MakSPH Dean Prof. Rhoda Wanyenze, Dr. Florah Karimi, CARTA Program Manager for Institutionalization, and Dr. J.B. Isunju (Center) pose for a group photo with CARTA Fellows and 20 members of 11th Cohort on 3rd March 2025 in Kampala.
On Monday, March 3, 2025, Makerere University hosted the launch of the 11th cohort of the Consortium for Advanced Research Training in Africa (CARTA) doctoral fellowship. The new cohort comprises 11 females and nine males, drawn from eight partner universities across nine African countries. For the next four years, the group will undergo advanced training through the consortium’s collaborative efforts to strengthen research capacity across the continent.
CARTA, formed in 2008, is a network of eight African partner universities, four research institutes, and eight international collaborators, dedicated to strengthening doctoral training and institutional research capacity in Africa. The consortium is co-led by the African Population and Health Research Center (APHRC), based in Nairobi, Kenya, and the University of Witwatersrand in South Africa. Makerere University is a key partner, leading the consortium’s The Emerging and Re-emerging Infectious Diseases (TERID) East Africa Research Hub.
Among its key interventions, the consortium facilitates targeted and structured training and mentorship aimed at strengthening university-wide research systems. One such initiative is the doctoral fellowship programme’s Joint Advanced Seminars (JAS) started in 2011. JAS is a sequence of four annual seminars designed to support doctoral students registered in different CARTA partner institutions to progress seamlessly through their PhD journeys.
At the center, MakSPH Dean Prof. Rhoda Wanyenze speaks with Dr. Florah Karimi, CARTA Program Manager for Institutionalization, during the launch of the 11th Cohort of CARTA doctoral fellowship at Makerere University on March 3, 2025. To the left is CARTA Board Member Dr. JB Isunju, alongside Facilitator and CARTA Alumnus Dr. Andrew Tamale.
Now, since its inception over a decade ago, the consortium has supported many early career researchers across its partner institutions in Africa, admitting at least 265 doctoral Fellows and graduating over 183 of them. In turn, the Fellows have gone on to contribute to over 4,000 peer-reviewed research publications and secured more than $43 million in research grant awards, applying the skills gained through the intensive CARTA four-year programme.
Of the 183 CARTA graduates, Makerere University has had its fair share, with 25 PhD graduates supported through the consortium. One of them, Dr. Kato Charles Drago of the 3rd CARTA doctoral fellowship cohort who completed his PhD in clinical immunology and molecular genetics at Makerere University in 2016, is currently a Lecturer and Head, Department of Biotechnical and Diagnostic Sciences, and the Principal Investigator for the TERID Research Hub at Makerere University, where he is leading the efforts to improve disease diagnosis, treatment, and research capacity development within the region.
The ongoing Joint Advanced Seminar One (JAS 1) for the 11th cohort of the CARTA doctoral fellowship, launched last week at Makerere University School of Public Health’s (MakSPH) Resilient Africa Network in Kololo, Kampala, Uganda, runs for three weeks until March 21. Dr. John Bosco Isunju, CARTA Board member and institutional focal person at Makerere University noted that JAS 1 is designed to build critical thinking, technical skills, and core research competencies, critical for exposing the Fellows to key theories, seminal readings, and interdisciplinary research methods to interrogate public and population health.
“For our Fellows, you are joining the best consortium on the continent, to give you the best skills and make you change agents in your institutions. That is really CARTA’s vision. To create a critical mass that will go back and transform the situation in your institutions. What you are going to get here is the skills to write grants and attract resources, and skills to network and make partnerships. The first partners are the colleagues you have around you,” Dr Isunju said.
Dr. JB Isunju addressing the Fellows during the opening of JAS 1 for the 11th Cohort. 3rd March 2025.
He revealed that the emergence of COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the 10th cohort, whose JAS 1 training was prematurely concluded in 2020. Since then, no new cohort of CARTA doctoral fellows had been admitted until now. “It has been a long struggle, but thanks to our dedicated partners worldwide who recognize the need and the gap, we are finally here,” Isunju shared.
