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Background on Academics at MakSPH

PhD in Public Health

Master of public health nutrition (mphn).

Malnutrition remains a major public health problem and a priority area for targeted health intervention in an ever changing world. Many strategies and interventions have been implemented with little or no success in reducing the unacceptably high rates of malnutrition and the attributable mortality…

Master of Biostatistics

Introduction The Master's programme is open to all individuals, Ugandan and Non-Ugandan with background training in a quantitative discipline, or background training in health-related discipline.  Initial enrolment will be fifteen students but the number will increase depending on the teaching…

Master of Environmental and Occupational Health (MEOH)

About the Master of Public Health (MPH) Programme The need for environmental and occupational health services is acute in low-income and newly industrialized countries (NICs) (NSOER, 2014). The discovery of oil and gas in Uganda is one of the newest development prospects, which is associated with…

Master of Public Health Disaster Management (MPHDM)

Disasters are common worldwide. Their etiologies include natural, human induced (technological) and a hybrid of factors. The Great Lakes region of Africa, including Uganda, are prone to both human induced disasters, such as conflicts and warfare leading to massive population displacements of both…

Master of Public Health Monitoring and Evaluation (MPHME)

Background With the increasing demand for governments and organisations to demonstrate results towards achievement of development goals, there has been a surge in the demand for skilled Monitoring & Evaluation (M&E) practitioners. This demand has occurred in the face of limited…

Bachelor of Environmental Health Sciences (BEHS)

About this Program The Makerere University School of Public Health (MakSPH) formerly the Makerere University Institute of Public Health (MUIPH) has reviewed and updated the curriculum for the Bachelor of Environmental Health Science (BEHS) degree programme. The BEHS curriculum being reviewed has…

Advanced Qualitative Research Methods:

The aim of this course is to improve the quality of health research by equipping researchers with advanced qualitative research theories and skills. It is suitable for various practitioners and researchers including postgraduates of various disciplines and PhD Students. The two weeks course is in…

Certificate in Health Informatics

Introduction Information and communication technologies (ICTs) have opened up new opportunities for health care provision in Africa. Health Informatics is an interdisciplinary field that demands for knowledgeable and experienced health care personnel in the field of health, social sciences and…

Certificate in Health Systems Research

The Department of Health Policy Planning and Management HPPM and the Centre for Health Policy and Systems Development (CHPSD) in the School of Public Health under the College of Health Sciences at Makerere University is offering a short course on health system research. Purpose: The purpose of…

Certificate Short Course in Applied Impact Evaluation (AIE)

The Impact Evaluation for Evidence Based Decisions (IEED) at Makerere University School of Public Health (MakSPH), is cordially inviting suitable candidates for a certificate course in Applied Impact Evaluation (AIE). The course is designed for professionals interested in learning modern Impact…

Cost Effectiveness Analysis (5 Days)

About this Course This course introduces students to analytic methods of economic evaluation applied in health care to address the economic question of how to allocate limited health care resources to maximize health benefits. This course will teach students methods for performing a cost-…

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Inter-disciplinary PhD Programme by Research in the Fields of Historical Humanities and Humanistic Social Sciences

Call for Applications

With funding from the Gerda Henkel Foundation of Dusseldorf Germany, the College of Humanities and Social Sciences at Makerere University seeks to admit 10 students for the 2024 intake leading to the award of a PhD in the fields of Humanities and Social Sciences of Makerere University . Historical Humanities and Humanistic Social Sciences include but are not limited to a cluster of subjects (disciplines) that study human society with a particular sensitivity to the shifting historical contexts over time with various kinds of evidence to support analyses of what informs and shapes the changes and the implications of such changes in human society. Therefore, preference will be accorded to projects that approach the study of the Humanities and Social Sciences in the following fields:

• The Classics, namely Literature, Philosophy, Epic, and Drama,
• Prehistory/Early History of Africa
• Archaeology
• Modern African History
• Anthropology
• Language and Linguistics
• Creative Arts in Africa
• Religion in Africa
• Political theory
• Gender Studies

General Requirements

Research experience in the Humanities and Social Sciences at a University or a Research Institute and a strong foundation in writing and research methods is desirable. The applicant should have excellent oral and written communication skills. This is a PhD by research; therefore, applicants should demonstrate capacity for independent work. They should also have excellent interpersonal and problem-solving skills.  

Eligibility

Eligible candidates should:

• Be Ugandan nationals or nationals of a sub-Saharan African country (attach a biodata page of your passport or National Identity Card to your application).
• Hold Master’s degree in the Humanities and/or Social Sciences discipline , for which s/he has applied for from a recognised university.
• Hold an honours undergraduate degree in the Humanities and/or Social Sciences from a recognised university related to the specialisation s/he is applying for ( for example, if you are applying for a PhD is Sociology, you must have offered Sociology at undergraduate level ). 
• Be fluent or show proof of fluency in English Language. Applicants whose working knowledge in English is limited will be required to undergo intensive language lessons at the College’s Language Centre.
• Provide two reference letters from two academic referees who are familiar with his/her work. Note: the referees named on the applicant’s application form should be the ones to supply reference letter.
• Confirm that s/he will be available from September 2024 to undertake a three-year full-time study at Makerere University. Upon admission, s/he will be required to show proof of a study leave from their employer.
• Provide the address and contact (email and phone number) of next of kin.
• Be under the age of 40 years (male) or 45 years (female) by 30 September 2024. Qualified female candidates are particularly encouraged to apply.
• Attach copies of their MA and Undergraduate Transcripts and Certificates that are duly certified either by the awarding institution or the respective national accreditation body.

The programme is fully funded by the Gerda Henkel Foundation and is tenable at Makerere University. The scholarship will cover all costs of PhD training listed below. [1]

• Medical insurance
• Laptop computer
• Travel to take up the fellowship for non-Ugandan fellows.
• Conference attendance

This is a-three-year programme, which begins in September 2024 and ends in June 2027 as shown below.

• September 2024 to March 2025: Proposal Development
• April 2025 to September 2026: Fieldwork
• October 2026 to September 2027: Dissertation Writing

Upon admission, the Fellows will receive a detailed almanac that will detail the timelines and their respective outputs.

How to apply

Completed application form (saved in word: as your surname underscore application e.g., Nyerere Application) with supporting documents (PDF format) must be submitted by Friday, March 29, 2024, to:

The Principal,

College of Humanities and Social Sciences

Makerere University

P. O. Box 7062

Email: [email protected] , copy [email protected]

For Further Information

In case of any questions regarding the programme or your application, kindly contact the following:

• Dr Edgar Nabutanyi (Programme Coordinator)

Email: mailto: [email protected]

• Dr Levis Mugumya (Programme Administrator)

Email: mailto: [email protected]  

• Ms Esther Namitala

Email: mailto: [email protected]

[1] The maximum value of the scholarship payable to each fellow in 2024 is approximately USD 8,200 which will be paid to the fellows in UGX equivalent per year.

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• PhD in Computer Science
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Introduction

The PhD in computer Science program aims at building on the expertise in the masters program to lay ground for the production of world class researchers and innovators in the areas Computer Security as well as Computer Vision & Image processing.

The objectives of the PhD (Computer Science) by Coursework and Research program are to: -

• Build human resource capacity in the area of computer science in both the public and private sectors, especially in universities;
• Develop research capacity in the areas of computer science so as to improve research and innovations output in the country and region
• Address the increasing demand for PhD holders in the areas of computer science
• Provide masters holders with potential for PhD with opportunities to develop skills in formulating, conducting and presenting their own scholarly research through the production of a research-based dissertations and publications.
• Foster initiative and potential for independent self-study that will develop the students’ motivation and ability to continue updating their knowledge and skills after completion of the course of study in relation to scholarship and research.
• Enable the students to be able to demonstrate a critical awareness and reflection on research-based information as a basis for problem solving and practice in professional contexts.
• Enable students to be able to demonstrate ability to interpret and report research findings in areas relevant to their field of study.
• Equip students with research and publication skills to enable them publish research from high quality dissertations in reputable journals and/ or presentation of their research findings at academic conferences

Collaboration Partners

• University of Groningen
• Raudbound University Nijmegen
• Eindhoven University of Technology
• University of Bergen
• London South Bank University

Computing Equipment

The Faculty of Computing and IT has put in place specialized research laboratories i.e. Multimedia Laboratory, Geographical Information Systems Laboratory, Mobile Computing Laboratory, Networking and Systems Laboratory, Software Incubation Laboratory, Computer Engineering Laboratory and E-learning Laboratory and plans are under way to establish more laboratories.

The equipments and software in these specialised laboratories is availed to the PhD students and their supervisors.

Every PhD student at the department is given a laptop and personal computer for the whole duration of the program. Each member of academic staff has a laptop and personal computer in the office.

Research in the Department of Computer Science

Being rather young, the Department of Computer Science does not have a long research history. In its early years, the department lacked staff with advanced degrees to create a critical mass to do substantial research. This was addressed by attracting staff with PhDs as well as training the existing staff to PhD level. Currently, the department has 4 PhD holders while 8 members of staff are undertaking doctoral studies. The research activities in the department are therefore on the raise. The department is currently focusing its research efforts into selected priority areas. These are:

• Computer Security
• Computer Vision & Image Processing
• Study and Optimization of Operational Systems
• Theoretical Foundations of Computing

The department therefore aims at being a center of research excellence in these priority areas. A big portion of its teaching and research at Masters and Doctoral focuses on these areas so as to increase the capacity with in the department as well as the impact in industry.

The Program

Target Group

The program targets holders of a Masters in Computer Science and related fields. Holders of other masters degrees may be considered if there is substantial evidence that they have, by virtue of their work or research, acquired sufficient advanced knowledge in Computer Science.

The tuition of the program shall be 3,875,000 Uganda Shillings per year for Ugandan students and 3,500 United States Dollars per year for International students.

Program Duration

The program duration is four academic years 8 semesters).. One academic year shall be for coursework and research proposal writing and three years shall be for research and thesis writing.

Admission Requirements

To qualify for admission on the program, the candidate should have

• A good Masters degree in Computer Science or a closely related field
• Any Masters degree with evidence of acquisition of sufficient advanced knowledge in computer science by virtue of research or work

Weighting and Semester Load

The weighting unit is a Credit Unit (CU). The credit unit is a contact hour per week per semester. A contact hour is equal to (i) one lecture hour (LH) (ii) two practical hours (PH) (iii) two tutorial hours (TH). The semester load is between 9 and 15 credit units. The minimum graduation load is 18 credit units done in the first year of the program

Core and Elective Courses

A major is the subject/ field/ program of specialization. A core course is compulsory course for the major and an elective course is an optional course for the major.

Assessment will be in form of writing technical reports, reviewing literature, critiquing papers or any other approach a student can use to demonstrate in-depth understanding and synthesis of academic matter. The approach used will depend on the course unit being studied.

Graduation Requirements

To qualify for the award of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Computer Science, a candidate is required to obtain a minimum of 18 credit units for courses passed including all the compulsory courses and the PhD Dissertation within a period stipulated by Makerere University Senate/ Council Let LH, CH, and CU stand for Lecture Hour, Contact Hour, and Credit Unit respectively.

Grading, Pass mark and progression

Grading will be done on the final score of each course unit using the ranges below

A student with a grade point greater or equal to 3 (Letter grade C) in a certain course is considered to have passed the course unit.

The following additional letters will be used, where appropriate: -

W - Withdraw from Course;

I - Incomplete;

F - Failure.

Minimum Pass Mark

A minimum pass grade for each course shall be 3.0 grade points.

Calculation of Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA)

The CGPA is calculated as follows:

Where GP i is the Grade Point score of a particular course unit i; CU i is the number of Credit Units of course unit i; and n is the number of course units done so far.

Normal Progress

A student is considered to be under normal progression if he/she has a grade point of at least 3 in each of the courses that make his/her full semester load.

Probationary

A student is under probational progress if he/she has at least a course unit in his/her full semester load where the grade point is less than 3

PhD Dissertation

• A candidate shall be allowed to formally start on the dissertation after completion of the coursework part.
• A candidate shall submit a dissertation proposal to the Faculty of Computing and Information Technology Higher Degrees Committee during the first semester of the first academic year.
• The candidate shall execute the dissertation after acceptance of the dissertation proposal.
• The candidate shall be required to submit reports of progress to the Faculty Higher degrees committee every 6 months
• The candidate shall, in the process of PhD research, publish at least three peer reviewed articles one of which must be in a specialised journal/conference
• The candidate shall submit a dissertation report before the end of the fourth year (8th semester).

To pass the Dissertation, the candidate shall satisfy the Internal Examiner, External Examiner, and Viva Voce Committee independently.

Discontinuation from the Program

A student shall be discontinued from the program if

• He/she fails to get a grade point of at least 3.0 from any course unit for three sittings
• By the end of the third semester, he/she does not have an approved research proposal
• Without a credible reason, he/she fails to submit the 6 monthly reports two consecutive times
• The candidate shows no substantial progress for two academic years
• Overstays on the program for more than two years
• Fails to pass on the third submission of the dissertation

Detailed Courses

Pse 9102: science of programming (3cu).

(a) Course Description

This course introduces foundational concepts and techniques of programming languages. We use typed λ-calculi and operational semantics as models of programming language concepts. These models are applicable to the design, analysis, and implementation of programming languages. We demonstrate the utility of a mathematical approach to programming languages in answering questions about program correctness, the pro’s and con’s of various languages, compiler correctness, and other practical issues. We focus on two of the most successful styles of semantic description: denotational and operational. We deal with small “core” languages, each chosen to illustrate a specific paradigm. We use semantics to prove properties of a language, to analyze programs, to design correct programs, to prove correctness of compiler optimizations, and to prove general laws of program equivalence.

