Category Archives: SRPGS

UCU researchers develop three new nakati varieties

August 30, 2023Faculty, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, News, SRPGSPatty Huston-Holm

(Uganda Christian University has a reputation for research excellence. Examples include pioneering research in vegetables and solar energy, supported by funding from the European Union. The university also has been at the forefront of biomass and climate change research, receiving funding from the Fund for Innovation in Development (FID). This story focuses on nakati, also known as African eggplant.)

By Jimmy Siyasa
Renowned for its research excellence, the Uganda Christian University (UCU) Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, previously led by Prof. Elizabeth Kizito, proudly presents three extraordinary varieties of Solanum aethiopicum shum, commonly known as nakati – the beloved African eggplant.

Introduced as the UCU-Nakati 1, UCU-Nakati 2, and UCU-Nakati 3, these innovative nakati varieties mark a significant milestone in Uganda and Africa. The varieties offer farmers a reliable and easily accessible source of African nakati seed. Previously, nakati farmers relied on saved seeds from previous seasons or obtained them from neighbors, friends, and relatives, leading to limited availability and inconsistent quality. One will no longer need to rely on uncertain or unreliable sources as UCU’s nakati varieties ensure consistent quality and ample supply for farming needs.

Liz Kizito, Directorate of Research, Partnerships and Innovation

The development of these nakati varieties involved making crosses over multiple generations, meticulous selection, and ensuring distinctiveness, and uniformity for improved yield and desirable plant characteristics. Each variety has been carefully tailored to meet the expectations of farmers and consumers, incorporating valuable feedback from end-users and thorough market surveys.

These varieties have received certification by the National Variety Release Committee: A Committee of the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry, and Fisheries, ensuring the highest standards of excellence.

Characteristics of the Nakati varieties
Each of the varieties has unique characteristics.

UCU-Nakati 1:
UCU-Nakati 1 is green-stemmed, has green leaves and leaf veins, and the leaf margins (the boundary area of the leaf that is extending along the edge of the leaf) are generally whole. Nakati-1 is not drought tolerant. In sensory evaluations with consumers and market vendors, it was found to be relatively bitter. Its average yield per acre is 982.4 kg/acre.

UCU-Nakati 2:
UCU-Nakati 2 has green, purple stems, green leaves, and green leaf veins. The leaf margins are moderately serrated. Nakati-2 has green-purple stems and green leaf blades. The mean fresh leaf yield at harvest is 936.9 kg/acre. Nakati-2 was identified as a drought-tolerant genotype. In sensory evaluations with consumers and market vendors, products had a generally appealing aroma, appearance, and flavour.

UCU-Nakati 3:
UCU-Nakati 3, on the other hand, is purple-stemmed, has green leaves with green-purple leaf veins, and has a deeper serrated leaf margin. The leaf yield at harvest maturity, about 8 weeks after planting, is 976.3 kg/acre. Nakati-3 is moderately drought tolerant and has a generally appealing aroma, appearance and flavour in sensory evaluations with consumers and market vendors.

Implications and Applications
The potential impact on the field or society
The implications of these groundbreaking developments are far-reaching. Previously, there were limited systematic efforts to improve African Indigenous Vegetables (AIVs) in Uganda. The new nakati varieties are the first of their kind. UCU has developed nutritionally rich improved varieties of nakati. This intervention will not only offer farmers quality-assured varieties of AIVs but also set standards for subsequent variety evaluation for distinctiveness, uniformity, and stability (DUS) as well as value for cultivation and use. Releasing these varieties brings to the fore, especially for Africans, the availability of quality seed to meet nutritional and income security needs because these can now be potentially accessed in agro-shops or stores, something that was impossible until recently.

Practical applications and real-world scenarios
With over 200 tons of nakati traded weekly in major markets, this crop plays a crucial role in Uganda’s urban and peri-urban areas, surpassing even the country’s main cash crop – coffee. The popularity of nakati extends beyond Uganda, reaching Cameroon, Burkina Faso and Nigeria. Its nutritional and economic value makes it an indispensable part of traditional dishes and a means of livelihood for poor and unemployed women and youth.

AIVs such as the UCU Nakati varieties, hold immense practical applications and can address real-world challenges in achieving sustainable development goals (SDGs). These vegetables have the potential to alleviate hidden hunger (SDG 2 – End hunger) and poverty (SDG 1 – Zero poverty), particularly among vulnerable groups like women and children under five. In Uganda, a country with high levels of undernutrition, where 3 in 10 children under five are stunted and about 3.5% body wasting, the nutritional value of nakati is significant. It is rich in fiber, minerals, carotene, proteins, fats, ash, crude fiber, carbohydrates, calcium, magnesium, iron, and phytochemicals with therapeutic properties, making it essential in preventing nutrient deficiency diseases and non-communicable diseases. By improving crop varieties and enhancing productivity and incomes for farmers, poverty reduction and improved food security can be achieved, as farmers who cultivate improved varieties often earn more and enjoy better livelihoods.

Expert Reviews
Dr. Ssebuliba James, agronomist and former head of the Department of Crop Production at Makerere University College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences:

“This is a great addition to knowledge. Research plays a crucial role in the addition of new knowledge, which ultimately advances our understanding of the world and contributes to various areas of daily life. When new knowledge is curated and put in the right hands, it has the power to bring about high-value change in society.”

Dr. Godfrey Asea, Director of Research, National Crops Resources Research Institute, Namulonge:

“This is a good opportunity as a starting point to harness the indigenous vegetable resources.”

