Health
Makerere rolls out RIMS to streamline graduate research monitoring
A smarter way to track scholars
July 1st, 2025 | Kampala — Makerere University is on a listening tour. The University’s Directorate of Graduate Training (DGT) and Directorate for ICT Support (DICTS) met lecturers at the School of Public Health to introduce a prototype Research Information Management System (RIMS). The briefing, held in Lecture Room A, drew heads of department, faculty registrars, research supervisors, and graduate coordinators, the very people who shoulder the university’s research training burden.
RIMS is the latest attempt to modernize how Uganda’s oldest university manages graduate education. The system, backed by the Makerere University Research and Innovation Fund (Mak-RIF), aims to digitize the long paper trail typically involved in supervising master’s and PhD students. From monitoring dissertation comments to allocating examiners and tracking student timelines, RIMS promises to cut delays, boost accountability, and foster more seamless interactions between faculty and administration.
“There is great feedback,” said Arthur Opio, the Ag. Principal IT Officer at DICTS, who noted that improvements are already being made based on similar engagements with stakeholders at other colleges. At each stop they ask supervisors, registrars, and heads of department what would actually lighten their administrative load. He noted that the RIMs will integrate components of the Academic Management Information System (ACMIS) and the Makerere human resource management system (eHRMS).
Staff at MakSPH welcomed the platform with cautious optimism. Ms. Gladys Khamili, Principal Registrar at MakSPH, said RIMS could help supervisors track student progress and improve the timeliness of feedback. Digitizing these processes, she noted, would ease coordination and reduce delays in graduations. She emphasized the need for features like automated logging of supervisor comments and alerts for overdue feedback. Others called for additions such as workload tracking, dashboards for seminar and journal submissions, and integration with teaching timetables.
“I hope the developers include features that calculate supervisor workloads, alongside tracking the various stages and activities of PhD training, such as paper submissions, seminar presentations, teaching, and journal publications,” Ms. Khamili said. “It would also be helpful if the system could integrate teaching timetables to better monitor teaching and learning.”
Staff welcomed the idea but asked for more. Professor Elizeus Rutebemberwa, the Deputy Dean of MakSPH, said this was a welcome development as it would help ease graduate training and also support faculty in tracking their students down with ease. “There are some students who get lost, and by the time they return or wake up to resume their work, you have even forgotten their names. I think this will help us in tracking,” he said.
Ms. Khamili, Principal Registrar, said the system should “automate logging of supervisor comments and alerts for overdue feedback” to speed up graduations. She also wants dashboards for seminar and journal submissions, workload tracking, and links to teaching timetables.
“I hope the developers include features that calculate supervisor workloads, alongside tracking the various stages and activities of PhD training, such as paper submissions, seminar presentations, teaching, and journal publications,” she said. “It would also be helpful if the system could integrate teaching timetables to better monitor teaching and learning.”
Dr. Suzanne Kiwanuka, Associate Professor and Head of Health Policy, Planning, and Management, urged caution: “We need systems that talk to each other,” she said, warning against software that forces staff to repeat the same data in different databases.
Professor Julius Kikooma, Acting Director of Graduate Training, underscored the School of Public Health’s leadership in graduate training. “The School of Public Health is a graduate school with the best practices. You are well organized,” he said. “Your feedback comes from a place of strength. You are one of our benchmarks.”
RIMS fits Makerere’s broader plan to shift resources toward postgraduate training and research. Visitation committees in 2016 and 2017 urged the university to focus on these areas, and the 2020‑2030 Strategic Plan sets a goal of 10,000 graduate students, about 40 per cent of enrollment, by the end of the decade if the university is to become a globally competitive, research-led, doctoral-granting institution.
The Dean of MakSPH, Professor Rhoda Wanyenze, welcomed the system as a timely intervention that promises to enhance service delivery to students.
“We appreciate the effort to ease our work in providing better services to students. We have a large number of students, and as our graduate population grows, we hope this system will support us in shaping and improving the services we offer as a university. We congratulate Professor Kikoma and his team on this effort,” said Prof. Wanyenze.
Makerere’s leadership has made no secret of its ambitions. The Vice Chancellor, Professor Barnabas Nawangwe, has echoed this vision in public speeches, interviews, and tweets, with strong backing from the Ugandan government, including exclusive access to the Research and Innovations Fund and endorsements from President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni.
