Kampala, 01 August, 2024- The Regional Universities Forum for capacity building in Agriculture (RUFORUM) aiming to transform agriculture in Africa through innovative scientific research, educational and training approaches will host its second Triennial Conference from 12 to 16 August 2024 in Windhoek, Namibia. Hosted by the Government of Namibia and RUFORUM member Universities in Namibia, the Triennial Conference will take place 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.
His Excellency Nangolo Mbumba, the President of the Republic of Namibia will officially open the Conference that is anticipated to be attended by over 1000 delegates, including Ministers of Agriculture and Education and their respective Permanent Secretaries, Vice Chancellors, Principals and Deans, partners and Heads of development institutions, private sector leaders, farmers and farmer representatives, emerging and early career researchers and young entrepreneurs from especially Namibia and other Southern African countries.
The opening ceremony will also mark the kickstart of the second phase of “Transforming African Agricultural Universities to meaningfully contribute to Africa’s growth and development” (TAGDev 2.0), a program that seeks to strengthen universities and Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) to drive inclusive, equitable and climate resilient transformation of agriculture and agrifood systems through experiential learning, skilling and empowering of Africa’s young people.
Representatives from universities, private sector actors and young entrepreneurs shall have the opportunity to showcase their innovations, products and services through an exhibition while networking and brokering partnerships at institutional, regional and global levels. RUFORUM shall recognise model farmers in Namibia and young scientists from southern Africa as part of supporting agricultural practices and advancement of excellence in research and higher education for the development of Africa.
“We must harness our collective knowledge as scientists to generate solutions that will underpin the growth of Africa. And for agriculture, this is important given the existential threats that we face as a continent”-Prof. Patrick Okori, Executive Secretary, RUFORUM
A number of pre-Triennial Conference events will take place, including the post-doctoral fellows’ trainings, targeted skills enhancement trainings focusing on entrepreneurship competency, scientific data management, social media and communication among others. The Windhoek Triennial Conference comes after a successful inaugural one hosted in Cotonou, Benin in 2021.
Participants taking part in the second RUFORUM Triennial Conference, physically or remotely, are encouraged to register online. Detailed information on registration, including fees and deadlines, can be found on the official Conference website https://www.ruforum.org/Triennial2024/.
Additionally, attendees are advised to apply for their visas online as soon as possible to ensure timely processing. Visit https://eservices.mhaiss.gov.na/ for more information
Notes to Editors:
About RUFORUM: The Regional Universities Forum for Capacity Building in Agriculture (RUFORUM), is a consortium of 170 African universities operating in 40 countries on the continent with a mission to ‘strengthen the capacities of Universities to foster innovations responsive to demands of smallholder farmers through the training of high quality researchers, the output of impact oriented research and the maintenance of collaborative working relations among researchers, farmers, national agricultural research institutions’. RUFORUM was established by Vice Chancellors in 2004 with a Secretariat hosted at Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda. In 2014 RUFORUM signed an MoU with the African Union Commission to support implementation of the Science, Technology and Innovation Strategy for Africa (STISA 2024) Priority One on reducing poverty and ensuring food and nutrition security. RUFORUM has supported the training of 2053 MSc, 627 PhD graduates and 229 BSc, of whom 98% work in their countries or region, the generation of over 300 agricultural technologies and mobilized over US$236.3 million for strengthening postgraduate education in Africa. Please visit www.ruforum.org for more information.
For additional information, please send an email to communications@ruforum.org triennial@ruforum.org
Participate in the 2nd RUFORUM Triennial Conference 2024
Please visit our conference website for detailed information about the program and speakers. We look forward to your active participation at the RUFORUM second Triennial! Kind regards, RUFORUM Triennial Communication Team
72 undergraduate students of Makerere University have successfully been admitted to the Millennium Fellowship Class of 2026, an initiative of the Millennium Campus Network (MCN) and United Nations Academic Impact. Makerere’s Fellows were selected from a record-breaking 76,000 applicants from over 6,000 campuses across 174 countries to participate in the ambitious programme.
According to the Fellowship website, the programme aims to make the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and UN Academic Impact Principles a reality on campuses, in classrooms and throughout communities. Millennium Fellows are university undergraduates selected for their leadership on sustainable development projects in their communities. As Fellows, they complete a semester-long leadership development programme that strengthens their student organizing, partnership-building and community-impact skills.
In his congratulatory message to the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Barnabas Nawangwe, Sam Vaghar the Executive Director, MCN shared that Over 330 campuses across 60 nations have been selected to host 2026 Millenium Fellows. “Congratulations to you and Makerere University for having a cohort of Millennium Fellows from your student body again this year!”
Below is a sample of the work of the Class of 2026.
At Harvard University, a UN Academic Impact member institution in the United States of America, Millennium Fellows are expanding OpenDoor, an AI-powered platform that helps people navigate retraining, job opportunities and pathways into high-demand careers. The project grew from their work with people experiencing homelessness and from seeing how difficult workforce programmes can be to navigate even when support exists. Advancing SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth, it expects to reach about 7,500 people during the Fellowship.
At the University of Ilorin, a UN Academic Impact member institution in Nigeria, Millennium Fellows are building what they describe as Africa’s first green AI policy framework, helping policymakers and developers understand how artificial intelligence can advance while reducing energy use, pollution and material waste. Aligned with SDG 13: Climate Action, it expects to reach about 75 people during the Fellowship.
At BRAC University, a UN Academic Impact member institution in Bangladesh, a Millennium Fellow is advancing SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production through a start-up replacing single-use products with environmentally friendly alternatives. Its current focus is a paper pen that uses roughly 90 per cent less plastic than a conventional pen, with a seed built in so it can grow into a plant when properly disposed of. The project expects to reach about 450 people.
At Nicolae Testemițanu State University of Medicine and Pharmacy, a UN Academic Impact member institution in Moldova, a Millennium Fellow is advancing SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being by studying how environmental conditions such as temperature and humidity may affect recovery after brain surgery. By bringing simple digital monitoring tools into postoperative care, the project aims to help doctors make timelier decisions.
We wish our Millennium Fellows an impactful fellowship.
The Office of Academic Registrar, Makerere University has released admission lists of candidates admitted under the Talented Sports Men & Women, Disability and District Quota Schemes with Government sponsorship 2026/27 Academic Year including appeals and remarked cases.
Other admission lists released include A-Level Applicants with Ugandan and those with Foreign Qualifications, Diploma in Performing Arts, Mature-Age Entry and Bachelor of Education (EXTERNAL Batch 2) for the Academic Year 2026/2027 under self sponsorship.
Makerere University‘s position in the July 2026 edition of the Webometrics Rankings has improved from 925th to 776th globally and from 13th to 11th on the Continent, compared to the January 2026 edition. Makerere remains the top-ranked University in Uganda and East Africa.
The new rankings are as a result of improved performance in the Impact Rank, which measures the number of external domains referring/linking to Makerere (from 1,593 to 1,185) and the Excellence Rank, which measures Research papers in the top 10% most cited between 2019 and 2023 (from 1,095 to 715).
Please see the attached screenshots for details or view Makerere‘s rankings online using the link below:
The Webometrics Ranking of World Universities aims to recognize and promote the digital transformation of higher education institutions by evaluating how effectively they reflect their academic, research, and societal contributions online.
We remain committed to ensuring that all our good work in teaching and learning, research, knowledge transfer, and partnerships continues to be reflected online through various journals and other platforms.
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