Dr. Flavia Kabeere, Seed Technologist and Consultant:

“These varieties will guarantee quality for consumers.”

Collaborations and Funding
The UCU community, leadership, and researchers (Prof. Elizabeth Kizito, Dr. Sseremba Godfrey, Mildred Nakanwagi, and Pamel Kabod) expressed appreciation to the European Union, PAEPARD (Platform for African-European Partnership in Agricultural Research for Development) and The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS) for their valuable support. Funding from the EU through PAEPARD initiated this research, while TWAS contributed to basic research and the selection of drought-tolerant varieties.

Call to Action
Others are invited to delve deeper into this groundbreaking research and its potential applications. Seed companies or other stakeholders interested in the multiplication of seeds are invited to place their orders. For more information, visit the Directorate of Research, Partnerships and Innovation website (https://grants.ucu.ac.ug) or directly contact grants@ucu.ac.ug.

Recap

UCU researchers develop three Nakati varieties UCU-Nakati 1; UCU-Nakati 2; UCU-Nakati 3; with immense promise for enhancing food security, reducing poverty, and promoting better health in Uganda and Africa.
Nakati is considered an African Indigenous Vegetable.
Nakati is one of the most important local vegetable species in terms of providing income and food in urban and peri-urban areas of Uganda.

UCU-led research accentuates workplace hardships for new mothers

June 9, 2023SRPGSPatty Huston-Holm

Prof. Elizabeth Kukunda Bacwayo, the Director, Directorate of Post-Graduate Studies, UCU. Dr. Bacwayo was a lead researcher on the study about treatment of working breastfeeding mothers in Uganda higher education institutions.

By Irene Best Nyapendi
Within one week of giving birth by C-section, a young mother needing to heal herself and nurse her newborn was called back to work. She had no choice but to report to her job as a part-time employee at a top university in Uganda because her livelihood depended on it.

The experience of this new mother is one of the many hardships faced by 21 women involved in the research on the plight of breastfeeding mothers working in Uganda higher education institutions. The mothers had given birth two years preceding the study done by five lecturers at Uganda Christian University (UCU).

The researchers – Mercy Amaniyo, Evas Kemigisha, Peter Kiwumulo and Solomon Mwije, led by Prof. Elizabeth Kukunda Bacwayo – found that the university (names withheld to comply with Research Ethics Committee guidelines) did not have a maternity protection policy or facility for breastfeeding mothers. Bacwayo called the lack of such a policy “risky” and “stressful” for both mother and newborn.

Bacwayo, head of the UCU Directorate of Post-Graduate Studies, observed that such experiences are a setback in the fight for gender equality. The research was inspired by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) #5 for gender equality, which emphasizes the need for equal access of employment opportunities to both males and females. However, Bacwayo noted that “a man will not experience” the barriers such as women in this study.

The World Health Organization and UNICEF recommend exclusive breastfeeding as the most ideal food for infants in their first six months because it reduces infant morbidity. Experts say exclusive breastfeeding not only boosts babies’ health, but also ensures their optimal development because breast milk is the baby’s first immunization.

“Our research intended to find out if institutions have facilities that enable a woman to work and also exclusively breastfeed her baby with the question ‘If I give birth, will I be able to take care of my baby and still keep my job?’” Bacwayo said. The research aimed at examining both institution practices and policies.

Bacwayo and her co-investigators urged employers to make the working environment supportive for mothers to exclusively breastfeed their infants.

“These mothers would love to exclusively breastfeed their children, but their workplace doesn’t have places where they can breastfeed from. Worse still, some employers don’t give their staff maternity leave for the mother to have more time with their babies, particularly those who are part-time workers,” she said.

Bacwayo warned that institutions risk losing staff as some mothers might be forced to quit their jobs in order to have time with their babies.

The research found that in some workplaces, once a woman gives birth, the working environment becomes unfriendly. This makes it impossible for women and men to have equal access to employment opportunities.

At the university under study, the institution’s policy on maternity protection only covers the provision of a three-month leave to full-time staff, but part-time women are not entitled to the leave. The mothers interviewed included the teaching and non-teaching staff, both full-time and part-time staff.

The findings indicated that female lecturers report to work worried and stressed about leaving their babies at home. Most of the mothers then have divided attention which affects their productivity at work.

Kiwumulo said many times such mothers miss work or sometimes find themselves having to deprive their children of breast milk. “This affects the baby’s health and also psychologically affects the lecturer because they are not happy with being away from their babies that need to be breastfed,” he said.

Bacwayo said when she presented the findings at the Second Annual AfriChild Centre Conference in late February, she was shocked that most of the participants did not know about breastfeeding facilities and the role they play. “If we get more funding, we would like to do further research in other workplaces aside from higher institutions of learning – for example, those working in factories and offices,” Bacwayo said.

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To support Uganda Christian University programs, students, activities, and services, go to www.ugandapartners.org and click on the “donate” button, or contact UCU Partners Executive Director, Mark Bartels, at m.t.bartels@ugandapartners.org.

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‘We seem to ask Google more than we ask God’

October 5, 2022News, SRPGS, StudentsPatty Huston-Holm

Left to right: The Chaplain of UCU, the Rev. Canon Eng. Paul Wasswa; Robert Buga D’Jalo, a teacher at Kampala International School; the Director of the Facilities and Capital Projects, Eng. David Kivumbi; the Rev. Stanley Wareba; the Director of the Research, Partnerships and Innovations, Prof. Elizabeth Kizito; and Dr. Angela Napakol, head of research and partnerships, at Nkoyoyo Hall during the seminar.