The current 11th cohort was possible with support from the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) and the Oak Foundation (OAK), selected from a competitive pool of more than 150 eligible applicants from CARTA partner institutions.
Notably, for the first time, the consortium is having two PhD Fellows coming from Somali National University (SNU), that is: Ms. Amina Hassan Husien and Mr. Gallad Dahir Hassan. The two students will be hosted at Makerere University for their doctoral studies, to aid with capacity development and mentorship. Their research focus will be around maternal and reproductive health, and vaccine-preventable disease surveillance, respectively.
At the centre, Gallad listening keenly to Uganda’s Justine Okello, during JAS 1 training for the 11th Cohort in Kampala. 3rd March 2025.
Expressing optimism, Gallad said the fellowship will equip them with the requisite skills to conduct policy-relevant research, ultimately enabling them (the Fellows) make meaningful impact in their home institutions and contribute to Africa’s research and development agenda.
“My research is in disease surveillance system especially vaccines preventable diseases. I want to fill the gap in reporting from the community level. I appreciate CARTA for providing us with this invaluable opportunity and Prof. Rhoda Wanyenze for her efforts to secure the two positions for Somalia National University to be mentored at Makerere University.” He said.
For her part, officiating the launch of the 11th cohort of the CARTA doctoral fellowship, Makerere University School of Public Health Dean, Prof. Rhoda Wanyenze, expressed gratitude for the support to help the Fellows through their PhD journeys. However, she challenged the Fellows to look beyond simply earning their PhD qualifications and instead focus on making meaningful contributions that improve lives and impact communities.
“I know each of you has likely defined what success looks like at the end of this programme or even 10 years from now. But I urge you to go beyond personal achievement and add to that impacting others, shaping the world around you, starting with Africa, and speaking for something you are really passionate about,” Prof. Rhoda Wanyenze emphasized.
Prof. Rhoda Wanyenze encouraged the 11th Cohort of CARTA doctoral fellows to look beyond their PhD qualifications and impact people. 3rd March 2025.
She also noted that the 11th cohort is unique, because they are starting their PhD journey amid major global changes. While these shifts may pose a challenge, she said they also present an opportunity to rethink how health systems are structured, financed, and coordinated, to enhance the promotion of global health equity and access to critical services.
The CARTA doctoral fellowship supports PhD students at partner institutions through the Joint Advanced Seminars (JAS), in addition to offering stipend, research funding, essential equipment and software, and coverage for tuition, medical insurance, and travel. Fellows also receive mentorship, supervisory support, networking opportunities, and training in grant writing and research dissemination, including support for presentations at international conferences. The fellowship is open to staff from CARTA partner institutions.
Dr. Florah Karimi recognized Prof. Rhoda Wanyenze’s support for CARTA at the JAS 1 for the 11th CARTA doctoral fellowship opening. 3rd March 2025.
Dr. Florah Karimi, the CARTA Program Manager for Institutionalization and Scientific Quality and the Head of Research and Capacity Strengthening at APHRC, Kenya, stated that CARTA’s structured doctoral model has transformed PhD education in African universities, integrating mentorship and interdisciplinary approach to training to produce scholars who are well equipped for global academic and policy engagement.
“CARTA has grown, and we now consider ourselves a proven concept. We deeply appreciate the support from our partner institutions, which have been instrumental in shaping what CARTA is all about. As more institutions come on board, we have reached a point where this is no longer just about us. We are influencing our universities, shaping individual careers, and now, we must extend that impact to other institutions,” Dr. Karimi noted passionately.
The TUM SEED Center @ MAK hosted by the School of Engineering invites applications from suitable candidates from the Global South for a PhD Scholarship in Sustainable Energy Entrepreneurship for the 2025/2026 Academic Year at Makerere University. The scholarship is jointly coordinated by the College of Business and Management Sciences (CoBAMS) and the College of Engineering, Design, Art and Technology (CEDAT).
