Faculty of Business and Management Sciences

The Faculty of Business and Management Sciences(FBMS) formally Institute of Management Sciences (IMS) was established in March 2013. FBMS mandate is to serve as a centre of excellence in business management and professional development in Uganda and the region. Some of our students come from neighboring countries of Rwanda, Tanzania, Burundi, Kenya and South Sudan.
FBMS seeks to meet Uganda’s needs, as a gateway institution both within the East African region and globally. It will serve as a hub for local and global talent, business research, business-university partnerships, global leadership, local entrepreneurship and innovation.

The distinctiveness of FBMS is its focus on meeting the management needs of local and public and private organizations within the dynamic global economy. Building on MUST’s core commitment to training, research and outreach programs, the Faculty of Business & Management Sciences at MUST is and strives to be a complete global management hub, educating the world as well as innovating for the world through training and research.

The FBMS’s core themes center on interdisciplinary clusters in management, globalization, innovation, agribusiness, food security and entrepreneurship, with focus on specific sectors and issues salient for Africa in particular. The focus of the institute aligns with emerging trends, MUST interests and priorities for growth.

Vision
To provide quality and relevant management science education at National and International level and its applicability to Sustainable Community Development.

Objectives

• To offer quality training, knowledge and  skills transfer in Management Sciences in line with the labour needs of the country
• To establish a centre for Professional, high quality research and innovations in management sciences
• To enhance knowledge transfer partnerships between the university, community and industry.
• To create an environment that nurtures  confidence among the institute graduates through career guidance and internship programs
• To offer tailor-made management training courses to private and public institutions/organizations.

FoBMS Research Thematic Areas

1. Business and Management studies
2. Economics studies
3. Leadership and Governance
4. Organizational studies
5. Cultural and Global studies
6. Finance and Accounting

 Core Research Activities

The core curricular areas of the Faculty of Business and Management Science include Accounting & Finance, Marketing, Economics, Procurement, and Management Accounting and Organizational behavior.

Globalization — Specific areas of current and future research include: global financial flows and markets; globally networked firms; global and regional production networks; global climate change, global social and environmental movements; regional development; government regulation and policy; global non-governmental organizations; cross cultural interactions and transformations.

Community Engagement

 To enable its students transform theories and concepts learnt in class into practice, Faculty of Business and Management Sciences has Internship and Community Outreaches embedded in their curriculums. The Faculty arranges offsite trainings to students of third year. Also, the Faculty organizes workshops for both its staff and students as a strategy to strengthen their abilities in research.

Resources Available

The Faculty has the following resources to ease learning and Teaching Environment:

• Faculty Resource Centre equipped with good number of computers connected to internet (about 60 computers).
• A well-established University library, one min-library and one Book Bank are always available with enough reading materials.
• Enough Lecture Rooms are available within the Faculty.
• Sufficient teaching aids and instructional materials like 05 projectors, whiteboards, and laptops for some staff members among others.

Quality Assurance Mechanisms

 The Faculty has the following Quality assurance Mechanisms to assess the Quality of programmes and courses, Quality of academic staff, Quality of teaching and learning experience, Quality in student assessment, Internal moderation, Quality in support services, Quality of resources and facilities, Quality of research and Quality program review process. These include;

• Research Policy and Post graduate hand book documents
• Curriculum for each programme and course and policies regarding admission and retention of students.
• Examination regulations handbooks for both students and staff to guide on learning, teaching, assessment, student support, marking and examinations, plagiarism, cheating, instructions to examiners.
• Faculty policy documents and codes of practice on curricula, equal opportunities etc.
• The Faculty has Quality Assurance committee to review Curriculum and courses after every five years.
• The Faculty conducts needs Assessment by consulting stakeholders and other relevant parties on the programme/courses under review.

 Growth and Development of the Faculty

• The Faculty recorded an increase in access to higher education through introducing relevant programmes applicable to community development which has led to increase in student enrolment in academic year 2018/2019.
• The Faculty has registered an increase in number of staff with appropriate qualifications.
• There has been developments of relevant/demand driven academic programmes like Internship and community outreach programmes
• Number of students enrollment increased by 15% annually as new programmes were introduced to supplement revenue.
• Availability of appropriate learning Resources for students.
• The Faculty has been able to secure some scholarships like ADB etc.
• The Faculty has been able to sign some MoUs with industry and other Institutions of higher learning.
• There has been an increase in number of postgraduate students to graduate every year by 40%.

Collaborating/ Partnership

The Faculty has been able to collaborate with individuals and organizations in research related to Business and outside Business field. To solve current global challenges, interdisciplinary research approach becomes crucial. Currently, the Faculty has the following collaborations as it is illustrated in the table below:

 Innovation

• Enables students to be job creators through Business Incubation Centre.
• Industry involvement and Community outreach in line with the University mission.
• Offers specializations within certain fields of study.
• Multidisciplinary training.

 Future Plans

The Faculty has the following future plans

• To enhance partnerships and collaborations for improved services through resource mobilization and staff exchange.
• Develop new infrastructure like big computer laboratory and internet for appropriate student facilities.
• Enhance learning management systems
• Increase funding for research and innovation through writing research grants, lobbing for government to increase funds for staff capacity development and also introduce short courses and new programmes to increase our revenues.
• Enforce pedagogical training for Academic staff

Challenges and Mitigation Measures

Challenges

• The Faculty is mainly affected by limited Financial resources which has failed its developments
• Inadequate staffing levels
• Inadequate funding

Mitigation Measures

• The Faculty needs strong support from Government
• The Faculty needs strong management support
• The Faculty needs to introduce new and short courses to generate funds

Finally, we thank MUST management and staff of FoBMS for the work well done in supporting and grooming students for the market and future.