Whether the new software can help reach that target will depend less on its code and more on whether the research it tracks is actively used to inform policy, improve lives, and justify the investment in postgraduate education. Success will therefore rely not only on systems and software but also on putting the research produced to practical use.
Makerere University, through the College of Health Sciences (CHS), hosted the Sickle Cell Disease Stakeholders’ Engagement Meeting on 24th October 2025. The event was organized by the Center of Excellence for Sickle Cell Disease and Neglected Tropical Diseases, in partnership with Enhancing Research Capacity for Sickle Cell Disease and Related Non-Communicable Diseases Across the Lifespan in Uganda (ENRICH) and the Sickle Pan Africa Research Consortium (SPARCo). The meeting brought together a diverse group of stakeholders, including religious leaders from the Catholic Medical Bureau, Protestant Medical Bureau, and the Uganda Muslim Supreme Council, as well as members of academia and public health practitioners.
During the Stakeholders’ Engagement Meeting held under the theme; Addressing Sickle Cell Disease in Schools and Communities, panelists emphasized the importance of early detection and effective communication in managing the disease. One of the speakers highlighted the critical role of medical interns as the first point of contact in identifying symptoms such as unexplained anemia and limb swelling, urging them to take detailed patient histories for timely diagnosis and referral. Another panelist, Ms. Penina Agaba, a lecturer at the Makerere University, underscored the need to translate data-driven research into simple, accessible formats for policymakers and community leaders. She noted that findings should be communicated in local languages through channels such as workshops, radio programs, and community meetings to ensure wider understanding and practical policy action.
In her remarks, Dr. Rosemary Byanyima, the Executive Director of Mulago National Specialised Hospital, shared her personal and professional commitment to improving the management of sickle cell disease in Uganda. A sickle cell warrior herself, Dr. Byanyima revealed that Mulago is planning to establish a medical campus that will offer specialized care, including hip replacements for patients suffering from sickle cell disease. She also noted that the hospital has supported the establishment of several service centers in Mukono General Hospital, Pallisa District, and Kayunga, aimed at bringing services closer to the communities. Dr. Byanyima urged all stakeholders to work together to raise awareness, increase testing, and encourage early healthcare seeking among those affected by the disease.
The panel discussions at the Sickle Cell Disease Stakeholders’ Engagement Meeting underscored the shared responsibility of all sectors in creating a more inclusive and informed society for people living with the condition. The conversations, moderated by Dr. Deo Munube and Ms. Evelyn Mwesigwa, explored how schools, faith institutions, and communities can work together to support those affected. Speakers emphasized the need for inclusive school policies that accommodate children with sickle cell disease—such as allowing extra clothing, flexible restroom access, and special exam arrangements—alongside guidance and counseling services to combat stigma and nurture self-esteem. They also stressed the importance of honesty from parents in disclosing their children’s health conditions to enable appropriate care.
From a broader perspective, panelists like Mr. Kajiiko Shafik from the Uganda Muslim Supreme Council highlighted the potential of faith-based structures to advance community sensitization and advocacy. The discussions collectively called for greater collaboration between the Ministries of Education and Health, improved psychosocial support, and stronger legal and policy frameworks to ensure that every child and adult living with sickle cell disease can thrive in a compassionate and supportive environment.
In her closing remarks, Dr. Sarah Kiguli, the Director of the Centre of Excellence for Sickle Cell Disease and Neglected Tropical Diseases at Makerere University, expressed gratitude to all stakeholders for their active participation and thoughtful contributions. She noted her optimism about the existing systems that can be leveraged to strengthen collaboration and awareness efforts, saying, “I’m happy that there are systems already in place that we can use to engage everyone on this cause.” Dr. Kiguli emphasized the importance of collective responsibility in the fight against sickle cell disease, adding, “It is impossible for us here in Makerere to reach everyone, but I love the message of ‘train the trainers’ so that sensitisation work can be efficient and far-reaching.”
Makerere University’s continued commitment to public health research extends beyond academia into real community impact. Through the College of Health Sciences, the University has strengthened partnerships with the Ministry of Health and regional hospitals to enhance early screening, diagnosis, and management of Sickle Cell Disease. Recent efforts include supporting the expansion of the national Sickle Cell Registry and developing community-based counselling programs to raise awareness at the grassroots level. Despite progress, Uganda still faces significant gaps in screening and treatment, with thousands of children born each year with the condition remaining undiagnosed. Makerere’s initiatives, therefore, aim to bridge these gaps through research, training, and collaboration with government, faith-based, and cultural institutions to ensure that no child or family faces Sickle Cell Disease in silence.
