor’s Boardroom.
The Chairperson was accompanied by Mr. Ronald Hatoongo and Mr. Stein Mkandawire, the Board Secretary and CEO of ZAMREN respectively, as well as RENU’s CEO-Mr. Nicholas Mbonimpa and RENUMESH Technologies CEO-Mr. Brian Masiga. In attendance were Mr. Samuel Mugabi-Director DICTS, Prof. Robert Wamala-Director Research, Innovations and Partnerships (DRIP), and Prof. Tonny Oyana-Principal College of Computing and Information Sciences (CoCIS).
Also present were; Prof. Paul Birevu Muyinda-Director Institute of Open, Distance and eLearning (IODeL), Dr. Godfrey Mayende-Deputy Director IODeL, Dr. Michael Walimbwa- College of Education and External Studies (CEES), Dr. Cathy Mbidde- Ag. Manager. Makerere University Innovation Pod, Ms. Eunice Rukundo-Deputy Chief-Public Relations and staff from the Office of the Vice Chancellor.
In her welcome remarks, Prof. Ssali thanked the ZAMREN Board for including the courtesy call on their Kampala itinerary and extended warm greetings from the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Barnabas Nawangwe. She noted that Makerere as a founding member of RENU has enjoyed a mutually beneficial collaboration, that has benefited both staff and students in the form of supporting growing connectivity needs, as well as training, mentorship, and development of technical skills for both continuing students and graduates.
Turning to the gist of the courtesy call, the Acting Vice Chancellor noted that the Makerere University through the Centre for Artificial Intelligence (MAK-AI) seeks to harness the transformative power of AI to address society’s most pressing challenges. “Projects undertaken by our Centre tackle real-world challenges in health, agriculture, languages, and beyond.”
Prof. Ssali nevertheless underscored the importance of upholding ethics in all AI undertakings “Mindful of global trends elsewhere, the work of the Makerere AI Centre is guided by the principles of Responsible AI, ensuring that systems are transparent, accountable, fair, and designed to benefit society.”
She therefore called upon the delegation to thoughtfully engage with the ideas presented during their visit with the aim of collectively exploring both institution can better equip staff and students to meaningfully make the most of this fast-evolving trend.
On behalf of the Board, Prof. Muya who is substantively the Vice Chancellor of the University of Zambia thanked Prof. Ssali and Members of Management present for according his delegation a warm reception to Makerere University, “one of Africa’s most distinguished centres of higher learning.
“Makerere University is not only a symbol of academic excellence but also a beacon of leadership in higher education on the African continent”, remarked Prof. Muya.
The Chairperson equally expressed the delegation’s keenness to understand how AI is being adopted, and how the academia is embracing the technology as an enabler of teaching and research. “At ZAMREN, we view digital transformation and AI integration as critical enablers of academic excellence, efficiency, and competitiveness across higher education institutions,” he remarked, adding that “We therefore look to Makerere University’s experience to draw practical lessons that can inform and inspire our efforts back home.”
Turning to the lessons from Makerere in line with digital transformation and ICT, the Director DICTS shared that owing to the partnership with RENU, internet bandwidth, a vital enabler of AI transformation currently stands at 5 Gbps of monthly consumption, with plans to scale-up to 8 Gbps. He added that RENU has also facilitated Makerere’s access to Open Libraries, and Eduroam – a secure, encrypted Wi-Fi network across to staff and students freely access the internet across partner institutions in Uganda using their University emails.
Furthermore on the enablers of AI integration, Mr. Mugabi noted that in line with digitalization of institutional business process, the University Council took a bold step to develop all information systems in-house, a move that has reduced costs spent on offshore solutions, and hemorrhage of skills. He pointed to the introduction of open source solutions, and AI policy and global collaborations with corporations such as Google as additional enablers.
Addressing AI readiness, Prof. Tonny Oyana pointed out the need for the University of Zambia to start early, citing Makerere efforts which began as far back as 2007, when Dr. John Quinn joined the institution after his PhD. He added that Dr. Quinn together with other former staff from Makerere formed Sunbird AI, a thriving initiative creating practical systems for the benefit of community.
Prof. Oyana also pointed to AI initiatives that have attracted up to USD 5million from Google Awards, staff with specialized skills in the creation and development of sensor technologies, top notch students that win continental and global awards from companies such as Huawei, and active engagements with partners to produce solutions to enhance diagnosis of malaria, tuberculosis and cancer as some of areas that demonstrate Makerere’s AI readiness.
Addressing academic and research innovation, Prof. Robert Wamala pointed out that Makerere, in recognition that the institution cannot achieve its vision alone is intentional about seeking and nurturing mutually beneficial partnerships. Furthermore, he shared that Vice Chancellor’s Annual Research Excellence Awards reward and recognize the efforts of staff who have excelled in publication, teaching and winning grants.
The Director DRIP equally underscored the need for dissemination of research produced by staff and students, pointing out the annual research and innovation week as a flagship event for not only showcasing research but also forging meaningful partnerships with stakeholders. In line with technology transfer, Prof. Wamala said that the University through the Intellectual Property Management Office ensures that innovations developed by staff and students packaged for adoption by other individuals or organisations.
Addressing the use of technologies in academic work, Prof. Birevu noted that IODeL conducts capacity building in instructional design, online facilitation, use of AI in teaching and digital assessments. “We have also advised the University on ODeL and Distance Education strategies, for instance, we have developed a ten-year masterplan for distance education with support from the Korean Government to outline how Makerere University is going to integrate distance education within its offering” he added.
At the close of the deliberations the ZAMREN expressed sincere appreciation to the Ag. Vice Chancellor and Members of Management for the free sharing that pointed out a number of priorities.
Business & Management
PIM Centre Holds 9th Steering Committee Meeting, Set to Benefit from World Bank Support
The Public Investment Management (PIM) Centre of Excellence at Makerere University today, October 10th, 2025, held its 9th Steering Committee Meeting to review progress made in the first quarter of the financial year and plan for the months ahead.
The meeting was chaired by Ms. Getrude Basiima, who represented Mr. Hannington Ashaba, Director Budget at the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development (MoFPED). Ms. Basiima commended the Centre for its continued commitment to strengthening public investment management capacity across government institutions.
In her remarks, Ms. Basiima applauded the Centre for successfully hosting the Public Investment Management Conference held in August at Makerere University. The conference attracted key policymakers, development partners, and academics who deliberated on how to enhance the efficiency, sustainability, and impact of public investments in Uganda.
She further shared exciting news that the Government of Uganda has secured funding from the World Bank to support the public investment management function. The PIM Centre, she announced, will be among the key beneficiaries of these funds — receiving support for the construction and acquisition of a permanent home to enhance its institutional sustainability and training capacity.
Reviewing the Centre’s quarterly performance, Ms. Basiima congratulated the team for successfully conducting three specialized trainings in the first quarter, reaching officials from various Ministries, Departments, and Agencies. These trainings continue to strengthen the technical competencies required for effective project preparation, appraisal, and implementation in line with Uganda’s National Development Plan.
She encouraged the Centre to integrate climate change considerations into its future training programmes, noting that sustainable public investment must now account for environmental resilience and climate adaptation.
The centre team presented the proposed structure/ organogram, the financial performance of 2024/2025, research areas for 2025/2026 and the strategic plan for 2025 – 2030.
The Steering Committee reaffirmed its commitment to supporting the PIM Centre’s vision of becoming a regional leader in building capacity for efficient, transparent, and sustainable public investment management.
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