The objective is to:

• To study formal techniques for describing computation and compilation.
• Provide a more general understanding of programming languages, specification, logic, mathematics, and proof theory.
• Apply formal reasoning to nondeterministic programs and to concurrent programs, and provide an introduction to reasoning about distributed systems (temporal logic).

(c) Learning outcomes

(d) Teaching and learning pattern

Classes are held as a group discussion. Reading material which includes journal papers is distributed a week in advance, and students take it in turns to research and present new topics. The lecturer addresses questions to the students to encourage them to think about and understand the material. The lecturer should become aware of the students' proposed topics of research so that the discussion explores how the principles in the course apply to these topics. The students make presentations of their review paper for critique from both the students and the lecturer.

(e) Indicative content

• Inductive definitions.
• Static and dynamic semantics.
• Type safety.
• Function, product, and sum types.
• Universal types and polymorphism.
• Existential types and data abstraction.
• Recursive types.
• Object types.
• Sub typing.
• Equational reasoning.
• Type inference and unification
• denotational and operational, referential transparency, criteria for choosing models
• Sequential imperative programs: state transformations, partial and total correctness, traces and runtime
• Machine language: jumps and continuations, compiling sequential pro-grams, correctness of compiler optimizations
• Parallel programming: data ow networks, shared-memory parallelism, communicating processes, safety and liveness, fair execution
• Functional programs: types and polymorphism, call-by-value, direct-and continuation-style semantics

(f) Assessment

Progressive assessment will be based on the quality of presentations in class by each student. The final assessment will be based on a scientific review paper.

(g) Reading List

• John C. Reynolds. Theories of Programming Languages. Cambridge University Press, 1999.
• Glynn Winskel. The Formal Semantics of Programming Languages. MIT Press, 1993.
• John C. Mitchell. Foundations for Programming Languages. MIT Press, 1996.
• Martin Abadi and Luca Cardelli. A Theory of Objects. Springer-Verlag, 1996.
• Jean-Yves Girard. Proofs and Types. Cambridge University Press, 1989.

PCS 9101: Philosophy of Computing (3CU)

(a) Description

This course explorer the philosophical foundations of the computing field. It explores the computational understanding of the major parameters that make up and support the computing field. It explores their foundations and philosophical underpinnings.

(b)Aims and Objectives

The aims of the course are:

• To give students an avenue of exploring the philosophical foundations of computing as an academic field
• To give students the historical foundation of computational thinking and interpretation
• To expose students to the philosophical thinkings of the different areas of computing

By the end of the course, the students should be able to:

• Explain the philosophical foundations of computing
• Explain the foundations of theoretical thinking and interpretations
• Explain the philosophical thinkings of the different fields of computing

Teaching will be by lectures, group work, group discussions and presentations

• Mind and Artificial Intelligence (AI): The philosophy of artificial intelligence and its critique, computationalism, connectionism and the philosophy of mind
• Real and virtual worlds: Ontology, virtual reality, the physics of information, physics as a traditional model of the ideal science of the philosophy of science, cybernetics and artificial life
• Language and knowledge: Information and content, knowledge, the philosophy of computer languages, hypertext.
• Logic and probability: probability in artificial intelligence, game theory – Nash equilibrium

Assessment will be by take-home assignments and presentations. Students will be given tasks to read and write about then present in class. The lecturer will award marks for the final a final scientific review paper.

• Floridi, Luciano (1999) Philosophy and Computing: An Introduction. Routledge: London / New York.
• Bynum, Terrel Ward; Moor, James H. (2000) The Digital Phoenix: How Computers are Changing Philosophy. Blackwell Publishers: Oxford, UK.
• Colburn, Timothy R. (2000) Philosophy and Computer Science. M.E. Sharpe: Armonk, NY, USA

PIS 9101: Presentations, Scientific Writing and Research Ethics (3CU)

Most PhD students struggle with scientific writing and presentations in English, and normally much time in a PhD study is spent revising papers and preparing for conference talks. Given the amount of time that PhD students spend writing and preparing to present, students should invest in a systematic study of scientific writing and presentations. The course deals with the publication process from the perspectives of the author of a scientific paper and the editor of a scientific journal. It is intended for PhD students in the fields of computing and Information technology, engineering and natural sciences.

(b) Aims and Objectives

The aim is to give the participants the following

• awareness of the importance of scientific writing,
• motivation to write scientific papers, and
• Prerequisites for publishing in first-class scientific journals.

At the end of this course, students will be able to:

• Make a quality conference presentation
• Write a quality journal article
• Appreciate ethics-related issues when writing a scholarly/scientific paper.
• Understand the prerequisites for choosing the market for publishing

Classes are held as a group discussion. Reading material which includes books and journal papers on scientific writing and ethics are distributed a week in advance, and students take it in turns to research and present. The students are also given reading material on how to make excellent presentations. The lecturer addresses questions to the students to encourage them to think about and understand the material. The classes will also include viewing of recorded seminar presentations by leading academics in the field.

• Science and writing. Reports and scientific publications. The IMRAD format. Scientific journals. Why, what, when, with whom and where publish?
• Structure of a scientific paper. The different parts of a scientific paper. Language and style. The publication process. Writing a paper. Dealing with editors, reviewers and publishers.
• Critical review of scientific papers by groups of participants.
• General principles of expository writing, pre-writing and planning. Typical formats, structure and language for scientific writing, emphasis on scientific articles as published in (primary) international scientific journals. English grammar essential to scientific papers. Designing tables, figures and graphs for scientific papers. Good style for readability. The refereeing and publishing process, what referees are looking for, how to deal with editors. Paragraphing, linking paragraphs to make the logic clear. Writing informative abstracts and crafting clear titles.
• Ethics: Honesty and credibility in scientific writing.
• How to write and publish a scientific paper, Robert A. Day and Barbara Gastel, ISBN:0-313-33027- 1, 6TH Edition, 2006
• Research ethics, edited by Anna Smith IItis, 1st Edition, 2006.
• The student’s guide to research ethics, Oliver, 2003.

PIT 9201 Advanced Research Methods (3CU)

(a) Aims and Objectives

the objectives of this course are to provide:

• Philosophical underpinnings of research in computing and IT
• Practical aspects on doing research

(b) Learning outcomes

At the end of the course the students will be able to apply computing and IT research methods in their research

(c) Course Content:

CThe first part of the course is devoted to the philosophical underpinnings of research, which crucially influence choice of research methods and interpretations of data. The course then moves on to the more practical aspects of 'doing research' - looking at developing a research strategy as well as ways of collecting data, analysing data and communicating research findings. This course will also give guidance to students on how to identify a research problem. Students will be presented with various research paradigms and models of methodology and assisted with designing an appropriate method for their research. Students will be trained in the analysis and presentation of results, exposition of processes and methods used and conclusions drawn. Key philosophical and epistemological bases for research are explored, and alternative methodologies are examined in relation to varied theoretical approaches. Selected sets of methods and techniques are critically appraised, while the range and scope of techniques with which students are familiar is extended. The structure of the course aims to achieve a balance between theory and practice. Considerable emphasis is therefore placed upon the logistics of setting-up, doing and disseminating research. The course not only introduces a range of research ideas and skills central to sound socio-environmental enquiry in general, but also acts as a critical and practical research forum where discussion and preparation for the PhD dissertation takes place.

(d) Teaching and Learning pattern:

Classes are held as a group discussion. Reading material which includes journal papers is distributed a week in advance, and students take it in turns to research and present new topics. The lecturer addresses questions to the students to encourage them to think about and understand the material. Each student undertakes a review of the different research methodologies and makes a presentation before the class. The students will identify researchable problems from which they will apply the concepts taught in class with an aim of producing research proposals by the end of the semester. The students will be required to build on their proposals on a weekly basis in line with the new concepts that will be taught. The students will make presentations of their draft proposal for critique and feedback from both the students and the lecturer.

(e) Assessment Method

(f) References

• Qualitative research and evaluation methods; By Michael Quinn Patton; Edition: 3, illustrated; Published by SAGE, 2002; ISBN 0761919716, 9780761919711; 598 pages.
• Research Design & Statistical Analysis; Third Edition; By Jerome L. Myers, Arnold D. Well, Arnold D. Well, Robert F. Lorch, Jerome L. Myers; Pages: 736; Published by: Routledge; Publication Date: 1st November 2002; ISBN: 978-0-8058-4037-7
• Are Your Lights On? How to Figure out what the Problem Really Is, by Donald C Gause and Gerald M Weinberg, Dorset House, USA, 1990. A brilliant book about getting ready to make decisions.
• Bordens, K.S. & Abbott, B.B. (1988) Research design and methods: A process approach. Mayfield.

PCS 9201: Advances in Digital Security (3CU)

This course aids students to explore in depth selected areas in digital security. It helps them get the general knowledge as well as getting an in-depth knowledge of the current state of practice. It also guides them in making in depth reading so as to be able to critique recent research works as well as identify some existing research gaps.

The aims of the course are to:

• Equip students with the general state and challenges in security of computer systems
• Assist students explore the current state of the art in selected aspects of digital security
• Assists students make deep analysis of the current literature in digital security and identify research gaps

By the end of the course, the students should be able to

• Comprehensively elaborate the typical security challenges in the digital world today.
• Explain ways of attack and techniques of defense on software, hardware and data.
• Have an in-depth understanding of the current research trends in some areas of digital security.
• Comprehend and critique state of the art research findings in digital security.

(d) Teaching and Learning Patterns

The lecturer will chose an area and subject matter to be focused on over a period of time and ask students to do the reading. The lecturer will provide the main reading materials (like journal papers, books, technical reports). The students will do the reading; write their findings (like critique, technical report, etc). The students will make the write up and presentations in class.

• Advances in software security
• Advances in hardware security
• Advances in cryptosystems

(f) Assessment Method

Assessment will be by evaluating the students write ups and presentations. For each write up and presentations, the lecturer will award marks depending on the extent to which the objectives of the assignment has been met. The lecturer will also award marks on the extent to which the student demonstrates his/her mastery of the subject matter during presentations and final write up of a scientific review paper.

(g) Reading lists

Reading materials will largely be got from the publications in journals and conferences of digital security. These include:

• International conference on privacy , security and trust
• Security Journal
• Journal of Computer Security
• International journal of Information Security
• International journal of applied cryptography

PCS 9202: Advances in Computer Vision &Image Processing(3CU)

This course gives students exposure to cutting edge research in the fields of image processing, computer vision, machine learning, pattern recognition and computational statistics. It examines common methodologies in these fields. It also examines current research trends in these fields

(b) Aims/Goals

By the end of the course, students should:

• Become familiar with major areas of research within the fields of image processing and pattern recognition.
• Become familiar with established methodologies and tools which are used in recent mainstream research in these fields.
• Narrow down a topic of interest which would be suitable for PhD research.
• Be able to critically evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of a research paper in image processing.
• Specific topics are to be selected based on the interests of students
• who would generally be expected to have some exposure to these fields
• (e.g. having studied the MSc. courses on Image Processing and Computer Vision, Pattern Recognition). These could include such areas as:Vision, Pattern Recognition). These could include such areas as:

By the end of the course, the student shall be able to:

• Identify the current trends in the specific areas of computer vision and image processing.
• Make a critical review of current literature in selected areas of computer vision and image processing.
• Identify realistic open research areas in the areas of computer vision and image processing.

The course will generally take the form of a reading group. Papers are selected in advance each week, and students take it in turn to lead a discussion through that paper, explaining the methodology used and identifying its strengths and weaknesses. The lecturer is on hand to Moderate the discussion, to provide explanations of difficult material (e.g. mathematical techniques which students are not familiar with) and to correct any misunderstandings which arise. The course will also make use of video lectures available online (e.g. from www.videolectures.net, which is particularly strong on machine learning material). Students should watch these videos of research presentations or tutorials in their own time, and then the class meets to discuss and compare notes.

(e) Indicative Content

• Feature extraction, scale/rotation invariant feature transforms
• Mathematical morphology
• Dynamical models
• Multi target tracking
• Bayesian modeling, graphical models
• Data mining
• Ensemble methods
• Structure learning
• Image segmentation

Students should identify at least one core paper, which is a high-impact recent publication that they think will be relevant to their PhD research. Assessment is based on presentations made during class and a short research paper with a critical literature review of their core papers and surrounding literature, and accompanying seminar presentation.

Papers for reading each week are to be selected according to specific interests, from recent papers in significant conferences and journal including the following:

• Transactions on Pattern Analysis and Machine Intelligence
• IEEE International Conference on Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition
• IEEE International Conference on Acoustics, Speech and Signal Processing
• International Conference on Machine Learning
• Machine Learning
• Advances in Neural Information Processing Systems

PCS 9203: Advanced Applied Queuing Systems (3CU)

TMost of the interesting questions in Computer Science in some way involve finding an optimal solution to some problem given a set of constraints. This course gives students exposure to cutting edge research in the fields of optimization, combinatorics, graph theory, resource allocation, scheduling and applications.

• Become familiar with major areas of research within the theory and application of optimization
• Identify the shortcomings of different optimization methods and where the research opportunities are in terms of extending/modifying existing systems or applying them to new types of data.
• Be able to critically evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of a research paper in optimization.