STOCKHOLM — Makerere University and Karolinska Institutet (KI-Mak) marked 25 years of collaboration on Oct. 15, 2025, with a hybrid forum on research equity, highlighting lessons for universities striving toward fair and sustainable global partnerships.
The event, part of the Global Conversations on Sustainable Health, explored the theme, “Exploring Power Dynamics & Equity in Partnerships.” Scholars, policymakers, and university leaders gathered to discuss how institutions can build collaborations grounded in trust, shared ownership, and mutual respect.
Organized by the Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Health (CESH), a joint initiative between Makerere University and Karolinska Institutet, the forum reflected on how equitable partnerships drive progress toward the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.
Hours before the event, Sweden’s Ambassador to Uganda, H.E. Maria Håkansson, posted on X (formerly Twitter):
“The partnership between Makerere University and Karolinska Institutet is both dynamic and exemplary in how many years of development cooperation can lay the foundation for mutually beneficial relations between institutions in Sweden and Uganda.”
Equity, Trust, and Warmth at the Core
Panelists navigated questions of power, agency, and mutual respect. Policymakers, researchers, and academics agreed that successful partnerships depend not only on fairness but also on warmth, the human connection that sustains collaboration and ensures initiatives respond meaningfully to local realities.
Dr. Andreas Göthenberg, executive director of the Swedish Foundation for International Cooperation in Research and Higher Education (STINT), recalled that earlier models often reduced African researchers to “data farmers” in one-directional projects led from the North.
“We now support balanced research collaborations, not capacity building alone,” he said.
Over the past decade, he added, STINT has seen a surge of high-quality proposals from African researchers seeking genuine collaboration.
“When partners bring different expertise and learn from each other, that is when collaborations work well,” he said. “Institutions with fewer resources can now do very advanced things; that’s a real game changer.”
Göthenberg said Africa’s rapid advances in microfinancing, cloud computing, and even space research show that “technology development means institutions with fewer resources can still do very advanced things,” offering lessons for innovation systems in Europe.
Why Equitable Partnerships Matter
Professors Rhoda Wanyenze and Stefan Swartling Peterson have argued that traditional models often concentrate leadership and funding in the Global North, thereby limiting the agency of Southern partners.
Their work from long-term collaborations in Ethiopia, Uganda, Lao PDR, and Vietnam shows that shifting leadership to where research occurs strengthens local capacity and aligns agendas with community needs.
They demonstrate that equity relies on mutual trust, transparency, and shared decision-making, principles that transform funding into a tool for empowerment rather than dependency. Joint PhD programs, reciprocal staff exchanges, and twinned supervision models have further enabled two-way knowledge flow and reduced brain drain.
“Partnerships grounded in reciprocity, inclusion, and respect are not only ethically sound but also more effective,” Wanyenze said. “They build local ownership, lasting capacity, and context-driven innovation.”
Championing South-to-South Knowledge Exchange
Associate Professor Caroline Wamala-Larsson, director of the SPIDER program at Stockholm University, underscored that the Global South must set its research agendas.
“The agenda must be set by Southern institutions. Swedish institutions act as collaborators, not directors,” she said.
She cited projects in Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Bolivia, and Mozambique where South-to-South learning has flourished.
“Bolivians traveled to Tanzania to share source codes from a research management system. Now, the University of Dar es Salaam wants to adopt it,” she said. “Solutions developed within the South often fit local contexts better than Northern models.”
Wamala-Larsson added that innovation and digital transformation have strengthened institutional systems. “We need new funders, private sector partners, and universities to participate equally.” Respect for each partner’s contribution is essential for sustainability,” she said.
Adapting to a Changing Global Landscape
Shifting global priorities and limited funding are reshaping how universities collaborate. Ms. Brenda Wagaba, partnerships officer at Makerere University, noted that while funding remains limited, the Government of Uganda, for instance, has taken steps to support local research through the Research and Innovation Fund. “The government started setting aside money for university research even before the recent cuts,” she said.
“Now, with those cuts, the need for sustained domestic investment is even greater.” She added that such initiatives strengthen the confidence of Southern partners to engage as equal contributors in global collaborations.
