General
Mak GMD Partners with MSU and MFAI to Build Capacity on Relationship Violence and Sexual Misconduct
In an effort to tackle the ongoing issues of Relationship Violence and Sexual Misconduct (RVSM) in higher education, Makerere University‘s Gender Mainstreaming Directorate, in collaboration with Michigan State University (MSU) and the Michigan Fellows Africa Initiative (MFAI) Uganda, organized a symposium aimed at raising awareness among university staff on how to address sexual harassment and related incidents. The workshop, held on September 10, 2024, at the Makerere University Telepresence Center in the Senate Building, focused on enhancing campus safety and providing increased support for RVSM victims and survivors.
Giving the opening remarks, the Director Makerere University Gender Mainstreaming Directorate Dr. Euzobia Mugisha Baine noted that Makerere University has two major policies related to RVSM; Policy and Regulations Against Sexual Harassment (PRASH) of 2006 as amended in 2018 and the Gender Equality Policy 2009 as amended in 2022. The policies are aimed at coordinating, facilitating and monitoring the integration of Gender dimension into core functions of the university. The Directorate is mandated to supervise the implementation of these policies through policy dissemination across all the university stakeholders, students and staff. This is conducted through orientation of new students, peer-to-peer training, and participating in the national and international campaigns against gender based violence (GBV) such as the ‘Me Too’ Campaign, and the 16 days of Activism against GBV, among others.
She further noted that the Directorate is supported by many University units such as the Directorate of Legal Affairs, the Office of the Vice Chancellor as well as the different college leaders and staff at various levels. These are represented through the Vice Chancellor’s Roster of 100 a committee of members from all colleges and departments of the university. The Members are appointed and trained on how to contribute to ending sexual harassment through various activities such as investigation of complaints and sexual harassment prevention education, in partnership with the Gender Mainstreaming Directorate to fight sexual harassment.
She explained that cases involving staff are forwarded to the Appointments Board, while those involving students to the Students Disciplinary Committee. If a student or staff is not contented with the ruling of either the Appointments Board or Students Disciplinary Committee, he or she has a right to appeal as prescribed in the Policy.
Dr. Mugisha Baine revealed that the Directorate finds challenges with handling cases in the social media era where often details about a given case go public before they reach the Directorate. This negatively affects the investigation process with regard to ensuring confidentiality, which discourages other stakeholders who face sexual harassment to come out and report. Additionally, cases where a survivor or victim is implicated as a bad person often lead to stigmatization. She called upon all stakeholders to make personal commitments to ending sexual harassment in the university and society at large.
Presenting on the RVSM survivor support, prevention and investigation reporting at MSU, the Vice President, Office of the Civil Rights (OCR) Title IX H.E Laura Rugless revealed that her unit is subdivided into different departments. These include; the investigative department, Support and Resolution system and Prevention Education. This facilitates the university’s ability to promote zero tolerance to RVSM including sexual harassment.
She revealed that the Prevention Education method is conducted through; best practice models, community needs, compliance, and empowerment programs that engage people. She added that MSU has a caring for identity system which breaks down stigmas. Through this system, survivors of sexual harassment have people to talk to through a flow of service that includes; survivors, helpers, advocates and therapists.
Laura noted that MSU has a sexual Assault Response Team (SART) which quickly responds to assault cases, thus providing survivor service centers across the university. These include safe spaces, Health Care programs for people with relationship problems among others.
Discussing the different ways MSU handles sexual Harassment, the Executive Director of the Prevention, Outreach and Education Department Ms. Kelly Schweda shared the three stages of; policies and investigations, Prevention Education and survivor support, that serve as a benchmark to address RVSM. MSU conducts sensitization of the RVSM policies to all new students and has a full time strong investigation system which enables fair ruling and also allows external investigators for cases involving high profile figures. She further noted that MSU has a full time prevention and education team making it easy for the sensitization to be conducted with a strong policy against retaliation, and ensures that everyone has access to information about a given case with consent from the people in charge.
Ms. Schweda also noted that MSU offers free training to people who are interested in understanding and navigating the policy of Relation Violence and Sexual Misconduct.
The Chief Guest, Prof. Julius Kikooma, Deputy Director Directorate of Research and Graduate Training at Makerere University appreciated GMD for opening up safe spaces for men to come out and share their challenges and fears on Sexual and Gender Based Violence and other gender-related issues. He noted this has fostered peer learning on ways of ending Sexual Gender Based Violence and Sexual Harassment in University.
Prof. Kikooma admitted that Makerere University still faces challenges on the question of masculinity and requested the Directorate to conduct trainings on the same. He called upon fellow staff members to proactively participate in the sensitization of the university students and staff on the Policy and Regulations against Sexual Harassment.
“There is a big challenge with toxic masculinity, not only within but also outside the university. One of the things that needs to be done is to conduct sessions that entirely interrogate toxic masculinity.” He echoed.
Prof. Kikooma who is also a member of the Makerere University Men’s hub called upon fellow men to learn how to work and support women, noting that everyone is important in the functioning of the university. He decried the act of labelling men as perpetrators all the time, and advocated for both genders work towards creating an environment that is conducive for work and academic excellence.
“When women are not okay, men are also not okay and therefore we need each other. Let’s end the act of blaming men for being the wrong doers all the time and try to adopt measures to create a good working environment for both genders.” Prof. Kikoma said.
The symposium was moderated by the Programs Manager at Michigan Fellows Africa Initiative (MFAI) Ms. Dorcus Asiimwe.
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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