General
Directorate of Graduate Equips Schools and Colleges with Training in Philosophy of Methods
By Moses Lutaaya
The Directorate of Graduate Training at Makerere University has equipped several Senior ranking lecturers with expert knowledge in a Training of Trainers’ workshop on “Philosophy of Methods”.
In his remarks at the opening of a 3-day training workshop at Level4 Conference Hall – Senate Building, the Director of Graduate Training Prof. Julius Kikooma said, “The teaching of Philosophy of Methods gives all participants the fundamentals to extend knowledge to other learners, hence its importance in upholding the Makerere University values.”
Kikooma urged and challenged the participants to also attend and actively participate in the follow up of learners’ training of students, stating that the PhD students need support as the directorate continues to coordinate the curriculum of PhD by-research that was approved by the senate recently.
“To holistically implement the senate approved PhD curriculum, we are coordinating capacity building trainings of all stake holders in a structured approach with the different units of the University. Many more trainings including Training of Trainers in advanced research methods course are on the way.”
He further urged the participants to be intentional in their teaching profession and in whatever they were doing, adding “Apart from focusing on practices as teachers and researchers, we can engage in wider philosophical debates in our research areas so that we are relevant in the society and in the empowerment of PhD research students.”
The participants for the Philosophy of Methods training were from College of Humanities and Social Sciences, College of Education and External Studies, Makerere University Business School among others.
During the same training, Dr. Dickson Kanakulya stressed the need to train senior lecturers in the Philosophy of Methods, saying, “The biggest connection is that societal problems require concrete research to find solutions. Our challenge in Africa is that we employ a short barrow approach to find solutions to problems. This cannot work. We need consistent researchers to solve problems. Lasting solutions to societal issues can only be got through training such as Philosophy of Methods, where researchers come up with new models for societal solutions.”
Dr. Kanakulya said that Makerere University remains the biggest research University in Africa and philosophy of Methods helps to come up with good research tools that produce good research outputs. “Research has shown that the higher the number of PhD researchers in any given country, the higher the levels of development of that country e.g. the USA, China etc., adding that research is not limited to only medicinal or agricultural related issues.”
He said philosophy of methods, encourages philosophical creativity in research, “It is meant to bring out philosophical generation of concepts, theories and ideas. It is meant to encourage students to question the existing philosophical assumptions and status quo in a given field of knowledge such that new philosophical concepts are created.”
For successful rollout of government programs like the National Development Plan 4, Dr. Kanakulya said that Philosophy of Methods training needs to be integrated into such systems. “Philosophy of Methods focuses on ethical thinking aspects. For example, for a better rollout of the Parish Development Model, we need implementers to be ethical.” He added.
Prof. Sulait Tumwiine, the associate Dean of Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research at MUBS said, “This is a discussion where new ideas are shared to guide and gauge applicability in the current knowledge diversity coupled with lots of technological development including Artificial Intelligence and Chat GPT.”
He added, “As professors of Universities, we need to understand how we leverage on what comes up so that it does not take our space, but also appreciate how we can support growth of knowledge. The Philosophy of Methods training is the answer.”
Dr. Jim Spire Ssentongo highlighted that Philosophy uses more of the critical mind than Science. He added that philosophy is more of speculation of the mind.
“Sustainability of philosophy Education encourages us to continue training. Philosophy being the oldest discipline retained special status in the academia as a pinnacle of pursuit of knowledge. All disciplines have major elements of philosophy citing examples in the philosophy of Mathematics and Physics.
Dr. Spire added, “If you do not understand philosophy, you cannot deeply investigate anything because philosophy is the reality of understanding everything. Philosophy is the basis of understanding what knowledge is and how it is arrived at.”
Also participating in the workshop was Prof. Joseph Ntaayi from MUBS, in his remarks he said PhD students need the philosophy of methods training to understand how to best to create knowledge. He added that ontological and epistemological questions that lead to good research design methods can only be answered by this training.
Dr. Robert Kakuru, a Lecturer in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences said that the Philosophy of Methods training is needed by every graduate student as well as supervisors to critically determine the choice of methods to use in academic research. For example, “If one wants to use a questionnaire as an interview approach, one should understand, why that approach and yet without this training, the why cannot be answered.” He added.
The Philosophy of Methods training was organized by Directorate of Graduate Training with funding support from the Consortium for Advanced Research Training in Africa (CARTA).
More than 35 staff from Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) have begun a week-long training in Essentials of Public Investment Management at Makerere University. The training, which opened on September 23, 2025, is being hosted at the Public Investment Management (PIM) Centre of Excellence in the School of Economics.
The program was officially opened by Ms. Esther Ayebare, Ag. Assistant Commissioner in the Projects Analysis and Public Investment Department at the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development (MoFPED), who represented the Permanent Secretary/Secretary to the Treasury. She was joined by Prof. Edward Bbaale, Director of the PIM Centre of Excellence and Principal Investigator of the project.
In her remarks, Ms. Ayebare highlighted the government’s continued efforts to improve the quality of public investments. “This training is meant to build your capacity in Public Investment Management and equip you with the knowledge and skills necessary for effective government project preparation,” she said. She added that the Ministry of Finance, in collaboration with Makerere University’s School of Economics, established the PIM Centre of Excellence to strengthen MDAs’ ability to conceptualize, prepare, and implement projects that deliver value for money.
Prof. Bbaale welcomed participants to the training and commended MoFPED for its sustained financial and technical support to the Centre. “This training marks the beginning of your journey to becoming experts in public investment management. Over the next five days, you will gain not only theoretical knowledge but also practical experience in preparing real-world projects in sectors such as health, education, water, energy, and transport,” he said.
The training attracted over 35 participants from different MDAs. Prof. Bbaale also appreciated the trainers, who are drawn from Makerere University, the National Planning Authority, and MoFPED, for their dedication to knowledge sharing and building the next generation of experts in public investment management.
At the end of the program, participants will be awarded a dual certificate by Makerere University and the Ministry of Finance, recognizing their successful completion of the course.
Beyond training, the PIM Centre of Excellence continues to play a central role in research, policy advisory, and outreach. Recently, it organized the second Public Investment Management Conference in August 2025, focusing on overcoming implementation barriers to strengthen fiscal sustainability.
The Centre remains committed to working with MDAs and other stakeholders to ensure that Uganda’s public investments deliver maximum value for money and contribute meaningfully to national development.
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