By the end of the course, the student should:

• Demonstrate sufficient knowledge on the application of queues in real life problems.
• Have knowledge on the approaches of solving queue based problems.
• Have knowledge on the current research trends in queuing systems.

Teaching and Learning will be by study groups. The Teacher will identify the papers and students will study, analyze and report on the papers. They will

• Network flow algorithms and their applications,
• Transportation problem and its variants
• Multi objective optimization
• Formulation of large optimization problems

Students will present and write technical reports in selected areas of the course. The depth and expectations shall be prescribed by the lecturer conducting the course. Such expectations can be identification of gaps, describing the state of the art/practice or critiquing a certain paper/set of paper. The student’s score in at least two presentations and technical reports will constitute the score.

Students will read papers from existing high quality journals/conferences in the broad area of optimization. These include but not limited to

• Journal of Optimization Theory and Applications.
• Queuing Systems: Theory and Applications.
• European Journal of Operations Research.

PSE 9201: Models of Software Systems (3CU)

Scientific foundations for software engineering depend on the use of precise, abstract models for characterizing and reasoning about properties of software systems. This course considers many of the standard models for representing sequential and concurrent systems, such as state machines, algebras, and traces. It shows how different logics can be used to specify properties of software systems, such as functional correctness, deadlock freedom, and internal consistency. Concepts such as composition mechanisms, abstraction relations, invariants, non-determinism, inductive definitions and denotational descriptions are recurrent themes throughout the course.

By the end of the course you should be able to

• understand the strengths and weaknesses of certain models and logics, including state machines, algebraic and trace models, and temporal logics.
• to select and describe abstract formal models for certain classes of systems. to reason formally about the elementary properties of modeled systems

At the end of the course students will be able to: describe and relate different models of software systems; select appropriate methodology to use in the final research work and dissertation.

• what is a model?
• Foundations Logic, Proof Techniques
• Sets, Relations, Functions, Proof Techniques
• State Machines ,Variations , FSP and LTSA , Reasoning about State
• Z Techniques
• Refinement & Abstraction
• Modeling Concurrency in FSP , Modeling Techniques, Reasoning about Concurrency,
• Model Checking Linear Temporal Logic, Promela/Spin

Assessment will be by take-home assignments leading to presentations and a scientific review paper. Students will be given tasks to read and write about then present in class. The lecturer will award marks for each write up of a scientific review paper.

• Concepts and Notations for Concurrent Programming," Andrews and Schneider. Computing Surveys, Vol. 15, No. 1, March 1983.
• Formal Methods: State of the Art and Future Directions", ACM Computing Surveys, Vol. 28, No. 4, December 1996, pp. 626-643. Available as CMU-CS-96-178.
• "Statecharts: a visual formalism for complex systems." D. Harel. Science of Computer Programming, 8:231-274, 1987.
• "FAA En Route Resectorization - A Formal Specification." V.J. Harvey, and P.R.H Place. Unpublished manuscript, September 1999.
• "Coloured Petri Nets: A High Level Language for System Design and Analysis." K. Jensen. In High-level Petri Nets: Theory and Application. K. Jensen and G. Rozenberg (eds.) Springer-Verlag, 1991.
• "Temporal Logic." Draft version of chapter from book in preparation. 1996.
• Concurrency: State Models and Java Programs. J. Magee and J. Kramer. Wiley, 1999.
• "Petri Nets." J. L. Peterson. ACM Computing Surveys, Sept 1977.
• Software Engineering Mathematics. J. Woodcock and M. Loomis, Addison-Wesley 1988.

OR you can also search using our extensive search feature .

• Research Projects

Highlights of some of the projects taking place at Mak

A variety of research projects are taking place across the University. In the following section, we highlight some of them. 

Click on any project title below to expand for more information on that project.

MaRCCI is an African Regional Centre of Excellence for Crop Improvement supported by a grant from World Bank (2017-2022). MaRCCI builds upon Makerere University’s highly respected PhD and MSc training in plant breeding that was initiated as a regional programme by the Regional Universities Forum for Capacity Building in Agriculture (RUFORUM) in 2008.

For more: visit https://rcci.mak.ac.ug/

Makerere University with support from Sida/SAREC has undertaken several research projects in the Faculties of Social Sciences, Agriculture, Medicine and Technology.

The key focus of support was on research and PhD supervision in the various areas as outlined below:

• Livestock nutrition and husbandry project
• Urban crop waste soil fertility inputs in urban and peri- urban Agricultural systems
• Integrated pest management following use of crop-wastes
• Social- economic implications of market waste utilization in urban and Peri-Urban Agriculture
• Molecular Biology of Malaria
• Clinical Pharmacology of Malaria
• Degenerative Diseases, particularly cancer
• Reproductive Health and HIV/AIDS
• Mental Health
• Uganda’s Foreign Policy in the Security Complexes in the Great Lakes Region from 1986
• Agricultural Liberalisation, Gender Relations and Livelihood patterns in Central Uganda
• Gender vulnerability to HIV/AIDS and changes in risk behaviour
• Faculty capacity building Fund
• Conflict and Post conflict reconciliation in Uganda
• Public Policy, changing Gender Relations, Ideologies and Identities in Uganda
• The Political economy of Disease in the context of conflict
• Performance of highway pavements in the Lake Region
• Development of Environment Friendly Architecture in the Lake Victoria region
• Water quality management and pollution control in Uganda
• Characterisation of high temperature ceramic raw materials in Uganda for manufacture of firebricks
• Sustainable energy for rural development
• Integration of small renewable energy sources
• Geographical Information System database for Uganda

The following research projects have been supported by NORAD

• Faculty of Forestry and Nature Conservation (Now - School of Forestry, Environmental & Geographical Sciences) A multidisciplinary approach to encompass a range of species of plants, animals and socio-economic studies of local communities in Budongo Forest

Faculty of Agriculture (Now - College of Agriculture & Environmental Sciences)

Ankole cow and Mubende goat genetic research through the Department of Animal Science, in collaboration with both local and international research institutions.

• Incubator:  The Directorate for Information and Communication Technology Support (DICTS) in collaboration with IDRC and SPIDER  software development projects
• Amategaitu:  Amate Gaitu is a community of commercial farmers in partnership with researchers, students, input suppliers, processors, distributors, consultants, investors and service providers, creating, sharing and applying scientific knowledge and technological innovation through supplying high quality, value added dairy, grain and fruit products for the nourishment and health of Africans.

MUWRP is a Non Governmental not for profit HIV research organization dedicated to finding a safe and effective HIV vaccine. 

For Details please Visit us at: www.muwrp.org

The overall goal of the programme is to increase the capacity of Makerere and Partner public Universities to generate knowledge and promote research uptake for national and regional development. This is line with the Makerere University’s strategic Plan 2008/09 – 2018/19 aimed at enhancing the transformation and utilization of knowledge, research and Innovation capacity of public higher education institutions to conduct and sustain strategic and quality research that will contribute to the development needs of Uganda and beyond.

This goal is to be met by focusing on training to Masters and PhD levels, as well as postdoctoral research. The program will also emphasize strengthening partnerships and optimizing synergies with Sweden supported initiatives in the region.

Objectivies

• Improve the institutional and research infrastructure to support a robust environment for research and innovations at Makerere University by 2020.
• Strengthen local PhD training in public universities in Uganda by 2020.
• Increase the generation and dissemination of knowledge and research outputs by 2020
• Increase capacity for knowledge translation and innovations by 2020.
• Increase partnerships and regional synergies for knowledge generation and sharing by 2020
• Improve the coordination and management of research and knowledge uptake by 2020
• |Increase cooperation with and strengthen capacity of partner public universities by 2020

For more information about this project, visit https://mak-sweden.mak.ac.ug

The Vehicle Design Project is an innovative research project aimed at applying contemporary technologies to develop sustainable transportation solutions for Uganda and Africa.

The Project was inspired by the Vehicle Design Summit (VDS), an International Student-Led Consortium aimed at Leapfrogging Sustainable Transportation Technologies.

In 2008, Vehicle Design Summit (VDS) Teams from 35 Pre-eminent Research Universities built a 5 seater Plug in Hybrid Electric Vehicle, The Vision 200 Led by Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). 

Makerere University, the only African team, developed the Power Train and in-Vehicle Communication Network for the Vision 200.

The vision of the project is to be at the forefront of research and development of green transport technologies in Africa, while its mission is to carry out research aimed at development of cost effective and environmentally friendly transportation technologies for Africa.

The Tactical Objective, on the other hand, is to build from scratch a 2-seater Electric Vehicle code-named Kiira as proof of concept, while the strategic objectives are; development of Hybrid Public transport Vehicle-(Omni-bus), and establishment of Centre of Excellence in Transportation Research.

Click Here To Read More About Kiira EV..

• Research Funding
• Publications
• Research Agenda
• Government - Collaboration & Partnership
• Academic - Collaboration & Partnership

Call for Applications: PhD Research Grants

• September 30, 2022

MAKRIF PhD Call for Research Proposals

Funding opportunity description:  Makerere University received special funding from the Government of the Republic of Uganda, to support high impact Research and Innovations that will accelerate national development. The Financial Year 2022/23 will be the fourth year of this fund’s availability. The fund illustrates the increasing importance that the Government attaches to Research and Innovation as a driver of socio-economic transformation. The objective of the fund is to increase the local generation of translatable research and scalable innovations that address key gaps required to drive Uganda’s development agenda. Over the last three Financial Years (2019/2020, 2020/21 and 2021/2022), government appropriated 79 Billion Uganda Shillings to support this Fund. Between the two years, MakRIF has funded a total of 775 projects across all sectors critical for development. In the next Financial Year (2022/23), Makerere University expects to receive about 30 Billion Uganda shillings (about US$ 8.1 million) under the Government Research and Innovation Fund (RIF). Of this, at least 3 Billion Shillings will fund PhD research ideas that generate knowledge that addresses national development priorities. The Makerere University Research and Innovation Grants Management Committee (GMC) therefore announces the  RIF Round 4, Track 2 (PhD Research Grants) . Available funds are obligated for the Financial Year 2022/2023, with an expectation of actionable results that speak to the National Research and Innovation Agenda. The GMC therefore invites applications from PhD students with original research ideas that demonstrate a clear link to key thematic areas of the National Research and Innovation Agenda. 

This is a closed call that is open to only PhD students. This funding call is specifically targeted to PhD students that are full time at Makerere University.

Grant amounts and estimated number of awards:  The GMC estimates to award the following number and amount of PhD Research Grants:

*Note: The numbers shown are only indicative. The MakRIF GMC reserves the right to adjust the numbers based on the quality of the proposals submitted.

Applicants should take into consideration the following:

• Given that the MakRIF funds are received on an annual basis, and are tied to a specific financial year, the current grant only commits to funding the awardee for a period of one year. This award therefore covers one financial year.
• However, the MakRIF GMC is cognizant of the fact that PhD research often spreads over more than one year in which case it requires multi-year funding. Because of this reality, PhD students who are funded under this round will be eligible for extension funding in the following financial year. Second year funding will not be automatic but will be conditional to the following: 1) Availability of funds, 2) Showing cause as to which additional areas of research will be covered in the second year of funding, 3) Successful execution and completion of all the objectives for Year 1 funding, evidenced by full submission of the required deliverables; 4) Full technical and financial accountability for all the funds given to the researcher during the current year of funding. Students would have to apply for the follow-on funding through the next year’s PhD Research Grant call.
• The GMC recognizes that the amounts indicated for this award may not be sufficient to cover all the necessary costs for a student’s project. In such cases, the award should be considered as a contribution and the students should mobilize additional funding to bridge the resource gaps.
• The number of awards indicated are only estimated and the GMC retains the discretion to determine the amount and number of awards based on the actual funding that MakRIF funders will make available and the number of quality proposals submitted. 

