Three decades of collaboration
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The collaboration between Makerere University and the University of Bergen dates back to 1988 when Professor Endre Lillethun visited Kampala to assess teaching and research facilities in the Departments of Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics.
Touched by the sorry state of the facilities after many years of civil unrest and mismanagement, Professor Lillethun set out to look for funding to rehabilitate the departments.
Building academic capacity
Norad's Programme for Development, Research and Education (NUFU) approved an ambitious proposal in 1991 that set out to rehabilitate laboratories and upgrade the general infrastructure, revise the curriculum, and assemble new learning and teaching material. The Department of Science and Technical Education was included in the project the following year, and the project was now expanded to include training of technical staff, through workshops in Kampala and apprenticeships with companies in Norway.
The project acted as a springboard for other NUFU projects across the entire University, especially the Faculties of Medicine and Technology, Library services, Human Resource and Financial Information Systems.
A 1998 presentation celebrating ten years of collaboration.
Worried about the lack of actual research taking place, Professor Lillethun started to seek out opportunities for international research collaboration. He launched a programme for capacity building through training of academic staff under joint supervision by staff at Makerere and the University of Bergen.
By the end of the project in 2006, this effort had resulted in 31 master degrees and 19 PhDs across the Departments of Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics.
For his 'contribution to human development and advancement of Basic Science' at Makerere University, Professor Endre Lillethun was awarded the Honorary Degree of Doctor of Science (citation) of Makerere University in 2010.
The formalisation of the Makerere University–University of Bergen cooperation is another acheivement that bulds on Professor Lillethun's legacy.
Research programmes and exchanges
Wimea – ICT project
This Wimea – ICT project aims to improve accuracy of and access to weather information in East Africa through suitable Information and Communication Technologies (ICT). The project has a special focus to help increase productivity in the agricultural, energy, water resources and construction sectors, and the safety in aviation, disaster management, fishing, health, mining, and defense sectors.
Dr Julianne Sansa-Otim
Makerere University
NeoSupra trail project
The NeoSupra trail project seeks to improve neonatal care, especially in low-income countries, to reduce neonatal mortality and achieve the Sustainable Development Goal number 3 target no 2 (SDG-3.2).
Professor Josaphat Byamugisha
Makerere University
Health Informatics Training and Research (HiTrain)
The Health Informatics Training and Research in East Africa for Improved Health Care provides post-graduate (Masters and PhD) training in Health Informatics and research for health professionals and computer science personnel to help them become Health Informatics faculty at their institutions. The project seeks to increase the number of women and marginalized populations in faculty-level training in Health Informatics and research at the LMIC higher education institutions in collaboration with our northern partners.
The project also develop model curricula, educational programs and approaches for faculty-level Health Informatics training that can be emulated by regional higher education institutions.
Dr Josephine Nabukenya
Makerere University
Borderline Dynamics
Borderland Dynamics in Eastern Africa is a network program for capacity building within departments of social anthropology in East African universities. It continues the collaboration between Bergen (Department of Social Anthropology and Chr. Michelsens Institute) and the Universities in Khartoum and in Addis Ababa, and Makerere University in Kampala, also involving OSSREA in Addis.
Professor Leif Manger
University of Bergen
GlobeVac Project
Professor Ingunn Marie Engebretsen
Survival Pluss Project (Professor James Tumwine)
GeoSciences (Dr J. Nagudi)
Malaria Trial (Dr Opika Opoka)
MISR Project (Andrea Felde)
WaSo Project (Dr Tore Sætersdal)
Makerere University
Established as a technical college in 1922.
Affiliated with the University of London until 1963.
Then one of the three constituent colleges of the University of East Africa (UEA).
In 1970, UEA split into three independent universities: University of Nairobi, University of Dar es Salaam, and Makerere University.
Uganda's largest and one of East Africa's leading universities.
Today, it has nine colleges and a School of Law.
About 36,000 undergraduate and 4,000 postgraduate students.