By Israel Kisakye
Artificial intelligence has widened the gap between individuals and God on one hand, and narrowed the gap between believers and God on the other.

But to what extent should believers rely on technology in their daily lives as they pursue to understand God more? Is it possible that digital addiction can lead to stunted spiritual growth? These, and more, are some of the questions that Uganda Christian University’s (UCU) Directorate of Research, Partnerships and Innovations (DRPI) has been battling. To seek some answers, DRPI recently held a seminar that centered on the impact of artificial intelligence on Christian faith.

“Today, we are becoming increasingly more dependent on Google than on God,” said Robert Buga D’jalo, a teacher at Kampala International School, during the late July seminar held in UCU’s Nkoyoyo Hall. “We seem to ask Google more than we ask God.”

Robert Buga D’Jalo making his presentation at the seminar

Buga was one of the speakers at the seminar whose topic of discussion was Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Christian Faith: Contradictions and Convergence. He argued that many of the systems people create are intended to help man live a better life, but that they were instead making him more reliant on them than God.

“When AI takes over the world, we shall have a new world,” Buga noted, before he asked: “We don’t think a lot about evolution because, as Christians, we find our identity in God, but does AI threaten our dependence on God?”

Dr. Angela Napakol, the head of research and partnerships at DRPI, said the emergence of technology has dominated the aspect of decision making, leading to people having more trust in computers than in God, with Buga noting that that is where the danger of artificial intelligence could come from.

“We might reach a point where we rely more on the artificial systems than on God and that is what we don’t want,” Buga reasoned. “As Christians, our existence should be based on the foundation of man, which is the creation of man in God’s image. This means in Christianity, there is a deposit of soul, spirit and who God wants us to be.”

Artificial Intelligence Vs God

Buga noted that the initial building blocks of artificial intelligence are based on the ability of human beings to build systems that do not challenge ethical issues. He urged Christians to create their artificial intelligence systems so that other people don’t create systems that challenge the belief of Christians in God.

About a decade ago, it was not uncommon to find notices at entrances to churches, urging the congregation to switch off their mobile phones. Now, the wording in the notices has changed. Keep Your Phone in Silence is now the preferred wording. Reason? Many church-goers have abandoned the book Bible in preference for the Bible app on their smartphones. So, a mobile phone is part of the worshiping aid in church.

Similarly, a congregant can use the smart gadgets for recording a preaching or taking photos during worship. Innovations like these will enable God to remain in people’s lives, because, as Buga noted in the July seminar, they will “enable us to solve our everyday problems.”

Holding debates like the one on artificial intelligence and the Christian faith, according to Napakol, will keep people’s faith afloat.

“We can’t just sit back and watch as the world sinks,” she said. “We have to think critically about these issues, and how to get involved, otherwise we risk running behind, instead of ahead.”

The Chaplain of UCU, the Rev. Canon Eng. Paul Wasswa, reminded his audience that man is created in God’s image, and, therefore, it is important for man not to replace God with code. In information technology, a code is a set of programming instructions.

Rebecca Nambuya, a year-one student pursuing a Bachelor of Social Work and Social Administration, said the seminar helped to widen her scope on how to use technology without losing focus on God. “I am now aware of artificial intelligence and how it advances my Christian perspective,” she said.

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To support Uganda Christian University programs, students, activities and services, go to www.ugandapartners.org and click on the “donate” button, or contact UCU Partners Executive Director, Mark Bartels, at m.t.bartels@ugandapartners.org.

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UCU staff ramps up research focus

September 30, 2022News, SRPGS, StudentsPatty Huston-Holm

Gerald Den Ouden making a presentation during the August workshop.

By Israel Kisakye
Performance metrics and rankings seem to be the new gold standard for higher institutions of learning. The statistics in the metrics and rankings determine how many students and how much funding a university attracts. With this awareness, the Uganda Christian University (UCU) Directorate of Research, Partnership and Innovation held a strategic planning workshop for staff.

The mid-August workshop that brought together directors, deans and heads of departments from different schools and faculties aimed at fostering appreciation and development of research.

The UCU Director of Research, Partnership and Innovation, Prof. Elizabeth Kizito, said the workshop made it easier for her docket to play the key role in discussing issues of resource mobilization, research grant management and seeking partnerships and collaborations.

We need to have an appreciation for research, says Dr. Elizabeth Kizito

“The directorate is a service center for the university,” she explained, adding, “if we don’t have a goal, we shall fizzle out at some point. We have to develop our research goals, what we want to attain and how we want it.”

Kizito noted that to improve research in the institution, the directorate has to go to the grassroots by engaging the university’s schools and faculties to come up with a clear research plan.

UCU staff members with Gerald Den Ouden after the workshop

The workshop follows close on the heels of a special training launched in May, to skill graduate students to be able to produce publication-worthy research. At the launch of the training in May, the head of research training in post graduate studies at UCU, Dr. Joseph Owor, noted that the seminars will cover both the main campus and the constituent colleges. Academic staff from all the faculties are expected to attend the trainings that are conducted every Wednesday, starting the second week of every semester, for five weeks.

Kizito believes that if energy is expended on research, UCU will get better in the area, as well as improve their position in the continental rankings of universities.

For the August workshop, Gerald Den Ouden, a Belgium trainer and consultant in research and strategic planning, was the facilitator. Ouden has assisted with over 80 research projects in Africa.

“In order to effectively and efficiently implement a plan, all individuals involved must function as a whole or else the plan is destined to fail,” Ouden said, reiterating that research teams need to work as a collective body.