This PhD scholarship is part of a partnership between Makerere University and the Technical University of Munich (TUM) under the TUM SEED Center that aims to shape the future leaders of academia. Tailored to foster cutting-edge research and inventive thinking in advancing sustainable energy and entrepreneurship, the TUM SEED Center offers higher education and conducts research at the intersection of Sustainable Energies, Entrepreneurship and Development (SEED). We advocate for interdisciplinary and global cooperation, transcending conventional limits to explore the fusion of sustainable energy and entrepreneurial practices.
About the TUM SEED Center @ MAK and PhD Scholarship
As part of the SEED network, the TUM SEED Center @ MAK has secured funding for the second phase for 2025-2029. The SEED network consists of the Technical University of Munich (TUM) and ten universities across the Global South, including Makerere University (Uganda), Bahir Dar University (Ethiopia), Bandung Institute of Technology (Indonesia), Burkina Institute of Technology (Burkina Faso), Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (Ghana), Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (India), Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (Kenya), Namibia University of Science and Technology (Namibia), Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú (Peru), and Stellenbosch University (South Africa). The TUM SEED Center is funded by DAAD and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development.
The TUM SEED Center focuses on building Living Labs in communities without electricity and initiating collaborative research and teaching in the areas of Sustainable energy and entrepreneurship by integrating communities in the co-creation, testing, validation, and further development of new or improved technologies that do not create discontinuities in their settings.
As such, the TUM-MAK SEED Living lab was developed in 2021. The lab is a life-scale mini grid set up in Kyampisi village in Luwero District, Uganda. It is situated in a community of about 1,000 residents living in a clustered agricultural community. The living lab provides a platform for students from Makerere and partner universities to interact with the communities to understand energy, entrepreneurship and development challenges, bringing forth actionable and impactful research that directly addresses the community needs in the hope of improving their livelihoods.
Another key component to the TUM SEED Center is the Student Initiatives activities that are geared to enhance decentralized governance structure by exemplifying a bottom-up approach. By creating initiatives, students influence decision-making at their universities and advance the TUM SEED Center’s agenda. This involvement ensures student perspectives are integrated into the governance process, driving entrepreneurial sustainable energy solutions forward.
This announcement invites PhD Applicants from the Global South with excellent academic track records and strong motivation to apply for a doctoral scholarship in Sustainable Energy Entrepreneurship to be hosted at Makerere University. The doctoral scholarship will focus on scaling and impact of sustainable enterprises in the context of the mini-grid sector, contributing to SDG 7, Clean and Affordable Energy for All by 2030. The selected doctoral scholar will be supervised by faculty members from Makerere University, Dr. Kasimu Sendawula from the School of Business (CoBAMS) and Dr. Francis Mujjuni from the School of Engineering, and co supervised by Prof. Dr. Frank-Martin Belz, Director of the TUM SEED Center.
SEED doctoral scholars are expected to:
Demonstrate a strong commitment to the work as a doctoral student
Participate and contribute to the activities of the TUM-MAK SEED Center
Take on responsibilities of coordinating the Student Initiatives
Engage in academic exchange (i.e., visit and collaborate with partner universities)
Conduct research inline with the needs of the local energy Living-lab at Kyampisi
Submit progress reports as required by the TUM SEED Center and by Makerere University
Complete studies within stipulated scholarship period, otherwise failure to do so without sound reasons a refund may be demanded
Application Procedure
To apply, please upload your CV, a strong letter of motivation, two reference letters, national identity card, and academic certificates and transcripts through the online application form at https://wkf.ms/3XFUwhw by Thursday 12 June 2025 at 23:59 EAT. Based on the applications, some candidates will be invited for an online interview and submission of a research concept note.
Qualified women and individuals with disabilities are particularly encouraged to apply. The Selection Commission of the TUM SEED Center will make the final decision in line with DAAD criteria.