Dr. Rawlance Ndejjo, a Makerere University researcher, said local initiatives could help sustain momentum. “Local funding opportunities allow countries to find resources for research and partnerships. Such efforts can improve equity through bottom-up collaborations,” he said.
Göthenberg noted that new opportunities lie in multidisciplinary work. “Many of the challenges we face today demand broadly defined solutions,” he said. “Multidisciplinary projects lead to broader societal impact and stronger partnerships.”
He also pointed to Africa’s demographic advantage: “With its young population and rapid innovation, Africa is driving technological development in ways that can benefit both continents.”
Equitable Partnerships Deliver Results
Wagaba said engaging communities early is key to success. “When we engage communities early, we can bridge the gap between large-scale interventions and local acceptance. Whether it’s water, vaccines, or health infrastructure, success depends on understanding immediate community priorities,” she said.
She cautioned that top-down projects often fail to deliver lasting impact.
“You may build a vaccine plant or develop a vaccine, but if a community’s immediate need is safe water, your intervention will falter,” she said, adding that warmth, respect, and open communication are as critical as technical expertise.
Makerere Vice Chancellor Prof. Barnabas Nawangwe highlighted tangible results from Sweden’s long-term support.
“Under the SIDA program, 500 PhD students were trained, all of whom returned to Uganda,” he said. “The program made them feel at home while gaining knowledge abroad. Without mutual respect, equity will always face challenges.”
Prof. Annika Östman Wernerson, president of Karolinska Institutet, said sustainable partnerships depend on continuous engagement.
“Every collaboration begins with people meeting. Warmth and curiosity are crucial between individuals and institutions,” she said. “Equity is not static; it requires continuous work. Trust and transparency are critical.”
A Global Model for Sustainable Partnerships
The 25-year collaboration between Makerere University and Karolinska Institutet demonstrates how long-term, equitable partnerships can strengthen research systems and inform policy.
As Nawangwe put it:
“Students return home, communities benefit, and research informs global health policy. This is a model of how equity and trust drive sustainable partnerships.”
The Makerere–Karolinska (KI-Mak) partnership shows how universities, funders, and governments can work together fairly and Like many others working in this field, the Center recognises that there is still much to learn and discuss about how partnerships can continue to evolve through openness, dialogue, and shared reflection.
As Makerere and Karolinska look to 2030, their renewed agreements promise more than ceremonial goodwill. The two universities will intensify exchanges between students and faculty, expand joint research, share academic output, and organise lectures, conferences, and workshops. They will also open new paths for training, scientific collaboration, and shared learning. After 25 years, the partnership has proven that long-term cooperation can endure and excel with mutual respect, steady investment, and a clear purpose.
Dr. Angelina Mwesige Kakooza, Associate Professor of Paediatrics in the Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, School of Medicine, Makerere University College of Health Sciences (MakCHS) received the 2025 TWAS-Fayzah M. Al-Kharafi Award in Medical Sciences. She was recognised for her research on neurodevelopmental disorders – particularly epilepsy, cerebral palsy, and nodding syndrome – and for advancing policy and research, mentorship, as well as local community interventions to enhance children’s health.
The award was given at the recent 17th General Conference of The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS) held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil under the theme ‘Building a Sustainable Future: The Role of Science, Technology, and Innovation for Global Development.’ Organized in partnership with the Brazilian Academy of Sciences (BAS) and TWAS, the conference brought together leading scientists, policymakers, and institutional leaders from across the global South and beyond.
In her remarks after receiving the award, Dr. Kakooza said, “This award highlights the importance of neurodevelopmental disorders which are a great health problem worldwide, often diagnosed late and treated poorly,” said Kakooza. “It affirms my contribution to science in Africa, strengthens advocacy for gender equity in science and education and makes me a role model for others, increasing my influence in the scientific community.”
Dr. Angelina Kakooza Mwesige is a Ugandan scholar with over 25years teaching experience whose research focuses on neurodevelopmental disorders in children centred on their epidemiology, early screening, identification and community based interventions in Uganda. Her current areas of research cover studies on early detection and interventions for young infants at high risk of neurodevelopmental delay and disability in Nepal and Uganda; development of community engagement projects to empower adolescents living with epilepsy in Uganda reduce stigma in their communities; as well as development and testing of an interactive epilepsy smart phone application to improve resilience among them.
TWAS is a global merit-based science academy based in Trieste, Italy, and administered as a UNESCO Programme Unit. Read more here: https://twas.org/
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