He noted that during strategic planning, every unit within the organization which is involved in research must agree with the plan, its direction and, therefore, implement the specific actions.

Ouden provided new strategic planning tips to different schools and faculty participants, noting that all strategic plans must be flexible and practical.

Expressing gratitude for Ouden’s presentation, the Deputy Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, Assoc. Prof. John Kitayimbwa, described it as a student-centered learning approach.

Kitayimbwa encouraged the different schools and faculties to emphasize the same approach to the students.

He said UCU exists to groom students and impact communities. “A good university exists because of research. It is one of our core values…Without research, we can’t have any impact.”

David Bukenya, the UCU librarian, pledged to support researchers at the university to achieve their goals. He said the training had enabled them to further understand the needs of the different faculties, and where they need to give support in both teaching and research.

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UCU team releases report on Covid conspiracy theory link to vaccination

September 28, 2022COVID-19, News, SRPGS, UCU School of Business, UCU School of Journalism, Media and Communication, UCU School of Social SciencesPatty Huston-Holm

Around two dozen in-person participants listen and ask questions about the Covid study.

By Patty Huston-Holm with audio-visual by Conrad Okello
Covid-19 – a pandemic waning worldwide – was the topic of discussion for two hours on a Thursday morning in a far corner of the Uganda Christian University (UCU) main campus in Mukono. More specifically, the talk surrounded how false information contributes to health crises overall and how communication of legitimate facts and figures could alleviate sickness and death.

Dr. Geoffrey Rwabaingi Mulindwa, the director of medical services through Allan Galpin Health Center at UCU/Mukono, was among 40 of the combined in-person and on-line participants on Sept. 8, 2022. He listened as collaborators of public health, social science, journalism and business faculty presented their phase one research entitled “Conspiracy Beliefs and Covid-19 Vaccination Hesitancy in Uganda” and shared his perspective over a tea break.

Dr. Bacwayo expresses appreciation for report questions and comments.

“Covid is real,” he stated without hesitancy. “Vaccination should be as annual as a flu shot.”

The medical doctor, age 60 and seeing first-hand cases of coronavirus, notes that the worldometer estimate of 169,396 cases and 3,628 deaths in Uganda is lower than for most countries in the rest of the world. The Uganda data are derived mostly from heavily populated areas in a country that is 75% rural. Residents in the rural areas have been mostly spared from the virus because they are not as close in contact with other people as city dwellers. He estimated at least half of the Uganda adult population has received at least one dose of a vaccination to combat Covid.

Regardless, Mulindwa said vaccination is a means of overall improvement of public health, especially as other diseases – such as polio – are coming back. Numerous credible sources, including the Yale School of Medicine, in August 2022, report the re-emergence of this once-eradicated, crippling polio disease.

Professor Kukunda Elizabeth Bacwayo, director, Postgraduate Studies, speaks as the chief investigator of the study of conspiracy theory impact on Covid vaccinations.

Prof. Kukunda Elizabeth Bacwayo, an Associate Prof. of Governance and Development in the School of Social Sciences and UCU Directorate of Postgraduate Studies, was the Covid-focused study lead investigator with a multi-disciplinary team of colleagues from UCU. Others on the team are Emilly Comfort Maractho, Richard Sebaggala, Solomon Mwije, Mercy Amaniyo, Clare Cheremoi, Evas Kemigisha and Jacqueline Kobusingye.

The team was awarded a UCU research grant to study how conspiracy beliefs affected Covid-19 vaccination hesitancy in Uganda. In a three-year project with an online and physical survey of over 1,000 respondents, the team is examining conspiracy beliefs and their implications for Covid vaccination in Uganda.

Among the Covid conspiracy beliefs are:

The G5 cellular network is responsible for causing COVID-19.
Bill Gates used Covid as a plan to depopulate the world.
High-powered people released Covid on purpose.
Vaccinations having microchips that can be used to monitor behavior.

The study’s main objectives are designed to measure such conspiracy beliefs and establish how they impact vaccination decisions for adults and their children.

Assoc. Prof. Elizabeth Balyejusa Kizito, director, Research, Partnership and Innovation, applauds the UCU team for the Covid-related research.

The population engaged in the study is 47% male and 53% female from the Uganda areas of Mukono, Arua, Gulu, Sheema, Mbarara, Kapchorwa, Kabale and Wakiso. According to the study, inaccurate information is largely obtained through radio and social media via smart phones that are increasingly in the hands of both educated and less-educated persons.

“A lot of this false information was coming through WhatsApp,” Bacwayo said.

Conspiracy theories aside, among the data collected as of early September 2022 are:

Information is more trusted from health care workers than government officials.
Protecting other people is the main reason people get vaccinated.
Lack of safe and effectiveness proof about the vaccine are the main reasons people don’t get vaccinated.

Bacwayo reported that worldwide, the percentage of the population threshold that needs to be immune to achieve herd immunity for any disease should be in the 60% to 70% range. The World Health Organization lists lack of vaccination as one of the top 10 threats to global health.

“Vaccine hesitancy is as high as 70% in developing countries,” Bacwayo said. “Conspiracy theories are the biggest driver to no vaccination.”

Among the questions and feedback from the roughly 24 in-person participants on September 8 was a question about the term “conspiracy,” the actual origin of Covid, why people believe false information, how Ugandan tribal traditions impact beliefs and the reality of a need to get vaccinated more than once.

“We are using this feedback to inform our next phase of the research,” said Dr. Maractho, who is part of the research team.