Eligibility for the Scholarship
Following are the application requirements for this scholarship:
Bachelor’s degree with a minimum of an Upper Second Class or its equivalent in business management (with a focus on entrepreneurship) or related fields
Master’s degree with Merit (or above as may be applicable) in sustainable energies, business management (with a focus on entrepreneurship) or related fields. The master’s should have been obtained no more than six (6) years ago.
Research or work experience at the intersection of management and sustainable energies
Excellent academic track record
Proficiency in English language
Extracurricular skills, social engagement, and strong motivation
Nationality from one of the eligible countries in the Global South
Scholarship Coverage
The duration of the scholarship program is four (4) years, starting from 1 August 2025 to 31 July 2029. The scholarship will cover university tuition and functional fees, research fees, a monthly stipend of EUR 500, local mobility to the Living Lab as well as international mobility to SEED Partner Universities and to leading international conferences.
Further information
If you have any questions regarding this call, contact the Dean, School of Engineering, CEDAT, or contact Dr. Francis Mujjuni via email at cedat.soe@mak.ac.ug.
Assoc. Prof. Dorothy Okello Dean, School of Engineering, CEDAT Makerere University
Welcome to this special edition of the Mak-RIF Monthly Newsletter. In April 2025, Makerere University hosted a three-day research and innovations week from 08th April 2025 to 10th April 2025 at the Makerere University Freedom Square and the Main Administration Building. The event showcased cutting-edge research and innovations funded by the Government of Uganda, alongside other notable research outputs that reflect the university’s commitment to being a research-led institution.
On 8th April 2025, His Excellency, General Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, the President of the Republic of Uganda, officiated at the grand opening of the exhibition and delivered a keynote address. The First Lady and Minister for Education and Sports, Hon. Janet K. Museveni, was represented by Hon. Dr. Joyce Moriku Kaducu. Additionally, Hon. Dr. Monica Musenero, the Minister for Science, Technology and Innovation was the Chief Guest on 9th and 10th April 2025.
I extend my sincere appreciation to participants from different entities including Government MDAs, the private sector, civil society, and the university community among others. Your presence and active participation contributed towards a successful research and innovations week. This newsletter provides some of the highlights from the event.
Nice reading!
Prof. Fred Masagazi-Masaazi Chairperson, Mak-RIF Grants Management Committee (GMC)
The African Research Universities Alliance (ARUA), with support from the Mastercard Foundation and the Carnegie Corporation of New York, is launching this Early-Career Research Fellowship program. The initiative will fund up to forty-two (42) early-career researchers to conduct globally competitive research at the host and affiliated institutions of ARUA’s thirteen (13) Centres of Excellence (CoEs).
Each fellowship will last six months, between July 2025 and June 2026. A maximum of four fellows will be assigned to each CoE, with all positions filled by December 2025. At least 70% of the fellowships are reserved for female candidates, and applicants must be no older than 35 years at the time of application.
The program aims to enhance the capacity of early-career researchers at African universities by providing them with time away from teaching duties at their home institutions to collaborate with highly experienced and distinguished researchers at ARUA Centres of Excellence (CoEs). Each CoE is expected to host research fellows from countries other than its own.
Selection Process
The selection of successful candidates will be conducted by the Director of the relevant ARUA Centre of Excellence to which the candidate applies, in consultation with the host institution’s Deputy Vice-Chancellor.
ARUA will continue to accept applications for the 42 positions until they are all filled, with a deadline of December 2025. However, candidates who apply before May 15, 2025, will be considered for the first batch of positions. Successful candidates from this batch will be notified by June 1, 2025, and are expected to start their fellowships on July 1, 2025.
Fellowship selection is highly competitive and based, in the first instance, on excellence in the context of the applicant’s academic standing, research experience, productivity, and output and, secondly, on the relevance and fit of research experience and proposed focus to the host CoE’s research focus and objectives.