Scope and Technical Description of the Research and Innovation Grant

The GMC conducted a comprehensive stakeholder consultation to identify priority thematic areas of interest for national development. The GMC triangulated this information with that from the National Development Plan III, the Makerere University Strategic Plan and Research Agenda to develop an instructive MakRIF research agenda that responds to national development priorities. The  RIF Round 4, Track 2 (PhD Research Grants)  will therefore specifically target research and innovation projects that align with priority thematic issues in the MakRIF instructive Research Agenda under 14 thematic areas as follows:

SDGs targeted: 2,1,3

The overall aim of the Sector is to increase national income from agriculture as the backbone of the economy, ensure household food security and promote household nutrition from sustainable agricultural production, effective value chains and fair trade. The sector is seeking solutions that boost the transformative potential of agriculture for Uganda’s economy. Specifically, the grant is seeking ideas in the following sub-themes:

Priority sub-themes

• The sector seeks solutions to cost-effectively increase agricultural production of both regular food and cash crops (cereals, legumes, milk, bananas, coffee, cassava etc.), animal products (meat, dairy and poultry) and high value outputs (horticulture, aquaculture, high value crops). Solutions could include improved affordable technologies or approaches to production, plant and animal breeding for better disease, pest and drought resistance, affordable approaches to disease control, novel affordable animal feeds, novel approaches to agricultural water resource management and optimization during dry spells, affordable irrigation technologies, soil management and sustainable fertilisers, affordable mechanisation for modernisation of production. Solutions could also involve natural/herbal/organic approaches to pest/disease control
• Innovations in post-harvest handling and improvement of phytosanitary conditions of produce to reduce post-harvest losses but also ensure safety in the use of chemicals agricultural chemicals and drugs are needed as are approaches to reduce post-harvest losses/wastage (e.g. in the grain and poultry industries).
• Post production, the sector is seeking novel affordable approaches to local value addition to agricultural produce including novel affordable technologies for local produce processing and data driven approaches to value chain analysis.
• The sector needs solutions on Increasing the mobilisation, access and utilisation of agricultural finance
• The sector needs solutions on Increasing market access and competitiveness of agricultural products in domestic and international markets

SDGs targeted: 3,1,6,10

The solutions targeted in this sector mainly aim at achieving universal health coverage through sustainable health measures. A healthy population not only reduces the strain on household and national resources but is the driving force for economic development. The sector also acknowledges that many determinants of health are placed in other sectors, thereby necessitating a cross-sectoral approach. Evidence is needed on new measures to reduce the burden of preventable diseases, but also increase the quality of life for the population through health. Specifically, proposals are sought under the following sub-themes:

Priority sub themes

• The sector needs solutions on how to prioritise countrywide vaccination to mitigate the impact of COVID-19.
• There is a need for research on increasing the capacity to combat communicable and non-communicable diseases and reduce the pressure on our health systems.
• We need ideas and solutions to fast-track the development of a National Health Insurance Policy.
• There is a need for novel ideas on how to fast-track virus research and domestic production of human and animal vaccines in Low and Middle Income countries. New biotechnology products for early characterization, diagnosis and pre-emptive screening for deadly threats as well as just-in-time vaccine development capacity for new disease strains are necessary. Tools and approaches for better surveillance and improved public health response to emergencies are pertinent.
• Research is needed to develop scientifically accredited indigenous medicines since evidence shows that about 70-80% of Uganda’s population still rely on traditional medicines for their Primary Health Care.

SDGs targeted: 3,8,5,10

Education is the driving force for capacity development to develop the skills necessary to drive enterprise and innovation. The main expressed need of the sector is how to leverage the advantages of Uganda’s demographic dividend by providing education that imparts skills crucial for productivity in the 21 st Century and for the world of work. The priority subthemes for the sector are laid out as follows:

Priority Sub-themes

• Research and innovations are needed to generate solutions and recommendations on how to best restore education to normality and attain pre-COVID-19 levels of access to education.
• Research on ways to increase education participation of girls, refugees and other vulnerable populations is also needed, including keeping children in schools (especially the girl-child), incentivizing parent participation in supporting the welfare of children in schools. Research that elucidates approaches for increasing the utility of higher education in improving performance of the private sector and industry is much needed. Given that the education sector is at the cross-roads for influencing many other SDGs in other sectors, evidence is needed on better models for integration of sector needs into formal education processes.
• Research and Innovations on how to Improve the productivity of the labour force through strengthening skills development.

SDGs targeted: 6,3,12,13

The main aim of the sector is to increase access to safe water for domestic use and water for production, and to safeguard the environment through sustainable development approaches. This is in a context where inadequate coverage with safe-water sources and water stress from recurrent dry spells abound leads to a high burden of sanitation related diseases, but also recurrent agricultural losses due to insufficient water. There are major gender disparities in the consequences of access to safe water. The sector seeks solutions under the following sub-themes:

• Research and Innovations to ensure safe water supply systems in rural areas in order to increase the number of water point systems and promote appropriate sanitation and hygiene technologies.
• Research and innovations to promote commercial tree planting.
• Research and innovations addressing wetland encroachment and restoration of wetlands.

SDGs targeted: 8,10,5

The most pertinent challenge faced by the country regarding social development is youth unemployment partly driven by lack of job and lack of skills. Other challenges relate to a lack of community agency to drive self-reliance as well as socio-cultural disparities that drive marginalisation of some populations. Solutions are requested in the following subthemes:

• Research into ways to complete the implementation of the PDM as a delivery strategy for transitioning households out of the subsistence to income economy.
• Research that aims at strengthening the Supervision of SACCOs including those formed under the EMYOOGA program and Parish Development Model (PDM).
• There is a need for research that will equip and operationalize community mobilisation and empowerment (CME) institutions and structures for effective citizen mobilisation and dissemination of information to guide and shape the mind-sets/attitudes of the population.
• The sector requires evidence on how to stimulate jobs from a predominantly informal economy and also how to rapidly skill the youth to meet the needs of the job market (including soft and hard skills).
• The sector needs novel approaches to leveraging the creative arts as a force for development, a source of jobs for youth and as a source of increased contribution to the country’s revenue.
• Solutions are needed to reduce the marginalisation gap faced by vulnerable groups in society. Research is needed on how to overcome gender barriers to the advancement of society including gender-based violence, gender and ageing, and mainstreaming of gender into operational plans.
• Solutions are needed on how to strengthen the role of the state to take on a more active role in development; development of a National Employment Strategy, in a process that will be consultative and reflective of the country's characteristics.

SDGs targeted: 15,14,13,8,1,12

Uganda’s tourism sector is growing and the country is well positioned to be the leading tourist destination for the region. However, much more still needs to be done to unleash the county’s untapped tourism potential which is much higher than it is currently, and which can be a major source of revenue. Research and innovations are sought in the following priority sub-themes:

• Innovations to sustain upstream investment in ongoing product development and tourism-related infrastructure.
• Ideas and solutions to Increase access to tourism recovery financing.
• Research is needed on approaches to boost Uganda’s current tourism potential by increasing visibility and demand for the available tourism products. Solutions are also needed to reduce the cost of accessibility to Uganda’s tourism destinations, novel ways in which local communities can benefit from local tourism, and how to increase domestic tourism by Ugandans.
• Innovative ways to hire and deploy market destination representative firms in key markets.
• Solutions are also needed for better wild-life conservation to protect the country’s wild-life diversity. Evidence of better approaches to wild-life disease management and epizootics is also needed. The sector also needs new tools, technologies and approaches to eliminate illicit trade on wild-life products. Management of human-wildlife conflicts in districts hosting/surrounding conservation.

SDGs targeted: 1,8,11,12

Planning and finance are key cross-cutting sectors affecting development. Successful attainment of development goals need adequate monitoring of national plans as well as sustainable financing methods including a progressive tax base. Solutions are needed in the following sub-themes:

• The sector expressed the need for research and innovations that foster effective implementation of the National Development Plan and the Vision 2040. They need novel tools for collection of routine data from informal sectors of the economy including crowd-sourcing of economic data as well as mining and visualisation of big data to predict economic trends. Tools that support dynamic tracking of development initiatives and geo-location of development projects are welcome. There is also a need for new approaches for increasing the ability of communities to demand for better accountability from public programs.
• The sector needs research and ideas to implement the Government financing strategy including investing the short-term surplus cash, rolling out the use of Mobile money platform for Ugandans to invest in Government Securities, develop a system that will facilitate the Diaspora to invest in government securities and continue exploring new financing options enshrined in the Government of Uganda financing strategy
• Research is needed on how to operationalize the National Development Planning Research Agenda aimed at increasing the participation of non-actors in planning and budgeting; and citizen participation in Local Government Economic Development (LED).
• We need solutions on implementation of the Domestic Revenue Mobilisation Strategy aimed at raising the contribution of domestic revenues by 0.5 percentage points of Gross Domestic Product each Financial Year; and fast-track the activities of Extractive Industries.
• We need solutions to support the preparation of the pre-feasibility and feasibility and value chain studies in priority NDP III projects or areas.
• Novel solutions are needed to sustain the efforts geared towards analysing and negotiating for cheapest financing options available to reduce the cost of borrowing.
• Research is required on how to widen the automation of all systems in Government over the medium term. These include interfacing the Programme Budgeting System (PBS), Electronic Government Procurement (e-GP), Integrated Personnel and Payroll System (IPP), Fixed Asset module, Debt Management and Financial Analysis Program (DMFAS), Automated Information Management System (AIMs), Integrated Bank of Projects (IBP), Case management system among other systems.
• Strengthen Integrated Debt Management function through specialised training, Debt data Reconciliations /validation, Missions to bilateral creditors, and workshops and team building activities aimed at improving data integrity.
• Research is needed on innovative ways of enforcement of Standards for all Tier 4 Microfinance Institutions and Money Lenders under Uganda Microfinance Regulatory Authority.

SDGs targeted: 12,8,16,17

The mandate of the Public Service sector is to deliver effective and efficient social services to the people in a way that effectively reaches the last mile with a professional and competent civil service. The sector seeks solutions in the following sub-themes:

Priority Sub-themes:

• The sector expressed the need for better tools and approaches to ensuring an efficient civil service that is accountable to the people in implementing government programs. Furthermore, there is a need for approaches to digital transformation of public service delivery including strengthening of e-governance for better efficiency. Evidence is also needed on how to better account for public servants’ time, especially in peripheral service delivery workplaces and how to ensure better provision of value for money.
• There is need for research and evidence on better approaches to engagement of communities to mobilise them for development initiatives in ways that contribute to self-reliance and ways to optimise the use of digital identification to improve accountability and citizen services.
• Research is needed on how to develop and operationalize a digital/online content repository for information on Government of Uganda’s programs and projects.
• We need solutions on best practices for implementation of the Parish Development Model as a delivery strategy for transitioning households out of the subsistence to income economy.

SDGs targeted: 16

The defence and security sector has the mandate to ensure peace, security and the rule of law for citizens. A stable and secure country is not only crucial for economic investment but is key to a good quality of life for the citizens. This is coordinated through the armed forces, and other support systems for a secure country. The sector seeks research and innovation ideas in the following sub-thematic areas:

• The Sector has an interest in research and innovation outputs that improve the livelihoods of the men and women in uniform. Areas of interest to combatants’ livelihoods include: Strategies for addressing gender-based violence among combatants’ households, establish regional Command centres and toll-free lines to ease reporting of violent crimes including women murders and Kidnap cases thus strengthening people centred delivery security, law and order services, addressing post-traumatic stress disorder, improving food-security for combatant families and re-imagining the food rations for active combatants. The Sector is also interested in solutions that lead to better livelihoods for veterans of the armed forces including sustainable models for their economic empowerment.
• With the increase in conflict in our border countries, the sector needs solutions to enhance security and peace through coordination with other actors at national, regional and international levels.
• We need solutions to strengthen the promotion of downward accountability through public empowerment for anti-corruption.
• Reinforce investigation and prosecution of corruption cases before courts of law; Combat money laundering and recover illicitly acquired assets.
• A few years after the roll out of the CCTV project to control crime and maintain peace and security, there is a need to establish the efficiency of the project and identify gaps for improvement in identifying black spots in other parts of the country.
• Research is required on how to enhance the deployment of Intelligence Officers in the areas with heightened crime and Night deployment of both foot and motorised patrols in the crime prone areas.
• There is a need to strengthen community engagement for crime prevention through the community policing model of neighbourhood watch, popular vigilance LC I and intelligence-based investigations.
• Increase the use of technology by automating processes and systems to expedite investigations and prosecution of corruption cases

SDGs targeted: 16,17,10

This sector is vested in ensuring that justice is accessible to everyone, and that democracy and protection by the law are ubiquitous. The sector also seeks to ensure adequate protection of human rights. The diplomacy sub-sector aims to promote regional and international cooperation for peace and mutual development. Solutions are needed in the following sub-thematic areas:

• Research is needed on how to strengthen implementation of existing case management reforms such as Mediation, Plea Bargain, Small Claims Procedure, Case Backlog Reduction Strategy, child-friendly procedures, automation of Court processes, daily hearings of criminal cases in the High Court.
• Ideas are also needed on how to apply emerging technologies (e.g. digital technology, artificial intelligence and big-data) to improve the process of delivering justice. Approaches to increased use of ICTs in the courts are also needed.
• As the Government seeks to equip all the 53 border stations, 6 regional offices and 19 missions abroad with all hardware and software, e-immigration system consumables and e-immigration system roll-out peripherals, there is need to develop curriculum/guidelines on how to continuously build capacity of the staff in these offices
• Research is needed on how to upgrade and roll out the e-passport system and e-immigration system to all Ugandan missions abroad to enable complete and free movement of citizens across the country.
• The sector needs evidence on how to undertake research studies to enhance evidence-based legislation. The studies will help to uphold the universal principles of human rights, gender equality, and the aspirations of the Sustainable Development Goals. The sector needs ideas on how to build capacity of Local Government Officials on the drafting of Ordinances and Bye laws, so as to improve on the pieces of draft legislation from Local Governments.

