{UAH} Attn: Minister Alupo & Mps - Don't abandon your country- Alupo urges PhD holders
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2:02 AM |
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Please refer to Mr. Putin's Strategy. He is creating an environment and facilities / towns to attract the most brilliant minds on the Planet. Especially scientists and Mathematicians.
By Inn
Educater Maj (Rtd) Jessica Alupo has asked Ugandan PhD holders to help in transforming the country's higher education sector – rather than leaving the country for 'greener pastures abroad'.
Alupo made the call on Monday while presiding over Makerere University's international research and innovation dissemination conference held at Hotel Africana in Kampala-
"Stay here and do cutting-edge research for the country. We are going to enhance the salary of academics starting next financial year where a PhD holder will not earn below sh7m every month. We want to bring an end to brain drain among Ugandan academics," Alupo reiterated.
Deputy Head of Mission, Embassy of Sweden, Susanne Spets, interacts with Chancellor of Makerere University, Prof. George Mondo Kagonyera and Minister of Education, Sport, Science and Technology, Jessica Alupo during the International Research and dissemination conference at Hotel African on 20/4/2015. Photo/Mary kansiime
Government, Alupo said, had set aside US$105m for development of public universities- with a bias on research- before citing the Presidential Imitative for science and technology (worth sh5b annually) as another state instrument for developing Uganda's research capacity.
Sweden boosts Makerere with research money
Owing to the rapid pace at which Makerere University is churning-out inventions of global repute, the Swedish International Development Agency (Sida) has confirmed an additional financial support of Swedish Krona 275m (approximately sh94b) for research at the institution. The funding will run for the next five years- winding up in 2020.
Minister of Education, Sport, Science and Technology Jessica Alupo interacting with Vice Chancellor, Makerere University, Prof. John Ddumba Ssentamu during the International Research and dissemination conference at Hotel African on 20/4/2015. Photo/Mary kansiime
In the last 15 years, Sida has sponsored research at Makerere to a tune of Swedish Krona 482m. Sussane Spets, the Head of Development Cooperation at the Swedish Embassy in Kampala said they had selected 17 huge projects from Makerere for funding.
Prominence, Spets noted, would however be tagged to health disciplines- with a third of the funded projects falling in that category, although all fields at Makerere are represented in the pool of undertakings to be supported.
Giving the rationale behind allocation of a slightly larger support slice to health research, Spets said such a verdict would result into improved health status of Ugandans- which would eventually replicate into economic growth.
(l-r) Deputy Head of Mission, Embassy of Sweden, Susanne Spets; Chancellor of Makerere University, Prof. George Mondo Kagonyera; Minister of Education, Sport, Science and Technology, Jessica Alupo and Vice Chancellor Makerere, University, Prof. John Ddumba Ssentamu during the International Research and dissemination conference at Hotel African on 20/4/2015. Photo/Mary kansiime
In justification of the additional funding to Makerere, Spets lauded the university for having stayed loyal to attaining its agreements with Sida in the last project period-2010-2015.
She noted that in 2014, most of the 102 PhD students and 42 Masters Scholars who studied with support from Sida graduated on time.
Defining priorities for the money, Prof Buyinja Mukadasi, the director for research and graduate training at Makerere said using the funding; the institution would train 100 Ugandan academic staff in public universities to masters degree level.
"We will also train 200 PhDs (150 from Makerere and 50 rom partner public universities) - on top of supporting multidisciplinary research," said Mukadasi.
A good portion of the funding, Mukadasi revealed would equally go to enhancing uptake of research and commercialisation of inventions through development of more incubation centres- as a means of generating alternative income for the university and researchers.
Government lauds Sweden
Alupo lauded Sweden for its continued support not only to research but development of Uganda.
The minister said the interventions of the Scandinavian country were in tandem with the strategy of the education ministry which lays emphasis on turning tertiary institutions into research-led hubs for economic transformation in a bid to achieve the vision of making Uganda a middle-income country by 2040.
Makerere University Vice Chancellor Prof John Ddumba Ssentamu said Sida funding to the institution has enabled them to upgrade bandwidth to expand the size of online academic resources in the last few years.
Prof Love Ekenberg from Stockholm University in Sweden who made the keynote address encouraged Ugandan tertiary institutions to introduce more long distance courses conducted online on grounds that it is the trend globally.
"Sweden's clean aid"
Prof Mondo Kagonyera, the Chancellor of Makerere University lauded Sweden for offering support that is not laced with ulterior motives- saying some countries are synonymous with tagging political interests to their aid.
Irene Ovonji, the vice chairperson of the Makerere University Council urged the institution to increase its relevance by conducting research that focuses on influencing public policy and transforming the lives of Ugandans
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