“We believe this study is relevant and that it will bear fruits in other areas,” Dr. Bacwayo said.

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UCU launches post-graduate research and writing training

September 27, 2022COVID-19, News, SRPGS, StudentsPatty Huston-Holm

The UCU Directorate of Postgraduate Studies team spearheading the virtual research and writing training are (left to right) Dr. Godwin Awio, Dr. Joseph Jakisa Owor, Dr. Kukunda Elizabeth Bacwayo, Dickson Tumuramye and Jerome Makumbi.

By Patty Huston-Holm
In the midst of holding a job and raising a family, many a post-graduate student struggles with a blank computer screen destined for the required research paper. Filling that screen in a language – English – that isn’t a first language is an added obstacle for master’s and doctoral students at Uganda Christian University (UCU).

Help is on the way. It’s already here, actually.

An initiative called CRAWs, which stands for Centre for Research and Academic Writing Services, offers on-line instruction on the various parts of a dissertation and thesis. Led by a team of five within the UCU Directorate of Postgraduate Studies (DPS), the centerpiece of CRAWs is a virtual training module designed to increase understanding of the dozen sections of a research paper. Presenters are subject matter experts from among UCU’s 11 school and faculty areas.

Dr. Godwin Awio, one of the five DPS staff members spearheading CRAWs, is coordinating the module. The primary focus is on assistance to 300 students in the UCU master’s level pipeline.

“Every student can do this,” Awio said. “That’s our main message.”

The on-line module is based on an in-person training conducted by a team of Americans and Ugandans from September 2015 until Covid hit in March 2020. During Uganda’s two-year lockdown, UCU stepped up on-line learning. When the education shutdown ceased, UCU emerged with a plan to conduct nearly all post-graduate courses on line.

The CRAWs module, available without charge to all enrolled UCU post-graduate students, was launched in May of this year. It is designed to introduce participants to critical research and writing skills required to complete a research degree, diploma, publishable articles and other academic reports.

Learning outcomes are:

Identify features of theoretical paradigms
Undertake a literature review
Apply approaches to writing first draft, editing and proof reading
Apply processes in identifying and responding to publication opportunities
Apply time management strategies

Participants who attend at least 75% of the training and complete an assessment requirement receive a certificate. Those unable to complete a module can re-take portions with the next offering period.

For the first module in the spring, 200 students enrolled, with 50 receiving certificates. Most completions were from the School of Business, School of Education and Bishop Tucker School of Theology and Divinity. The biggest problem expressed by students in this module was how to do problem statements and how to engage methodology.

The second module was slated Sept. 21 through Oct. 19, 2022. Based on UCU’s 73-page research manual, topics to be covered in addition to basics of writing include theory, methodology, questions, objectives and literature review. Awio is hopeful soon to incorporate virtual coaching that was part of the earlier model with a reminder “we won’t do the work for them.”

All members of the DPS staff have advanced degrees with understanding of frustrations and isolation of working on a research paper. Their content expertise is in social science, development studies and business. All have involvement and understanding of the process.

The five-member DPS team is:

Dr. Kukunda Elizabeth Bacwayo – director of the directorate
Dr. Awio – head of publications, coordinating student training and publication of work
Dr. Joseph Jakisa Owor – head of research and training
Dickson Tumuramye – assistant registrar, coordinating writing services and staff research training skills
Jerome Makumbi – assistant registrar, managing post-graduate admissions and training

“We look at the training not just to finish a degree, but to sharpen skills to be used elsewhere and to yield quality papers worthy of being published and used by other researchers,” Awio said. “Analytical skills are valuable in multiple careers.”

Reflecting on his PhD research on employee engagement, Owor noted that beyond his thesis is the realization of the importance of his topic in the corporate world.

“Without involving the whole of your head, heart and hands on something, you cannot succeed or make any difference,” he said. “That’s what I invest in the task of promoting graduate research and training to yield quality output. I always insist on quality and, thereby, step on a few people’s feet.”

Makumbi, who did his master’s research on university employee turnover, said, “Research is knowledge sought for and it is humbling to know you are part of the process of changing the world because it’s through this that new innovation and knowledge is realized.”

Tumuramye, who did his master’s research on women economic empowerment, finds his biggest passion in research that involves children as both subjects and participants of studies, but is able to have compassion and understanding in all academic areas.

Awio said his poverty-surrounded environment and his belief in God drive him to serve students. One favorite scripture is from Colossians 3: 23 Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, 24 since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.

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Expert reinforces benefits of partnerships at APC lecture

July 18, 2022Faculty, SRPGSPatty Huston-Holm

Dr. Anthony Mveyange shares a light moment with the UCU Vice-Chancellor Prof. Aaron Mushengyezi.

By Kefa Senoga
Partnerships. Synergies. Everyone who attended the most recent Africa Policy Center’s (APC) public lecture likely left thinking about these two key words. The lecture, held in the International Christian Medical Institute (ICMI) hall of the Uganda Christian University (UCU) main campus (Mukono), featured Dr. Anthony Mveyanga, development economist and policy advisor.

(Dr. Mveyange also is featured in a June 2022 UCU podcast.)

Making a case for partnerships, Mveyange said they help to maximize impact to influence future policy changes. Like marriage, partnerships should be based on mutuality and coherence of interest, Mveyange, a renowned African scholar, argued during his presentation before senior UCU academic and administrative staff.

From (right to left) Prof. Elizabeth Balyejusa Kizito, Dr. Anthony Mveyange, Prof Aaron Mushengyezi, Dr. Emilly Maractho and the executive assistant at PASGR at UCU main campus.