SDGs targeted: 9,8,10

Information and Communication Technology is a cross-cutting sector that supports other sectors. The sector provides a backbone for communication to support service delivery but also promotes the use of ICT tools for more efficiency. The Sector is in the process of building an ICT backbone to support other sectors and to facilitate economic transformation. Research and innovations are needed in the following sub-themes:

• The sector would also like to increase capacity for use of data (including big data and artificial intelligence) for development including fore-casting, planning, monitoring of programs and for development of applications that can improve service delivery. The sector would like innovations that increase the capacity of other sectors to develop and use electronic records such as the flagship e-services and rolled out e-services across all NDPIII programs (e.g. eGP, iHMIS, PBMIS).
• The sector would like to expand the innovative use of digital media and emerging technologies in economic activities and professional service delivery (e.g. mobile phones, drones, nano-technolology, and robotics).
• There is a need for research on how best to coordinate and implement the cyber security strategy and create awareness and sensitization on the Data Protection and Privacy Act and other cyber laws.
• Evidence is required on how best the Government can collaborate with the private sector and partner in the development of local assembly plants to foster manufacturing, and Production.
• We need information on how best to coordinate the implementation of the National Strategy on 4IR, including but not limited to awareness campaigns on 4IR opportunities and risks

SDGs targeted: 9,11,13,10

The works Sector is a services sector that supports other sectors through infrastructure development. The sector also includes the industrial and manufacturing sub-sector which is the engine for national development. The sector therefore relies on technology, investments in industrial development and a major national focus on industry driven economic transformation. Evidence is needed in the following priority sub-themes:

• There is a need for innovative solutions to sensitise farmers/producers on trade procedures and standards with emphasis on exporting and supporting the refurbishment of storage facilities.
• There is a need for innovative solutions to improve the quality and standards of products manufactured in Uganda and expand the services of Uganda National Bureau Standards.
• There is a need for research and innovations on the establishment of Border Export Zones at key strategic border points to increase cross border trade.
• Research and innovations to enhance value addition and industrialization.
• Research and innovations to inform development of regional science, technology and innovation policies; promotion of scientific knowledge, technology advancement and innovation; strengthening support towards the application of science technology and innovation for socio-economic development.
• Research and innovations to enhance implementation of integrated physical and economic development in new cities.

SDGs targeted: 1,8,9,12

The business sector drives the economy. Uganda is ranked as the most entrepreneurial country in the world and the majority of start-ups and businesses are informal. However, the rate at which new businesses fail is high. Innovations are needed to develop a robust business sector that can survive strong economic head-winds to create a sustainable economy.

• Research and innovations on supporting and promoting local content and building capacity of local providers to compete favourably in public procurement and enforcing the Implementation of the Guidelines on Preference and Reservation Schemes, implementation of the existing local content policy, and other related legal and institutional framework.
• Research and innovations to harmonise Legal Metrology procedures and processes in accordance with EAC and other Regional Agreements to minimise Non Technical Barriers to trade.
• Research and Innovations to expand the existing scope for accreditation to ensure recognition of UNBS certification services, testing and metrology services, as well as inclusion of Imports Inspection, market surveillance and Legal Metrology.
• Research on the legal reform process to strengthen the current Free Zones scheme to accommodate Special Economic Zones in order to attract a wider range of export oriented investments.
• There is need for research that will provide evidence on priority enterprises in every parish; in order to inform the Parish Development Model Enterprises.
• There is need for research to support the private sector to create jobs in the key growth areas.

SDGs targeted: 7,1,8,12

Energy drives production in the economy while minerals are a source of wealth that can accelerate national development. There is a need for more innovations in the energy and mineral sector as a direct link to increased revenue and jobs. Solutions are needed in the following priority sub-themes:

• Research and Innovations to increase deployment of new renewable energy solutions
• Research and innovations to maintain existing investments in exploration and quantification of mineral wealth.
• Research and innovations to organise, formulate and regulate artisanal and small-scale miners.
• Research and innovations towards development and implementation of an incentive regime for actors in the priority mineral value chains
• Research and innovations to support Establishment of Quality Management System for oil and gas operations considering gender and equity aspects

The MakRIF PhD Research Grants will cover all technical disciplines in Makerere University as long as the research questions align with the instructive research agenda themes above. Particular attention will be paid to ideas that have clear potential for scalability to drive development.

Note:  This grant covers the coasts of research. It does not cover payment of tuition or living stipends for the PhD students. 

Eligibility

The PhD research grants will only be open to PhD students who have been approved for full registration at Makerere University. Students who have already received full scholarships under other award programs are not eligible to apply for these grants as this will constitute double funding. Members of Academic staff who are not on the Makerere University Staff Development Program, as well as those who are on the Staff Development Program but received only a tuition waiver without research funding are eligible to apply, provided they do not have full funding for their research from elsewhere. This funding is only open to Makerere University students. PhD students registered in other universities are not eligible for this funding. Further specifications on the awards are as follows:

• Applicants must be at a stage where they have been approved for full registration as PhD students at Makerere University. Being at the stage of full registration means that they have developed a full research proposal that has been approved by the respective Higher Degrees Research Committee in their academic unit, and that they have been have been recommended for full registration OR are fully registered by Makerere University. Applicants will be required to provide evidence of one of the following: Minutes of the Higher Degrees Research Committee in their Academic college, showing approval of their research proposal, OR a full registration certificate.
• Because the research funds are provided for one year funding cycles, PhD students with provisional registration will not be eligible for funding under this award since the time required for them to complete full proposal development and to start data collection is unlikely to fit within the financial year. 
• These grants are limited to PhD students who do not have prior funding for their studies or whose funding is inadequate to cover their research. Applicants in the latter category must make full disclosure of their other funding sources and what they cover.
• Applicants should provide a letter of support from any  one  of the following: 1) The Head of their Department, or 2) The Dean of their School, or 3) the Principal of their College (Only one of these is sufficient).
• Applicants should provide a letter of support from one of their Supervisors within Makerere University. The letter should clearly indicate that they do not have other funding that fully covers their research/training activities, or where such funding is available, they should indicate what aspects of the student’s study program it covers and the funding gap. The supporting Supervisor will be designated as a co-Investigator on the research project.

GRANT GUIDELINES

MakRIF PhD Research Grant applicants will submit a competitive project proposal for the available funding. The proposal ought to specify the objectives for the full research project. It should also indicate which of the full research objectives will be specifically met by the available funding for this financial year. 

Students intending to apply for multi-year funding in the subsequent years will be required to indicate so. In such cases, the students should indicate which study objectives would be covered by the extension funding.

The research problem:  The proposal should clearly articulate the knowledge gap that the researcher targets to address, and why it is important to address this knowledge gap. The research problem should be aligned to at least one theme in the MakRIF research agenda. 

The proposed solution:  PhD Researchers should present the proposed solution in form of the research focus for the current phase of the funding. They should clearly articulate the objectives of the planned research. Researchers should also describe the critical content of the solution (i.e., the ‘research methodology’). Researchers should defend the relevance of the proposed solution to addressing key development outcomes in the respective sector and its alignment to one or more thematic areas specified in this call. Researchers should also demonstrate that at least one objective of their research project is implementable within one (1) year and will result in tangible results within one year of execution. 

Research projects that require multi-year implementation will only be considered if they can show actionable intermediate results or objectives attainable within 1 implementation year, since funding will be on a yearly basis. Apart from a summary of the proposed approach, researchers will provide a more detailed description of their technical approach (research methodology) to enable a robust assessment of the rigor of the proposed methodology. 

Outputs, outcomes and impact:  Researchers should articulate the overall scientific outputs, outcomes and anticipated impact of the PhD research project. They should state the primary (Direct) and secondary (Indirect) beneficiaries of the planned research project. They should state the anticipated outputs (the outputs of the activities of the entire project as well as the specific milestones to be attained with the one-year funding) and the outcomes (both the outcomes of the entire project and those for the current funding phase). Researchers should also state the anticipated impact of the the project (Note: Impact might not be achievable in one or even a few years in which case the current phase only contributes to it). Since this funding is specific to the current financial year, projects must demonstrate clearly the deliverables they expect within one year, matching the level of investment made and attainable in the 1-year timeframe. Multi-year projects should show clearly what will be achieved in the current year of funding as well as what would be achieved overall when the full PhD research is completed in the subsequent years.

Translation and dissemination for impact:  Since this fund is aimed at supporting government and its partners to improve service delivery and to accelerate development, researchers should show a clear plan for disseminating their findings to audiences critical for policy and program change so as to achieve impact at scale. This will include a clear description of the knowledge translation and dissemination plan to stakeholders in the relevant sectors including the knowledge products anticipated to arise from the study (e.g., publications, policy briefs, knowledge briefs, etc.). Innovation-based projects should articulate a scaling strategy, including linkage to scaling partners within the industry (for commercially viable enterprises), or within the relevant public sectors (for innovations targeted to the public) or within relevant implementing agencies (for social enterprises). Innovations targeting commercial interest should demonstrate the anticipated commercial potential, anticipated demand, anticipated patents/copy-rights/industrial design claims/trademarks if applicable and the path to commercialization. Innovations targeting social impact (social innovations) should elucidate the path to wide scale community uptake. 

Ethical implications:  The implications of the research to human subjects, animal subjects and the environment should be articulated where necessary including how key ethical or environmental concerns arising from the study will be addressed. It is anticipated that at the time of full registration, projects requiring ethical approval will have already obtained that approval from their respective ethics committees.

Budget:  Researchers will prepare a summary budget for the one-year phase of their project as well as a detailed budget. Budgets should be submitted in the official currency (Uganda Shillings).  Because these are university funds, academic units (Departments, Schools and Colleges) will not charge institutional overheads to any of the research funds. Budgets should not spread beyond one Financial Year. Even if the projects to be funded under this mechanism are multi-year, researchers should provide a budget for only one Financial Year. The budgets will include the following sections:

• 1.0 Personnel costs
• 3.0 Supplies and services
• 4.0 Equipment
• 5.0 Program activity costs
• 6.0 Dissemination

Under Personnel costs, applicants should not budget for ‘Salaries’ for staff who are paid a salary by Makerere University or another Government of Uganda institution (whether on permanent or contract terms) as this would constitute double payment from government funds. However, such researchers can budget for ‘activity-based’ time input or ‘level-of-effort-based’ costs for their additional time input into the project in form of allowances. The latter should be justified by specifying the extra-time demands from the project for each individual involved. 

Researchers can budget for salaries for critical project staff that are not paid by Makerere or the Government of Uganda e.g., Project Coordinators, Administrative Assistants, Research Officers etc. Regular Personnel costs excluding field research assistants should not exceed 33% of the budget. Field research assistants (or Data collectors) if needed should not be included under ‘Personnel costs’ but should instead be included under ‘Program Activity Costs’. All salaries and all repetitive allowances will be subject to mandatory statutory deductions at source, to pay the relevant taxes. Because these funds are earmarked to support actual research, PhD students cannot budget for a monthly stipend under this award.

In addition to the summary budget, research teams will be required to attach a detailed budget (As an MS Excel attachment) that breaks down all expenditure line items, inclusive of a budget justification that explains the rationale behind the different budget items. The total budget in the budget summary should exactly match that in the detailed breakdown. You should budget within the category that your project was funded in RIF-1. Budgeting in another category will lead to disqualification. The total budget should not exceed the highest amount indicated for the respective funding category in which your project lies. Exceeding the indicated category maximum can result in disqualification.

PhD Researchers can also budget for Tuition.

Workplan:  Researchers will provide a list of key milestones for the project clearly demonstrating the deliverables expected at each point during the extension phase of the project. These milestones will be used as the basis for tracking implementation of activities towards project goals and outputs. Given the one-year time-frame for the awards, it will be important that researchers commit to a clear time-bound set of deliverables all achievable within one year for the main deliverable targeted during the current period of funding. Failure to articulate a one (1) year plan will imply inability to utilize the grant funds within one (1) year

GRANT PROCESS

Submission of applications:  Submission of the applications will be online at  http://rif.mak.ac.ug/portal All submissions must be online and must be made within the stipulated period. To access the application form, the PhD Research Fund applicant will be required to create a MakRIF account. In your account, select the appropriate funding opportunity and fill out the application form. 

Rules governing applications:  All applications should be written in English. All applications should be submitted via the online portal mentioned above. Complete applications must be submitted not later than 11.59pm East African Time on the closing date. No submissions after closure of applications will be accepted. Any attempt at solicitation of acceptance beyond this date will not be entertained. The Grants Committee bears no responsibility for submissions that are not completed in time and incomplete submissions will not be considered. If none of the submitted applications meets the requirements to receive a grant, the call may be reopened at the sole discretion of the Grants Management Committee. An individual researcher should not submit more than ONE application.

Participants agree to assume any and all risks, and to waive claims against Makerere University and the Grants Management Committee for any injury, death, damage, or loss of property, revenue, or profits, whether direct, indirect, or consequential, arising from their participation in this grant implementation.

Evaluation and selection of projects:  Applications will be reviewed by the GMC. Submission of an application does not mean the project must be funded. The GMC will evaluate five main aspects of the project:

• The alignment of the proposed research to national priorities as stipulated in the MakRIF research agenda
• Clear articulation of the knowledge gap and how the planned research will contribute to building new knowledge
• Quality of the proposal in terms of the relevance and innovativeness of the proposed solution, the planned activities and the articulation of a sound methodology
• Clear stipulation of outputs and outcomes and feasibility of tangible achievements within one year of funding
• Potential impact and transformativeness of the proposed research idea
• Submission of a realistic budget

Notification of successful applicants:  Successful applicants will be informed by email to their designated point of contact.

Grant timeline:

To submit application, please create an account on https://rif.mak.ac.ug/portal and login to start the application process.

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Phd in mathematics.

The PhD programme provides advanced training at international level for math-ematicians who are interested in the fundamental ideas of Mathematics. It pro-vides training for those who intend to apply Mathematics in industry, teaching and scientific research.  This training is done without losing sight of the impor-tance of fundamental mathematical concepts that are widely used in applications. Indeed, Mathematics is increasingly being used in economics, finance, insurance, environmental studies, climate changes and health sciences among other areas.

