MUST has been awarded a mega competitive Institutional University Cooperation (IUC) grant titled
"University as a Facilitator for Community Based Sustainable Solutions to Demographic Challenges in
South Western Uganda (UCoBS)" by VLIR-UOS, Belgium. The programme focuses at the Most At Risk
Populations (MARPs) and will be implemented in partnership with Vrije Universiteit Brussels (VUB) and
other Flemish Institutions.
The programme is institutional in nature and encompasses six major projects:
1) Conservation practices and natural resource management and governance;
2) Mechanisms for climate change/variability adaptation for sustainable food production;
3) Access and utilisation of affordable energy technologies;
4)Sexual and reproductive health and rights of women, children and adolescents;
5) Youth employability
through skilling, innovations, experiential learning and technology transfer and
6) Institutional and community ICT capacity to access and utilization of information.
The above Projects or thematic areas are to be achieved through a reciprocal model using participatory, innovative, multidisciplinary, gender-based approach blended with information communication and technology to achieve improved and sustainable household livelihoods of the most at risk populations in South Western Uganda.
Programme focus
The programme focuses on strengthening the role of MUST as a facilitator of community transformation
through Research, knowledge generation, capacity building and community outreach.
Project leaders
We congratulate the Programme Local Coordinator and Leader Assoc. Prof. Charles Tushabomwe-
Kazooba, Leaders of Projects – 1) Dr. Medard Twinamatsiko (FIS&CITT), 2) Assoc. Prof. Grace Kagoro
(FOS), 3) Dr. Johnes Obungoloch (FAST), 4) Dr. Joseph Ngonzi (FOM), 5) Dr. Manasseh Tumuhimbise
(FoBMS) and 6) Dr. Fred Kaggwa (FCI).
Time duration
The programme will be implemented for 10 years in addition to two years of planning and exit respectively
Expected outputs
The expected output are three fold namely capacity building, infrastructural set up and knowledge
generation.
Capacity building through training of postdoctoral fellowships, about 18 PhDs and 60 Masters students;
and various short courses’ staff training of relevant Departments.
Infrastructure set up and operationalization at MUST, its outreach centers and in the community will be
set up. Infrastructural set ups will include GIS laboratories, analytical laboratories, microbiological/
biosafety, plant micro propagation analytical laboratories, climate data digital kiosks and weather stations;
co-creation innovation laboratories, renewable energy research laboratory, clinical skills laboratory and
model high risk maternity birth center, and equipping of community-university satellite innovations and
skilling centers. ICT development at MUST will include coordination and training hubs, solar-powered
digital communication drums and enhanced Open and Distance Electronic Learning.
Knowledge generation in form of publication staff and student mobility between the North and South and
various disseminations conferences hack-a-thons and workshops. ICT will support production of interactive audio and visual communication materials and the uptake of the digital methodologies and tools by the target communities through the citizen scientists approach.
Appreciation
Appreciation goes to God, the source and provider of all, our Vice Chancellor, Prof. Celestino Obua who
gave a green light to the MUST-VUB collaboration through the International Relations Office in 2017 and
supported the application of this grant. Many thanks to the entire writing team and The Vrije Universiteit
Brussel partners that worked tirelessly for almost two years to develop the IUC proposal that has finally
been awarded. The team of multidisciplinary and interfaculty intellectuals who made this happen
by winning the first phase of concept note South, institutional assessment and final Extended Concept
Note. MUST made it from 70 global institutions to 8 and finally to 5 giants!
Succeed we MUST!