Mbarara University of Science and Technology (MUST) community is pleased to welcome students and staff from the College of Health Sciences at the University of Buea in Cameroon. A delegation of 40 students and staff arrived in Ugandan on Monday 20th February 2023 and they are hosted at MUST under the Pharmbiotrac project sponsored for a period of two weeks.
Within this period, the two universities (MUST and University of Buea) shall strengthen their partnership which was initiated in 2021, when Assoc. Prof. Robert Tamukong led a team from Phambiotrac to Cameroon where a memorandum of understanding was signed. In the first week, the delegates shall be equipped with research writing skills, and this will be followed by placing the delegates in different departments at MUST for one week.
In his welcoming remarks, Prof. Robert Tamukong revealed the genesis of this partnership which has resulted in the coming of health professionals from the University of Buea to MUST.
‘’It was in December 2021, I decided with my team to visit the University of Buea about this exchange program. I met good people there and we decided to take this relationship further. The vice chancellor of the University of Buea and the team welcomed the idea and a memorandum of understanding was signed.
MUST opted to take the first initiative of hosting the team from Buea University and later our team will also travel to Cameroon for the same purpose. They are here for two weeks and within these weeks we shall acquire research and grant proposal writing skills and then the visitors will be placed in various departments,’’ He reported.
Dr. Joseph Ngonzi the Dean of the Faculty of Medicine expressed thanks to Pharmbiotrac and the delegation from the University of Buea to ensure that the MOU which was signed in 2021 is now at its implementation stage. He stated that as a Faculty of Medicine, they are delighted to associate with the University of Buea and pledged to continue embracing the details of the MOU to ensure that it’s fully implemented.
Prof. Nixon Kamukama, the Deputy Vice-chancellor of Academic Affairs at MUST emphasized that universities exist to solve societal challenges but not to just produce papers only. He thanked Prof. Tamukong for this collaboration to ensure that the two institutions are working together to address community challenges through research and innovations thus leading to the development of Uganda and Cameroon.
Prof Celestino Obua, Vice Chancellor MUST officially welcome visitors to MUST which houses the best medical school in the region. He informed them that MUST is composed of a dedicated team that is focused on achieving MUST’s strategic goals and objectives.
‘’It gives me great pleasure to welcome you to this part of the country. 34 years back, we were the only university located in what people used to call a rural area because we were far from Kampala but now, we are in our own city of Mbarara generating knowledge to help the country and the region.
He recognized the Pharmbiotrac team that went to Cameron to initiate this fruitful. He explained that the university needs to be a melting point of ideas and that MUST is home to great ideas.
‘’I want to thank the students from the University of Buea that chose to come to this beautiful country Uganda and to the prestigious university (MUST). The important thing is that you’ve traveled to experience and discover new knowledge. The interaction you’re going to have with our students and lecturers will be the best. We are honored to see that this partnership is beginning to take shape. Through research and grant proposal writing skills you are going to be taught, we shall ensure that we are working together towards winning grants. When you leave here, we would love to see tangible results,’’ Prof. Obua indicated.
Prof. Chichom Mefire, Vice Dean Research and cooperation Faculty ty of Health Sciences appreciated the warm welcome by the MUST, It is not everyday that you see a Vice Chancellor come to welcome guest, I am humbled by Prof Obua’s presence today”. he thanked the Pharmbiotrac team for choosing University of Buea, to benefit from this the exchange programme and in the long run Africa benefits from the entire.
Prof. Halle-Ekane Gregory from the Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of Buea acknowledged Prof. Obua for the warm welcome they received from the entire MUST community.
‘’In exchange programs like this, there is always something to share and learn. We are here to share what we have and learn new things from MUST and Uganda. We would like to use this opportunity to thank you, particularly for your leadership and networking skills. Through collaborations like this, the University of Buea and MUST become twins; our mission and mission are nearly identical to those of MUST. We need to use this opportunity to make a difference in our institutions and countries through research. Together, we shall excel,’’ He cherished.