The prospective student must first discuss with proposed supervisor(s). The PhD is by thesis only. Applicants should normally have a rich Master's degree in mathematics from a recognised university. A research concept (synopsis) of 3-5pages should accompany the application. The synopsis will be the basis for provisional admission (one year) during which time the candidate will develop a comprehensive Ph.D proposal. The graduation load is 66CUs. Each student will have a Doctoral Committee to guide the student throughout the programme. The Doctoral Committee is additionally to the supervisors.

Objectives of the Programme

The overall goal of this PhD programme is to provide the region with graduates having a strong and broad background in Mathematics as well as increasing the use of Mathematics in the private and public sectors in the region, and in multidis-ciplinary research conducted at Makerere University and in the region.

The specific objectives of the programme are:

• To provide skills for high quality research and teaching in the field of Mathematics and its applications.

• To raise a critical mass of mathematicians at PhD level in Uganda and the region.

• To increase the use of Mathematics in industry and society.

• To enhance efforts of researchers in Mathematics and its applications and draw them towards interdisciplinary research.

To promote the existing collaboration in Mathematics research and teaching between universities in the region (in particular, Eastern Afri-ca), and Swedish universities by 2020 and beyond.   PhD studies are in the following areas (and related areas):

Biomathematics/Mathematical Epidemiology Ecological Modelling Insurance Mathematics Financial Mathematics Dynamical Systems Numerical Analysis Topology

Ph.D Codes, Course name and CUs

Semester I ART9105  Scholarly writing and communication skills (3) PMTH9101  Proposal writing (5) PMTH9102  Seminar I (Literature Review) (4)

Semester II PMTH9201  Progressive Report I (4) PMTH9202  Seminar II (Method development) (4) PMTH9203  Progressive Report II (4)

Semester III PMTH9301  Seminar III (4) PMTH9302  Seminar IV (4) PMTH9303  Progressive Report III (4)

Semester IV PMTH9401  Seminar V (4) PMTH9402  Seminar VI (4) PMTH9403  Progressive Report IV (4)

Semester V PMTH9501  Seminar VII (4) PCNS9502  Draft thesis write-up (5)

Semester VI PMTH9601  Seminar VIII (4) PCNS9602  Final Thesis write-up (5)

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CARTA PhD Fellowships 2024/2025 for African Researchers

Ifeoma Chuks

March 19, 2024

The call for application for the CARTA PhD Fellowships 2024/2025 is now open. The Consortium for Advanced Research Training in Africa (CARTA) is currently offering a collaborative doctoral training program in public and population health. 

Application Deadline: 30th April 2024

Eligible Countries:

• Makerere University, Uganda
• Moi University, Kenya
• Obafemi Awolowo University, Nigeria
• University of Ibadan, Nigeria
• Kamuzu University of Health Sciences, Malawi and Associates (through Kamuzu)
• University of Nairobi, Kenya
• University of Rwanda, Rwanda
• University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa (Wits can only nominate staff members who are citizens of an African LMIC outside of South Africa)
• Somali National University, Somalia (through collaboration with Makerere University)
• African Population and Health Research Center, Kenya
• Agincourt Health and Population Unit, South Africa
• Ifakara Health Institute, Tanzania

To be taken at (country): Below is a list of Universities and host countries

Get Up to $100,000 Student Loan for Your Master in US or Canada - See if you are eligible

Participating African Universities:

• Makerere University, Uganda.
• Moi University, Kenya.
• Obafemi Awolowo University, Nigeria.
• University of Ibadan, Nigeria.
• University of Malawi, Malawi.
• University of Nairobi, Kenya.
• University of Rwanda, Rwanda.
• University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa.

Participating Research Institutes:

• African Population and Health Research Center (APHRC), Kenya.
• Agincourt Health and Population Unit, South Africa.
• Ifakara Health Institute (IHI), Tanzania
• KEMRI/Wellcome Trust Research Programme, Kenya.

Non-African Partners:

• Brown University, USA.
• Canadian Coalition for Global Health Research (CCGHR), Canada.
• Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute (Swiss TPH), Switzerland.
• Umeå University, Sweden.
• University of Gothenburg, Sweden.
• University of Warwick, UK.
• University of Bergen, Norway.
• Uppsala Monitoring Centre, Sweden.
• University of Chile

Eligible Field(s) of Study: Public and Population health related fields such as public health, demography, anthropology, communication, and economics.

About the Award:  The Consortium for Advanced Research Training in Africa (CARTA) is an initiative of eight African universities, four African research institutes, and select northern partners. CARTA offers an innovative model for doctoral training in sub-Saharan Africa to strengthen the capacity of participating institutions to conduct and lead internationally-competitive research.

This program has been developed in response to the great challenges faced by Africa’s institutions of higher education in addressing the training and retention of the next generation of academics in the region. Women are particularly encouraged to apply.

In 2025, the CARTA program plans to offer up to 15 PhD fellowships and two additional fellowships reserved for staff members of the Somali National University (SNU), Somalia, who will be mentored by one of the CARTA partners, Makerere University, Uganda. The fellowships, which are tenable at the CARTA African universities, include the following benefits:

Successful applicants will attend CARTA’s innovative series of Joint Advanced Seminars (JAS) for cohorts of doctoral students admitted and registered in the participating African universities. Both the development and delivery of these courses are jointly-led by regional and international experts. The seminars consist of didactic sessions, discussions, demonstrations, and practice labs. These activities collectively serve to:

• Expose students to key theories and concepts, seminal readings, and research methods of disciplines relevant to public and population health;
• Train students in critical research skills; and
• Build and maintain a network of researchers for scientific collaborations, professional support, and mutually beneficial exchange of scientific resources

Type: PhD, Research, Fellowship

Eligibility:

• A Masters degree in a relevant field.
• Prior admission into a PhD program is not required for application but awards are contingent on such admission being obtained at one of the participating African universities.
• Applicants for this program must be teaching or research staff at one of the participating African institutions and should be committed to contributing towards building capacity at their institutions.
• Applicants’ PhD research proposal must be related to public and population health.
• Fellowships are only open to people who have not yet registered for a PhD or are in the very early stages (first year) of the PhD program.
• Applicants must commit to participation in all four annual residential Joint Advanced Seminars (JASes), and to engage in inter-seminar activities designed to keep fellows actively engaged and in continual communication with peers and mentors.
• Male applicants must be under the age of 40 years and female applicants under the age 45 years by April 30, 2019.

Number of Awards:  Up to 15 PhD fellowships and two additional fellowships

Value of Award:  In 2025, the CARTA program plans to offer up to 15 PhD fellowships and two additional fellowships reserved for staff members of the Somali National University (SNU), Somalia, who will be mentored by one of the CARTA partners, Makerere University, Uganda. The fellowships, which are tenable at the CARTA African universities, include the following benefits:

• The cost of the fellow’s participation in the advanced seminars; 
• A modest monthly stipend; moderate support for research activities; 
• A laptop loaded with relevant software;
• Funds to attend one international conference; and 
• Support to participate in training programs of choice. 

Note: The CARTA fellowships run for a maximum of four years. Fellowships will only cover tuition fees, medical insurance, and travel support for fellows registered at a partner institution different from their own.

Respective African partner institutions need to commit to continue paying fellows’ salaries (or equivalent) as faculty members and to modify their workloads for the fellows, to enable them to fully participate in CARTA-organized activities pertaining to their PhD program and also to concentrate on their PhD studies. The partner institutions will also need to commit to waive the fellows’ fees if they are registered at the institution where they are employed. Fellows are encouraged to seek supplemental funding to cover additional costs of their doctoral program.

Duration of Scholarship: The fellowship runs for a maximum of four years.

How to Apply: 

• Contact the  CARTA focal person at your institution  to discuss your interest and obtain application materials. Application forms may also be downloaded below.
• At this point, applicants are expected to submit their application forms and reference letters by  April 15, 2024,  to the Focal Persons at partner institutions  WITH A COPY TO THE SECRETARIAT  ( [email protected] ) .  You can access the application  here.
• CARTA partner institutions will nominate candidates who will be invited for the full application process. The institutional selection will take place between  April 15 and May 15, 2024 . Institutions must submit a completed University CARTA PhD Fellowships Applications Screening Form by  May 15, 2025 .
• Only those who are nominated by their institutions will be invited to submit a full application between  June 1 and July 15, 2024 . 

The full application includes:

• A full research proposal
• Letter of support from their institution committing to modify the workloads for the fellows, to enable them to fully participate in CARTA-organized activities pertaining to their PhD program and to waive the fellows’ fees if they are registered at the institution where they are employed. 
• Critical review of a scientific article
• Numeracy task 
• Critical thinking task 
• Understanding plagiarism course 
• Basic Health Research Ethics course 

Applications will be accepted  ONLY  through the official portal. Nominated candidates need to make sure to receive an official ID to log in and submit within the time stipulated by the system. No late or incomplete application will be considered under any circumstance.

Final fellowship decision, which is independent of the university nomination, will be communicated by the CARTA Secretariat by  November 1, 2024 .

Visit Scholarship Webpage for details

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Makerere University PhD Courses Offered

Makerere University PhD Courses Offered – Check the list of doctoral degree programs offered at Makerere University…

DOCTORAL DEGREES BY COURSEWORKS AND DISSERTATIONS

• PhD in Health Science
• PhD in Agricultural and Rural Innovation
• PhD in Data Communication & Software Engineering
• PhD in Computer Science
• PhD in Information Technology
• PhD in Information Systems
• PhD in Information Science
• PhD in Educational Management
• PhD in Plant Breeding and Biotechnology
• PhD in Economics

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5 thoughts on “ Makerere University PhD Courses Offered ”

I would like to apply for PhD in Educational Management by Coursework 2021/2022 ACADEMIC Year. I request to know the deadline and requirements.

I would like to apply for PhD in Social Sciences by Research 2021/22 Academic year and my preferred topic is “Public Policy and Strategic Management”

I would like to apply for masters in Public Health y course work 2022/2023 ACADEMIC Year, Via full tome i want to know the deadline and requirements. and the tuition fee for completing the course.

I would like to apply for PhD in Educational Management 2021/2022 ACADEMIC Year. Kindly provide me with detailed information on the above programme.

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• Apply to UMaine

Graduate Assistantship: Office of Research Development and the Graduate School

The Office of Major Scholarships (OMS), the Office of Research Development, and the  Graduate School are seeking to hire a graduate student starting in Spring 2024 to support graduate students’ fellowship applications. The incumbent will have office space in Stodder Hall (ORD) and Estabrooke Hall (OMS).  

The primary responsibilities of the graduate assistant include:  

• Liaise between the Office of Major Scholarships, the Office of Research Development, and the  Graduate School in the activities that support graduate fellowships  
• Work side by side with ORD and with OMS to support UMaine graduate student participation in a  targeted list of fellowships  
• Design, disseminate, and promote outreach materials  
• Provide logistic support for, and present at, outreach events  
• Keep updated contact lists of support staff, faculty allies, and interested students  
• Track submissions, awards, etc. 
• Provide initial feedback on scholarship application materials  
• Create and maintain relationships with graduate student organizations and groups  

Required qualifications:  

• Strong interpersonal communication skills 
• Ability to design and give engaging presentations 
• Ability to work independently, initiate tasks, think creatively, and share ideas  
• Comfort communicating with a wide range of audiences (graduate students, faculty, higher  administration) 
• Familiarity with marketing tools such as Canva, WordPress, and Mailchimp  
• Effective time management and organizational skills  
• Attention to detail  
• Interest in student and career development  
• Ability to work on multiple tasks simultaneously 

Applicants must be admitted to a UMaine graduate degree program and enrolled full-time (credits will depend on candidacy for PhD students). Graduate students from any discipline are welcome to apply. Preference will be given to PhD students at the start of their program.  

This 9-month position requires a commitment of 20 hours per week during regular office hours.  The appointment carries a monthly stipend of approximately $2117.17 (PhD student) or $1,833.33  (Masters student) plus a tuition waiver for up to 9 graduate credits per semester, and up to 6 graduate credits during the Summer Term and 50% of the insurance premium if covered under a plan offered by the University of Maine. The University of Maine System Research Reinvestment Fund (RRF) provides support for this appointment.  

Send a letter outlining your interest and qualifications, a copy of your resume, a sample of outreach materials you have designed (flier, brochure, or other), and contact information for 3 references to  [email protected]. Incomplete applications will not be considered.

Review of applications will begin immediately and continue until the position is filled.  

For further information: [email protected] and [email protected]

Western News

To further strengthen Western’s long-standing partnership with Makerere University , a delegation led by President Alan Shepard signed a memorandum of understanding today in Kampala with Uganda’s largest and oldest institution of higher learning.   

The MoU broadens existing relationships with Makerere including Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry ’s formal agreement, which was signed in 2006.

Makerere was represented by vice chancellor Barnabas Nawangwe, a highly respected academic leader and renowned architect.     

President Alan Shepard accepts a logo crested jacket from Makerere Vice Chancellor Barnabas Nawangwe at the MOU signing ceremony. (Awel Uwihanganye photo)

“This is a testimony to the important agreement we already have with Makerere University and sets the stage for further research and collaboration we seek to do in the future,” said Lily Cho, associate vice-president (International).    

The MoU signed in 2006 with Schulich Medicine & Dentistry now includes collaboration with Western’s Faculty of Health Sciences and the Global Health Systems (GHS) master’s program , including an annual eight-week internship at research facilities, grassroots organizations and NGOs in Uganda, as well as placements for students enrolled in dentistry (DDS) and medicine (MD) at Western.    