Mveyange called for “multi-disciplinary and interdisciplinary research synergy,” arguing that it will be difficult to get funding for a research project that has no evidence of collaboration “because of the perception that we cannot address public policy from one angle.”

To drive his point home, Mveyange offered lessons from the experience of collaborations that his employer has been engaged in in the recent past.

Mveyange, who has key competencies in strategic leadership, partnerships and collaborations, is the Executive Director of the Partnership for African Social and Governance Research (PASGR), an independent, nonpartisan pan-African non-profit organization in Nairobi, Kenya. that works to enhance research excellence in governance and public policy.

“As PASGR, we are partners with different universities across the continent and this is because we realized that for us to achieve our mission and vision, we cannot deliver on our own,” Mveyange said during his presentation that he made in mid-June.

Director of the African Policy Center, Dr. Emilly Comfort Maractho, talks to Dr. Anthony Mveyange about the relevance of research.

He cited two significant African initiatives – the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and COVAX – which require different countries to work together and share data.

Despite Mveyange’s postulation, he is fully aware that there are some researchers who undermine others, and would, therefore, not embrace partnerships. He says such behaviour is toxic, and cannot offer a favourable environment for partnerships to blossom.

Members of the academia at UCU attending the public lecture by Dr. Anthony Mveyange.

At the public lecture, Mveyange also challenged the audience to ensure that their research influences public policy and aims at solving challenges within the communities where it is being conducted.

“If you are doing research by creating knowledge, there are other issues beyond generating that knowledge,” he stated. “How do you translate that research and knowledge into meaningful tangible outputs that can actually speak to the challenges that the people of the continent are facing?”

Director of the African Policy Center, Dr. Emilly Comfort Maractho, elaborated on the question, noting, “We recognize that a lot of research happens within the university, but little gets translated into policy or is known by the people outside of the academia…the APC seeks to bridge that gap between research and policy.”

She also explained that partnerships evolve by engaging stakeholders.

Maractho commended PASGR for their work in capacity building, noting that she is one of the people who have benefited from the organisation, ever since she joined in 2012 as a researcher trainee in the professional development unit.

Assoc. Prof. Elizabeth Balyejusa Kizito, the Director of Research, Partnerships and Innovation at UCU, thanked the team from PASGR for visiting the university and sharing their insights on the value of partnerships.

“As a university, we are excited about this opportunity because we know that partnerships are key,” Kizito said, re-echoing a saying: “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.”

The APC was officially launched by UCU in 2016 as a think tank that creates a platform for developing indigenous capacity for ideas generation and policy formulation, analysis and research agenda setting from an African Christian perspective.

Speaking to Uganda Partners upon assuming office as Director of APC in 2021, Maractho said she hopes to see the center grow into one where public policy actors “will look to for alternative policy positions.”

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UCU shifts postgraduate structure and puts most programs fully online

March 7, 2022News, SRPGS, Students, UCU Alumni, UCU School of BusinessPatty Huston-Holm

In times of largely in-person learning, Tracy Harrison, an Ohio USA resident, presents to UCU postgraduate students at the Mbale campus.

By Yasiri J. Kasango and Jimmy Siyasa
At the end of 2021, and following a discussion among the Uganda Christian University (UCU) Council, the former School of Research and Postgraduate Studies was changed to two directorates – Postgraduate Studies, and Research, Partnerships and Innovation.

Assoc. Prof Elizabeth Kukunda Bacwayo, once Dean of the former school, is now Director for Postgraduate Studies. Assoc. Prof. Elizabeth Balyejusa Kizito, former Dean of Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, is Director for the newly designated Research, Partnerships and Innovation.

Professor Kukunda Elizabeth Bacwayo, director, Postgraduate Studies

The Directorate of Research, Partnerships and Innovations focuses on grants, partnerships and innovation aspects of the University. Postgraduate Studies is responsible for the overall coordination and oversight of postgraduate programs, including management of examinations, results, curriculum, admission and registration; and developing and implementing policies, guidelines, regulations and strategies for postgraduate training and research.

At the same time, UCU has moved most of its postgraduate academic programs fully online.

Prof. Bacwayo said the development was supported by the fact that most of the students pursuing postgraduate studies are doing it on a part-time basis, alongside their full-time jobs.

Additionally, the move will help the university to maintain the Standard Operating Procedures – namely social distancing – that reduce chances of the spread of coronavirus.

However, Bacwayo noted that the courses that require students to attend on a full-time basis will not go virtual. These courses include the Master of Research and Public Policy, Master of Arts in Theology and Master of Divinity. These full-time postgraduate programs are largely practical and require students to have physical classes, Bacwayo explained.

Universities and higher institutions of learning re-opened on November 1, 2021, for in-person learning after five months of closure as a result of increase in the Covid-19 infections in Uganda. By the time of closure of education institutions in June 2021, which was followed by a total lockdown on movement, the Covid-19 positivity rate was at 18%.

Assoc. Prof. Elizabeth Balyejusa Kizito, director, Research, Partnership and Innovation

It was the second lockdown that schools were facing, only after being allowed to re-open in March 2021, after a year of no physical activity due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Primary and secondary schools, all of which were in a lockdown since June 2021, opened their doors to learners on January 10, 2022.

The Dean of the UCU School of Business, Vincent Kisenyi, said they had tried online classes and that the reception by the students “seemed to be good.”

“Most of the post-graduate students prefer online classes because of the level of flexibility,” Kisenyi said, adding that the virtual classes are convenient for international students who do not have to take flights into Uganda to report for classes.