“Many Western researchers already have relationships with Makerere that they want to formalize and fortify,” said Opiyo Oloya, associate vice-president of equity, diversity and inclusion. “And Western as a university is committed to strengthening our internationalization efforts for greater impact, in pursuit of a more sustainable, just and inclusive society. Africa, specifically Uganda, is home to incredible students, faculty and staff and by partnering with them and learning from them, we know they can help us cultivate more inclusive, diverse and sustainable practices across campus and around the world.”   

The new MoU expands this existing agreement to include other faculties at Western, including Science, Health Sciences and Engineering. Science Dean Matt Davison recently visited Makerere, where important steps were taken towards establishing a joint applied mathematics PhD program.    

Health Sciences Dean Jayne Garland will travel to Kampala in May to attend the Global Health Systems field school and investigate more joint programming opportunities for the faculty.    

“Makerere has many programs aligned with our faculty including their health professional programs, so there are more opportunities for both educational connections as well as research collaborations. I’m looking forward to meeting with them to see where we can further our partnership,” said Garland.    

Current Uganda research highlights    

Between 2019 and 2023, Western researchers co-authored 45 joint publications with researchers at institutions in Uganda.    

Schulich Medicine & Dentistry scientist Maria Drangova is co-leading a frugal biomedical innovation project with Dr. Robert Ssekitoleko at Makerere and Dr. Kenneth Iloka and Dr. June Madete at Kenyatta University in Nairobi, Kenya, to develop a low-cost material testing system for biomedical engineering educational programs. Material testing, an important component of biomedical engineering, is performed using specialized equipment that is typically quite expensive, but the new project will develop low-cost alternatives, using commercial hardware and open-source software.    

Jessica Prodger, Canada Research Chair in genital immunology and sexually transmitted infection prevention at Schulich Medicine & Dentistry, is the director of the Global Health Systems master’s program and a longstanding research collaborator at the Rakai Health Sciences Program and the Uganda Virus Research Institute. The research focuses on designing new ways to prevent HIV transmission, which could have a significant impact on the HIV epidemic in sub-Saharan Africa.    

Eric Arts, Canada Research Chair in HIV Pathogenesis and Viral Control, is the executive director of Western’s state-of-the-art biocontainment level 3 (CL3) facility, Imaging Pathogens for Knowledge Translation (ImPaKT), specifically focusing on combating deadly pathogens. In 1998, Arts established the WHO regional Uganda molecular virology labs at the Joint Clinical Research Centre. The primary mission is to understand HIV pathogenesis. The labs are currently directed by Immaculate Nankya, a close collaborator of Arts.

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Xiong named IEEE fellow for contributions to semiconductor manufacturing process

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By PETER MURPHY

Published March 20, 2024

Jinjun Xiong

Jinjun Xiong, SUNY Empire Innovation Professor in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering, has been elevated to fellow in the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). The organization cited his contributions to process variation modeling, circuit yield optimization and their applications in industry. 

IEEE is the world’s largest technical professional organization. It has more than 427,000 members across 190 countries who are engineers, scientists and allied professionals. The organization produces over 30% of the world’s literature in electrical, electronics and computer engineering.

Xiong says the contributions he was recognized for are the culmination of work he has been conducting for more than a decade to create the software and tools to help designers build better semiconductor chips.

A typical semiconductor chip contains billions of transistors. When transistors shrink in size, more transistors can be packed into the chip while requiring less power to function, allowing the chips in mobile phones, medical devices, automobiles and other devices to have enhanced performance over previous versions. At least, this is what should happen, says Xiong. Technology scaling, or Moore’s law, could also cause deviations in the manufacture of semiconductor chips, leading to varying performance and power.

Process variation, in this instance, makes semiconductor chip designers’ jobs to produce optimal chips for different devices arduous. To tackle these challenges, Xiong and his team model, optimize and test chips.

“Every two or three years, technology will shrink the size of transistors — on and off switches in almost all of our chips — which means the performance of the technology will double. You can see the performance getting better and better,” Xiong says. “But the resulting process variation and its impact on chip design and testing will become more difficult to handle. A lot of my work is about how to address process variation impacts.”

Transistors equal in size perform differently and generate varied levels of power when placed at different locations throughout the chip. Transistors placed close together are more likely to have similar performance compared to those that are placed farther apart. This phenomenon is called spatial variation and is one of the factors Xiong and his team model.

“An important factor to consider is spatial correlation,” Xiong explains. “It’s the same chip, but you have transistors at different locations. Think of it like building a house and that all your beams vary in their length or strength, and you put one sized beam on the second floor and a different sized beam on the third floor. The house’s stability will be unpredictable if not modeled correctly,” he says.

Xiong began this work conceptually as a PhD student at the University of California, Los Angeles. He was able to put these concepts into practice when he joined IBM in 2006. By the time he left IBM in 2021, many of his research results and technologies had been integrated into the company’s design and test flows, helping IBM to ship multiple generations of its high-performance server chips and American Semiconductor Innovation Coalition (ASIC) chips.

Xiong has nearly 45 patents related to process variations, and some of his patents have also been licensed to external companies for commercialization.

A career built on data

Xiong’s current research is in artificial intelligence. He was recently named director of UB’s Institute for Artificial Intelligence and Data Science (IAD) and is the scientific director and co-director of the $20 million National AI Institute for Exceptional Education at UB. The shift from modeling process variation to AI is not a stark change: Xiong says the work overlaps.

“Dealing with process variation requires modeling the process. You need to make sure that you know the process data and manufacturing data. From the data, you build your process variation model,” he says. “I model the data while dealing with a lot of uncertainty. The essence of my work is about how to optimize under the uncertainties. This has been my body of expertise, and it can be translated to AI research as well.”

During his career, Xiong has also examined smarter and renewable energy and cognitive computing. He has worked with data, including big data analytics, in all of his research areas. He continues to work within those areas today in his various roles, including in a new role as an affiliated faculty member with UB’s Center for Advanced Semiconductor Technologies.

“UB has established a new semiconductor microelectronics center,” Xiong says. “Given the recent CHIPS Act and UB’s central role as part of the federally dedicated tech hub, I would love to use my background and new capacity as director of IAD to see how we can really establish UB at the forefront of semiconductor research with AI.”

Mak-RIF Round 5, Track 2: PhD Research Grants 2023/2024 Request For Applications

Funding opportunity description: Makerere University received special funding from the Government of the Republic of Uganda, to support high impact Research and Innovations that will accelerate national development. The Financial Year 2022/24 is the fifth year of this fund’s availability. The fund illustrates the increasing importance that the Government attaches to Research and Innovation as a driver of socio-economic transformation. The objective of the fund is to increase the local generation of translatable research and scalable innovations that address key gaps required to drive Uganda’s development agenda. Over the last four Financial Years (2019/2020 – 2022/2023), government appropriated 105 Billion Uganda Shillings to support this Fund. Between the four years, MakRIF has funded a total of 1.062 projects across all sectors critical for development. In the current Financial Year (2023/24), Makerere University expects to receive about 30 Billion Uganda shillings (about US$ 8.1 million) under the Government Research and Innovation Fund (RIF). Of this, at least 1.5 Billion Shillings will fund PhD research ideas that generate knowledge that addresses national development priorities. The Makerere University Research and Innovation Grants Management Committee (GMC) therefore announces the second round of PhD research grants as part of the 5 th round of RIF funding titled: RIF Round 5, Track 2 (PhD Research Grants) . Available funds are obligated for the Financial Year 2023/2024, with an expectation of actionable results that speak to the National Research and Innovation Agenda. The GMC therefore invites applications from PhD students with original research ideas that demonstrate a clear link to key thematic areas of the National Research and Innovation Agenda. This is a closed call that is open to only PhD students. This funding call is specifically targeted to PhD students that are full time at Makerere University .

Grant amounts and estimated number of awards: The GMC estimates to award the following number and amount of PhD Research Grants:

*Note: The numbers shown are only indicative. The MakRIF GMC reserves the right to adjust the numbers based on the quality of the proposals submitted.

Applicants should take into consideration the following:

• Given that the MakRIF funds are received on an annual basis and are tied to a specific financial year, the current grant only commits to funding the awardee for a period of one year (12 months) of implementation.
• However, the MakRIF GMC is cognizant of the fact that PhD research often spreads over more than one year in which case some projects require multi-year funding. Because of this reality, half of the awards under this round will fund extensions for eligible projects that were previously funded. Extension funding will not be automatic but will be competitive and conditional to the following: 1) Availability of funds, 2) Showing cause as to which additional areas of research will be covered in the extension funding, 3) Successful execution and completion of all the objectives for the previous funding period, evidenced by full submission of the required deliverables; 4) Full technical and financial accountability for all the funds given to the researcher during the previous year of funding. Prior grantees in need of extension funding must apply for the follow-on funding through the new PhD Research Grant call.
• The GMC recognizes that the amounts indicated for this award may not be sufficient to cover all the necessary costs for a student’s project. In such cases, the award should be considered as a contribution and the students should mobilize additional funding to bridge the resource gaps.
• The number of awards indicated are only estimated and the GMC retains the discretion to determine the amount and number of awards based on the actual funding that MakRIF funders will make available and the number of quality proposals submitted.

Scope and Technical Description of the Research and Innovation Grant

The GMC conducted a comprehensive stakeholder consultation to identify priority thematic areas of interest for national development. The GMC triangulated this information with that from the National Development Plan III, the Makerere University Strategic Plan and Research Agenda to develop an instructive MakRIF research agenda that responds to national development priorities. The RIF Round 5, Track 2 (PhD Research Grants) will therefore specifically target research and innovation projects that align with priority thematic issues in the MakRIF instructive Research Agenda under 14 thematic areas as follows:

Theme 1: Transforming the Agricultural sector to drive development

Theme 2: Achieving Sustainable health as a means to sustainable development

Theme 3: Re-imagining Education to unlock capacity for economic development

Theme 4: Water, sanitation and the environment: A pre-requisite to sustainable development

Theme 5: Harnessing the social sector, culture and arts to drive development

Theme 6. Harnessing Tourism, wildlife and heritage for development

Theme 7: Sustainable Planning, finance and monitoring as catalysts for growth

Theme 8: Leveraging public service and local administration for efficient service delivery

Theme 9: Defence and security: Achieving sustainable peace and stability

Theme 10: Strengthening law, governance, human rights and international cooperation as prerequisites for development

Theme 11: Harnessing Information and Communication Technology to drive development

Theme 12: Works, manufacturing, science and technology as tools to accelerate development

Theme 13: Solutions to catalyse business and enterprise

Theme 14: Energy and Minerals as drivers of rapid economic development

The MakRIF PhD Research Grants will cover all technical disciplines in Makerere University as long as the research questions align with the instructive research agenda themes above. Particular attention will be paid to ideas that have clear potential for scalability to drive development.

Note: This grant covers the costs of research. It does not cover payment of tuition or living stipends for PhD students .

Eligibility

The new PhD research grants will only be open to PhD students who have been approved for full registration at Makerere University . Students who have already received full scholarships under other award programs are not eligible to apply for these grants as this will constitute double funding. Members of Academic staff who are not on the Makerere University Staff Development Program, as well as those who are on the Staff Development Program but received only a tuition waiver without research funding are eligible to apply, provided they do not have full funding for their research from elsewhere. This funding is only open to Makerere University students. PhD students registered in other universities are not eligible for this funding. Further specifications on the awards are as follows:

• Applicants for new awards must be at a stage where they have been approved for full registration as PhD students at Makerere University . Being at the stage of full registration means that they have developed a full research proposal that has been approved by the respective Higher Degrees Research Committee in their academic unit, and that they have been recommended for full registration OR are fully registered by Makerere University . New grant applicants will be required to provide evidence of one of the following: Minutes of the Higher Degrees Research Committee in their Academic college, showing approval of their research proposal, OR a full registration certificate.
• Because the research funds are provided for one year funding cycles, PhD students with provisional registration will not be eligible for funding under this award since the time required for them to complete full proposal development and to start data collection is unlikely to fit within the financial year.
• New grants are limited to PhD students who do not have prior funding for their studies or whose funding is inadequate to cover their research. Applicants in the latter category must make full disclosure of their other funding sources and what they cover.
• Applicants for extension awards should have been funded in the earlier PhD research awards. Only those who have completed and closed out their previous projects will be considered.
• All applicants (new and extension) should provide a letter of support from any one of the following: 1) The Head of their Department, or 2) The Dean of their School, or 3) the Principal of their College (Only one of these is sufficient).
• All applicants (new and extension) should provide a letter of support from one of their Supervisors within Makerere University . The letter should clearly indicate that they do not have other funding that fully covers their research/training activities, or where such funding is available, they should indicate what aspects of the student’s study program it covers and the funding gap. The supporting Supervisor will be designated as a co-Investigator on the research project.

GRANT GUIDELINES

MakRIF PhD Research Grant applicants will submit a competitive project proposal for the available funding. The proposal ought to specify the objectives for the full research project. It should also indicate which of the full research objectives will be specifically met by the available funding for this financial year.

Applicants intending to apply for multi-year funding in the subsequent years will be required to indicate so. In such cases, the students should indicate which study objectives would be covered by the extension funding.

The research problem: The proposal should clearly articulate the knowledge gap that the researcher targets to address, and why it is important to address this knowledge gap. The research problem should be aligned to at least one theme in the MakRIF research agenda.

Previously funded proposals applying for extension funding should indicate how the proposed research problem builds on the research problem of the previous phase.

The proposed solution: PhD Researchers should present the proposed solution in form of the research focus for the current phase of the funding. They should clearly articulate the objectives of the planned research. Researchers should also describe the critical content of the solution (i.e., the ‘research methodology’). Researchers should defend the relevance of the proposed solution to addressing key development outcomes in the respective sector and its alignment to one or more thematic areas specified in this call. Researchers should also demonstrate that at least one objective of their research project is implementable within one (1) year and will result in tangible results within one year of execution.

Research projects that require multi-year implementation will only be considered if they can show actionable intermediate results or objectives attainable within 1 implementation year, since funding will be on a yearly basis. Apart from a summary of the proposed approach, researchers will provide a more detailed description of their technical approach (research methodology) to enable a robust assessment of the rigor of the proposed methodology.

Previously funded proposals applying for extension funding should indicate how the proposed solution builds on the solution from the previous phase.

Outputs, outcomes, and impact: Researchers should articulate the overall scientific outputs, outcomes and anticipated impact of the PhD research project. They should state the primary (Direct) and secondary (Indirect) beneficiaries of the planned research project. They should state the anticipated outputs (the outputs of the activities of the entire project as well as the specific milestones to be attained with the one-year funding) and the outcomes (both the outcomes of the entire project and those for the current funding phase). Researchers should also state the anticipated impact of the the project (Note: Impact might not be achievable in one or even a few years in which case the current phase only contributes to it). Since this funding is specific to the current financial year, projects must demonstrate clearly the deliverables they expect within one year, matching the level of investment made and attainable in the 1-year timeframe. Multi-year projects should show clearly what will be achieved in the current year of funding as well as what would be achieved overall when the full PhD research is completed in the subsequent years.

Previously funded proposals applying for extension funding should indicate how the proposed outputs, outcomes and impacts build on those realized in the previous phase of funding.

Translation and dissemination for impact: Since this fund is aimed at supporting government and its partners to improve service delivery and to accelerate development, researchers should show a clear plan for disseminating their findings to audiences critical for policy and program change so as to achieve impact at scale. This will include a clear description of the knowledge translation and dissemination plan to stakeholders in the relevant sectors including the knowledge products anticipated to arise from the study (e.g., publications, policy briefs, knowledge briefs, etc.). Innovation-based projects should articulate a scaling strategy, including linkage to scaling partners within the industry (for commercially viable enterprises), or within the relevant public sectors (for innovations targeted to the public) or within relevant implementing agencies (for social enterprises). Innovations targeting commercial interest should demonstrate the anticipated commercial potential, anticipated demand, anticipated patents/copy-rights/industrial design claims/trademarks if applicable and the path to commercialization. Innovations targeting social impact (social innovations) should elucidate the path to wide scale community uptake.

Previously funded proposals applying for extension funding should indicate how the planned knowledge translation/scaling activities builds on those in the previous phase of funding.

Ethical implications: The implications of the research to human subjects, animal subjects and the environment should be articulated where necessary including how key ethical or environmental concerns arising from the study will be addressed. It is anticipated that at the time of full registration, projects requiring ethical approval will have already obtained that approval from their respective ethics committees.

Budget: Researchers will prepare a summary budget for the one-year phase of their project as well as a detailed budget. Budgets should be submitted in the official currency (Uganda Shillings).  Because these are university funds, academic units (Departments, Schools and Colleges) will not charge institutional overheads to any of the research funds. Budgets should not spread beyond one Financial Year. Even if the projects to be funded under this mechanism are multi-year, researchers should provide a budget for only one Financial Year. The budgets will include the following sections:

• Personnel costs
• Supplies and services
• Program activity costs
• Dissemination

Under Personnel costs, applicants should not budget for ‘Salaries’ for staff who are paid a salary by Makerere University or another Government of Uganda institution (whether on permanent or contract terms) as this would constitute double payment from government funds. However, such researchers can budget for ‘activity-based’ time input or ‘level-of-effort-based’ costs for their additional time input into the project in form of allowances. The latter should be justified by specifying the extra-time demands from the project for each individual involved.

Researchers can budget for salaries for critical project staff that are not paid by Makerere or the Government of Uganda e.g., Project Coordinators, Administrative Assistants, Research Officers etc. Regular Personnel costs excluding field research assistants should not exceed 33% of the budget. Field research assistants (or Data collectors) if needed should not be included under ‘Personnel costs’ but should instead be included under ‘Program Activity Costs’. All salaries and all repetitive allowances will be subject to mandatory statutory deductions at source, to pay the relevant taxes. Because these funds are earmarked to support actual research, PhD students cannot budget for a monthly stipend under this award.

In addition to the summary budget, research teams will be required to attach a detailed budget (As an MS Excel attachment) that breaks down all expenditure line items, inclusive of a budget justification that explains the rationale behind the different budget items. The total budget in the budget summary should exactly match that in the detailed breakdown. You should budget within the category that your project was funded in RIF-1. Budgeting in another category will lead to disqualification. The total budget should not exceed the highest amount indicated for the respective funding category in which your project lies. Exceeding the indicated category maximum can result in disqualification.

PhD Researchers cannot budget for Tuition.

Workplan: Researchers will provide a list of key milestones for the project clearly demonstrating the deliverables expected at each point during the extension phase of the project. These milestones will be used as the basis for tracking implementation of activities towards project goals and outputs. Given the one-year time-frame for the awards, it will be important that researchers commit to a clear time-bound set of deliverables all achievable within one year for the main deliverable targeted during the current period of funding. Failure to articulate a one (1) year plan will imply inability to utilize the grant funds within one (1) year.

Previously funded proposals applying for extension funding should indicate how the current workplan/milestones build on those proposed and realized in the previous phase of funding.

GRANT PROCESS

Submission of applications: Submission of the applications will be online at https://rif.mak.ac.ug/portal . All submissions must be online and must be made within the stipulated period. To access the application form, the PhD Research Fund applicant will be required to create a MakRIF account. In your account, select the appropriate funding opportunity and fill out the application form.

Rules governing applications: All applications should be written in English. All applications should be submitted via the online portal mentioned above. Complete applications must be submitted not later than 11.59pm East African Time on the closing date. No submissions after closure of applications will be accepted. Any attempt at solicitation of acceptance beyond this date will not be entertained. The Grants Committee bears no responsibility for submissions that are not completed in time and incomplete submissions will not be considered. If none of the submitted applications meets the requirements to receive a grant, the call may be reopened at the sole discretion of the Grants Management Committee. An individual researcher should not submit more than ONE application.

Participants agree to assume any and all risks, and to waive claims against Makerere University and the Grants Management Committee for any injury, death, damage, or loss of property, revenue, or profits, whether direct, indirect, or consequential, arising from their participation in this grant implementation.

Evaluation and selection of projects: Applications will be reviewed by the GMC. Submission of an application does not mean the project must be funded. The GMC will evaluate five main aspects of the project:

• The alignment of the proposed research to national priorities as stipulated in the MakRIF research agenda
• Clear articulation of the knowledge gap and how the planned research will contribute to building new knowledge
• Quality of the proposal in terms of the relevance and innovativeness of the proposed solution, the planned activities and the articulation of a sound methodology
• Clear stipulation of outputs and outcomes and feasibility of tangible achievements within one year of funding
• Potential impact and transformativeness of the proposed research idea, especially in contributing to national development
• Submission of a realistic budget

Notification of successful applicants: Successful applicants will be informed by email to their designated point of contact.

Grant timeline:

Click here to apply Now

View on Mak-RIF

CoBAMS partners with UMA to increase industrial research

Call for papers – makerere university journal of agricultural and environmental sciences (mujaes).

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Call For Applications: CARTA PhD Fellowships 2025

The Consortium for Advanced Research Training in Africa (CARTA) is pleased to invite suitable applications for its prestigious PhD Fellowships for the year 2025. CARTA is a collaborative initiative involving eight African universities, four African research institutes, and eight non-African partners. Our mission is to bolster the capacity of African institutions to conduct globally competitive research, with a particular focus on addressing health and development challenges in the region.

About the CARTA PhD Fellowship

As part of its innovations, CARTA offers a collaborative doctoral training program in public and population health. This program has been developed in response to the great challenges faced by Africa’s institutions of higher education in addressing the training and retention of the next generation of academics in the region. Specifically, CARTA seeks to fund candidates who will be future leaders in their institutions. That is, young, capable, and committed individuals who, in time, will ensure that their universities will be the institutions of choice for future generations of academics and university administrators wishing to make a positive impact on public and population health in Africa.

The multi-disciplinary CARTA PhD fellowship is open to staff members of participating institutions who are interested in conducting their PhD research on topics relevant to the broad fields of public and population health. We welcome applications from any discipline, such as public health, demography, anthropology, communication, and economics, among others, as long as the research question aims to contribute to public and population health issues in Africa. CARTA is committed to gender equity in access to the training programs and governance structure and implements a series of interventions to support the progress of women in academia (see CARTA’s gender position). Women are therefore particularly encouraged to apply. 

Successful applicants will attend CARTA’s innovative series of Joint Advanced Seminars (JASES) for cohorts of doctoral students admitted and registered in the participating African universities. Both the development and delivery of these courses are jointly led by regional and international experts. The seminars include didactic sessions, discussions, demonstrations, and practice labs.

Eligibility

• A Master’s degree in a relevant field.
• Prior admission into a PhD program is not required for application but awards are contingent on such admission being obtained at one of the participating African universities.
• Applicants for this program must be full-time teaching or research staff at one of the participating African institutions and should be committed to contributing towards building capacity at their institutions.
• Applicant’s PhD research proposal must be related to public and population health.
• Fellowships are only open to individuals who have not yet registered for a PhD or are in the very early stages (first year) of the PhD program and are yet to define their research proposal. Fellows seeking support to complete a PhD or secure an additional PhD are not eligible to apply.
• Applicants must commit to participation in all four annual residential Joint Advanced Seminars (JASes), and to engage in inter-seminar activities designed to keep fellows actively engaged and in continual communication with peers and mentors.
• Male applicants must be under the age of 40 years and female applicants under the age of 45 years.

Eligible African Institutions

• Makerere University , Uganda
• Moi University, Kenya
• Obafemi Awolowo University, Nigeria
• University of Ibadan, Nigeria
• Kamuzu University of Health Sciences, Malawi and Associates (through Kamuzu)
• University of Nairobi, Kenya
• University of Rwanda, Rwanda
• University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa (please note that South Africans are not eligible)
• Somali National University, Somalia (through collaboration with Makerere University )
• African Population and Health Research Center, Kenya
• Agincourt Health and Population Unit, South Africa
• Ifakara Health Institute, Tanzania

Application Procedure

• Contact the CARTA focal person at your institution to discuss your interest and obtain application materials.
• At this point, applicants are expected to submit their application forms and reference letters to the focal persons at partner institutions by April 15, 2024 , WITH A COPY TO THE SECRETARIAT ([email protected]) .
• CARTA partner institutions will nominate candidates who will be invited for the full application process. The institutional selection will take place between April 15 and May 15, 2024 . Institutions must submit a completed University CARTA PhD Fellowships Applications Screening Form by May 15, 2025 .
• Only those who are nominated by their institutions will be invited to submit a full application between June 1 and July 15, 2024 . 

Click Here to Access Full Call

Business & Management

Makerere University ‘s College of Business and Management Sciences (CoBAMS) and the Uganda Manufacturers Association (UMA) have inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the objective of bolstering industrial research efforts.

The collaboration aims to harness research capabilities to address challenges within Uganda’s manufacturing sector, thereby boosting its growth and competitiveness. Makerere University , in line with its strategic objectives, prioritizes forging strong partnerships and upholding a research-centric approach.

At the MoU signing ceremony held at UMA on February 27, 2024, Mr. Deo JB Kayemba, the Chairman of UMA’s Board, referenced the significant progress witnessed in countries like India, Japan, and South Korea, attributing it to the integration of research in supporting industrial advancement. He emphasized the pivotal role of innovation in driving the manufacturing sector forward and underscored the necessity of collaboration in realizing research-led manufacturing.

Prof. Eria Hisali, the Principal of CoBAMS at Makerere University , expressed appreciation for the collaborative efforts and committed to operationalizing the MoU. He stressed the importance of enhancing graduates’ practical skills by involving industry experts in curriculum development and delivery, thus enriching students’ knowledge base and fostering skills development.

Additionally, Prof. Hisali highlighted the imperative to innovate in support of industry, manufacturing, and technology, aligning with the overarching objective of promoting locally manufactured goods and self-sufficiency. The partnership will encompass various activities, including joint research endeavors, publication of findings, policy paper writing, and engagement with relevant stakeholders.

Specific initiatives under the MoU include providing internship opportunities for UMA-selected students through Makerere University ‘s internship programs, facilitating knowledge transfer and staff exchange programs, organizing joint seminars, workshops, and conferences aimed at skill development, and collaborating on curriculum review and development to align with industry needs.

Agriculture & Environment

The Editorial Board, Makerere University Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences (MUJAES), College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences (CAES) is receiving manuscripts for consideration for Volume 13, Issue 1 2024 that will come out in June 2024 and Issue 2 slated for December 2024. Manuscripts should be sent to [email protected]. For details on MUJAES and guidelines for submission of manuscripts, visit: https://mujaes.mak.ac.ug/ . Manuscripts to be considered for publication in MUJAES should be based on original research findings. For any inquiries, contact; Dr Jeninah Karungi-Tumutegyereize, Editor, MUJAES. Email – [email protected].

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