Kisenyi added that the university is set for online classes as it has developed material and curriculum to suit the demands of virtual learning. At a virtual dialogue to discuss the impact of Covid-19 on academic institutions in 2021, UCU Vice Chancellor Aaron Mushengyezi said the institution had “invested in infrastructure of electronic learning” and had something to share with other institutions.

The institution in 2021 received a boost of $50,000 (over sh170m), courtesy of UCU Partners, to help the University expand its e-learning infrastructure.

Many postgraduate students have welcomed the shift to full online classes. Shillah Mukiibi, a student pursuing a Master of Public Administration and Management, said with the online classes, students can still be able to study while at their work stations.

“It is a more convenient way of learning. It gives us time to work as we study,” Mukiibi said. “In fact, it also helps us to save money because a student doesn’t have to pay fees for transport and accommodation.”

On the downside, Irene Nalumu, a student of Master of Business Administration, complained of the “persistently unstable and expensive internet” in Uganda as an impediment to e-learning.

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UCU appoints new deans, heads of departments

May 24, 2021Bishop Tucker School of Divinity and Theology, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, Faculty of Engineering, Design & Technology, Faculty of Public Health, Nursing and Midwifery, SRPGS, UCU School of Business, UCU School of Dentistry, UCU School of Education, UCU School of Journalism, Media and Communication, UCU School of Law, UCU School of Medicine, UCU School of Social SciencesPatty Huston-Holm

Some new UCU Deans and Heads of Departments present for announcement at a May 2021 function at the Hamu Mukasa University Library. Photo/ Israel Kisakye

By Jimmy Siyasa
The Uganda Christian University has announced a change of the guard within its faculties and departments.

The announcement was made by the university’s Deputy Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, the Rev. Dr. John Kitayimbwa, during the farewell for some of the outgoing leaders and the unveiling of the new guard. The ceremony took place on May 10 in the Learning Commons Room, located at the Hamu Mukasa University Library.

The Rev. Dr. John Kitayimbwa unveils a list of some new deans and heads of departments. Photo/ Israel Kisakye

“Covid-19 has shifted the demands,” UCU Vice Chancellor Associate Professor Aaron Mushengyezi said as he urged the new leaders to be creative in their work. “And so, as we come in to lead, please take note, you are not going to lead with the ordinary tools your predecessors have led with. You will require new tools because wholly duplicating what your predecessors did, may not work.”

Due to the “new normal” presented by the Covid-19 pandemic, Mushengyezi said all programs will have a digital equivalent.

“Covid-19 has changed the academic landscape,” he said. “And so, one of the main tasks for you is to pioneer and continue to consolidate e-learning.”

The university’s council chairperson, the Rt. Rev. Can. Prof. Alfred Olwa, congratulated the new leaders and thanked the outgoing for their dedication and hard work.

The newly appointed Head of the Department of Literature and Languages, Dr. James Tabu Busimba, was delighted by his new role at UCU. Busimba recently retired from a public university, Makerere, after clocking 60 years.

“I think serving in an institution that has one of its core values as Christ-centeredness is such a golden opportunity,” Busimba said. “I am grateful to God.”

According to the Rev. Dr. John Kitayimbwa, the Deputy Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, who unveiled the new team, the UCU Statute for Appointment of deans and heads of departments mandates that the appointments are ratified by the University Senate and then submitted to the institution’s human resource board for consideration.

Comments from some of the leaders
“To me, serving in Uganda Christian University is building the kingdom of God,” Professor Martin Lwanga, former Dean, School of Business, said. “It is a privilege, and some of us are still available to serve at this great institution.”

Eriah Nsubuga, the Head of the Fine Arts Department, said: “It is unusual times. But an opportunity for us to reengineer how we do things. And one thing I like about UCU is that they care for their staff.”

“This year, we are changing direction as a university,” said Prof. Kukunda Elizabeth Bacwayo, the dean of the School of Research and Post Graduate Studies. “We shall provide a bigger amount of funding to professors, to lead various teams of researchers.”

The changes that were announced in May 2021

Faculty/ Department	New Head of Department	Predecessor
School of Research and Post-Graduate Studies	Dr. Emilly Comfort Maractho (Now the Director- UCU Africa Policy Center) Also Head of the Department of Journalism and Media Studies, until contract expires on 31 May 2021	Reverend Professor Lawrence Adams
Faculty of Social Sciences	Mr. Kasule Kibirige Solomon
Department of Social Work and Social Administration. (Expired contract )	Mr. Kasule Kibirige Solomon	Contract renewed
Faculty of Education and Arts
Department of Languages and Literature	Dr. James Taabu Busimba	Mr. Peter Mugume
Honors College	Ms. Pamela Tumwebaze	Reverend Abel Kibedi
Department of Art and Design	Dr. Eriah Nsubuga	Dr. Joel Masagazi
Department of Education	Dr. Mary Kagoire	Dr. Joel Masagazi
School of Business
Department of Management and Entrepreneurship	Mr. Martin Kabanda	Mrs. Elsie Mirembe Nsiyona
Faculty of Health Sciences
Department of Public Health	Dr. Edward Mukooza	Dr. Ekiria Kikule

ASSOCIATE DEAN APPOINTMENTS

Faculty	New Dean	Predecessor
Faculty of Social Sciences	Rev. Dr. Andrew David Omona	Prof. Mary Ssonko Nabachwa
School of Business	Mr. Vincent Kisenyi	Assoc. Professor Martin Lwanga
School of Medicine	Dr. Gerald Tumusiime	Has been acting Dean, but now is the substantive Dean
Faculty of Engineering, Technology & Design	Assoc. Prof. Eng. Eleanor Wozei
School of Law	Dr. Peter David Mutesasira	Dr. Roselyn Karugonjo Segawa
Faculty of Education and Arts	Rev. Can. Dr. Olivia Nassaka Banja	Effective date: September 1, 2021

CONTRACT RENEWALS

Faculty	Dean/ Department Head	Renewal Date
Faculty of Journalism, Media and Communication	Professor Monica Chibita	To be communicated
Department of Communication	Dr. Angela Napakol	Effective date: June 1, 2021
Bishop Tucker School of Theology	Rev. Can. Prof. Christopher Byaruhanga	Renewed in December 2020
Faculty of Health Science	Dr. Miriam Gesa Mutabazi	Renewed but not communicated

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American lecturer describes e-teaching experience in Uganda

March 5, 2021SRPGS, Students, UCU Alumni, UCU School of Social SciencesPatty Huston-Holm

UCU Post-Graduate Student, Prisca Nandede, and niece

By Patty Huston-Holm

On a Saturday and at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Standard Time and via Zoom, the niece of one of my Uganda Christian University (UCU) students in silliness stuck out her tongue at me. I playfully stuck mine back. Then, in a time zone eight hours later, Prisca Nandede, a sociologist pursuing a UCU Masters in Development, shooed away the niece and a younger nephew hanging on her neck, as we got down to business.

Such is how I did my work – coaching doctoral and masters level students about writing and research – virtually in the Covid-restricted learning environment of 2020.

It was a setback. I didn’t want to teach this way.

Author/Lecturer Patty Huston-Holm teaching at UCU in January 2020

The beauty of being on the ground, engaging an entire classroom and praying one-on-one with a struggling student was replaced with text in emails, unfamiliar names asking questions in an e-learning platform and faces blurred through wireless optics via Zoom across the Atlantic Ocean. The pandemic that beached me in the state of Ohio USA did the same but in closer proximity to other UCU lecturers and students.

Misery does love company. But as a volunteer faculty member, I took no solace in the worse suffering of my East African colleagues who were without teaching jobs or teaching with greatly reduced pay. Nor did I relish the shared desolation of students struggling even more to have jobs, put food on the table and access technology to learn and get a degree.

We were in the same e-boat, keeping afloat as best we could.

My course was optional – a seminar, actually – and free of charge to post-graduate students. It was a research and writing seminar designed to help them with their dissertations and theses. Since 2015, I lead the training in person alongside faculty within the UCU School of Research and Post-Graduate Studies (SRPGS). The summer of 2020 was to be a time to focus on a train-the-trainer model in which Ugandan scholars would assume greater ownership of this assistance to students and to their research supervisors.

When leaving Uganda in February 2020 after seven weeks of face-to-face assistance in Mukono and Mbale, I promised Dr. Kukunda Elizabeth Bacwayo and Dr. Joseph Owor to be back in July. As we exchanged hugs and smiles, we knew nothing about a deadly virus drilling into our countries with economic, educational and health consequences.

Starting in mid-March 2020, the coronavirus changed life – and the delivery of education – as we knew it. In both the United States and Uganda, the emphasis was on a greater shift to on-line learning with the realization that the students most financially and technologically challenged would encounter the greatest obstacles.

For my seminar, the content was much the same as what I delivered in person for six years. The focus was on guiding students through the components of the UCU Academic Research Manual with strategies for good writing, quality research and plagiarism avoidance mixed in. My new delivery model involved 16 virtual lecturers on 20 different topics. With eight lecturers from North America and eight from Uganda, we recorded subject matter experts in business, social work, theology, law, education, engineering and journalism, among others. Through YouTube videos of under 15 minutes each, they provided a real-world context for academic learning. We conducted live zoom chats with professionals. We offered e-badges and e-certificates for students successfully completing the quizzes and short writing activities.

From mid-September to mid-December 2020, there were more than 100 students enrolled into the 24-7 e-seminar. Roughly half of those engaged in the content at some level. Nine got certificates. Five, including Prisca Nandede, took advantage of my free services as a virtual writing/research coach.

UCU Masters in Development student, Prisca Nandede

During that Saturday Zoom session, we discussed Prisca’s research topic about how a woman’s participation in the economy impacts her spousal and overall family relationships. Prisca, in her early 40s and working with the Uganda Ministry of Water and Environment, also shared her passion for her job and her concerns about the health of some family members, challenges with technology in Uganda, fears of pre-election violence, remembrances of living in Mbale and Masende and her love of Christ.

While realizing that quality is often more important than quantity, I shared my disappointment with student participation in the e-seminar. I expressed hope for better engagement in the next seminar – March 8 through May of 2021. I asked Prisca for advice to reach and help more students.

For the students and their teachers struggling with on-line delivery, she said, “They need to understand that we all have to adapt (to change) at a certain point.” Concluding our one-on-one Zoom session before the ending prayer, Prisca, one of the UCU students who persevered (i.e. Romans 5:5 with a message of hope) to finish the pilot e-seminar in December, issued this reminder: “It all comes down to God – His plan for us.”

I look forward to what He sets before me in this next 2.5 months.

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For more of these stories and experiences by and about Uganda Christian University (UCU) staff, students and graduates, visit https://www.ugandapartners.org. If you would like to support UCU, contact Mark Bartels, Executive Director, UCU Partners, at m.t.bartels@ugandapartners.org or go to https://www.ugandapartners.org/donate/

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