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October 27, 2023

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UCU
October 27, 2023By

SoM writers’ association drives students towards scientific writing

By Kefa Senoga
As a medical writer, one needs to be familiar with healthcare concepts, to be able to decode and present research data, as well as have the abilities to edit and meet the requirements for publishing. As the President of the Writers’ Society at Uganda Christian University (UCU)  School of Medicine (SoM), Namayanja Christabel is fully aware of this. 

The fifth-year medical student at UCU’s SoM notes that medicine and writing go hand in hand. 

“If you really want to be a doctor of international repute, one way of getting known is through publishing papers, writing articles in journals and other platforms,” she said.

One of Namayanja’s duties as the Writers’ Society president is to inspire students to think about scientific writing, as well as facilitating connections with professionals and organizations involved in clinical research and clinical content publication.

Efforts like these have made entities like the International Journal of Clinical Research (IJCR) express interest in working with the writers’ team, raising hopes for potential future projects. According to the IJCR website, the journal “publishes high-quality, open-access, peer-reviewed articles, and interactive clinical content for physicians, educators, and the global medical community.”

When most students join the SoM writers’ association, their initial thinking, which was much the thinking of some of the association’s original torch bearers, is to focus on creative writing. However, the school has often encouraged them to participate in science writing, as it aligns more closely with their field of study.

Namayanja Christabel, the UCU SoM writers’ association president
Namayanja Christabel, the UCU SoM writers’ association president

And to do that, they constantly need coaching and mentorship from the field’s tried and tested professionals. Patty Hustom-Holm, the Communications Director at Uganda Partners, is one such mentor. Namayanja attributes the improvement in their recently published newsletter to Huston’s invaluable feedback and advice during an online meeting after reviewing one of their earlier newsletters. 

Each member of the UCU SoM writers’ association pays sh50,000 ($13.20) per year as membership fees. The money is used for meeting administrative costs of the association and producing a newsletter every semester.

UCU SoM Writers’ Association: Balancing Passion for Writing and Intensive School Programs

According to Namayanja, the association members could have engaged in more activities related to writing had it not been for their current rigorous school programs. In year five, the students are more engrossed in intense clinical practice, in addition to theoretical work, which requires long hours of study, justifying that some of them belong to the association purely out of passion.

Namayanja is known for her ardent interest in writing. At Gayaza High School located in central Uganda, where she had her secondary education, Namayanja espoused skills in writing, reading and social interaction, with the latter getting reinforced as she served in different capacities as a student leader in the school. She was at one time the editor-in-chief of the school’s writers’ club. 

The experience she garnered in the writers’ club at Gayaza are credited for her leadership ladder climb at the UCU SoM writers’ association. And she does not hope to have her passion end at school. Namayanja aspires to be more than a practicing clinician, with a career in writing, alongside her medical profession.

UCU
October 27, 2023By

UCU agriculture alum shifts career to prison services

By Pauline Luba
On July 5, 2019, Opinira Ovua Joshua was among the 1,234 people who walked out of the gates of Uganda Christian University (UCU) in a graduation gown, ready to join the world of work. Opinira’s five-year journey yielded a Bachelor of Agricultural Science and Entrepreneurship.

However, it was not until four years later that the 29-year-old secured formal employment. October 2, 2023, was his first day as a Prisons General Duties Officer in the Uganda Prisons Service. Prison officers oversee the safety and security of an inmate. They transfer prisoners to and from prison, including apprehending those who escape from lawful custody. They also are responsible for the welfare of the inmates.

Opinira, the third born of five children, first went to the Prisons offices to drop his application letters for the positions of Prisons Agricultural Officer and Prisons General Duties Officer. He was successful in the latter position, which he accepted since he did not have another job at the time. For now, he serves in the northern Uganda district of Kitgum.

Opinira’s father, Ovua Shem, is a teacher while his mother, Alezuyo Janet Ovua, is a housewife. Opinira says his parents impacted him by pushing him to stay in school, work hard and stay humble. The latter attribute relates to his humility in serving men in prison. 

Opinira says coming from a farm family in Arua district in northern Uganda made him easily appreciate the value of a profession in agriculture. The love for the career, he says, was the driving force behind his excellent performance in the subject throughout secondary school. He studied agriculture as a subject in both O-and A’level at Mvara Secondary School in northern Uganda.

“I wanted to be a plant breeder,” he said.

And that aspiration has not yet evaporated. Even as a general duties officer in the Prisons, he hopes to set up his own agricultural enterprise, so he puts into practice some of the knowledge he acquired in the classroom.

UCU as the Perfect Place for Opinira

Opinira was attracted to UCU because his brother graduated from there.

Having grown up in a church setting, Opinira was convinced by his elder brother’s stories that UCU was the perfect place for him to achieve his career, grow his faith and ministry, and expand his talent in music. UCU provided fertile ground for Opinira’s love for music as from the time he joined UCU in 2014 to when he left, he was a member of the university’s choir, The Mustard Seed Worship Team. In the five years, he held different positions in the choir, including as chairperson and music director.

As the chairperson of the choir, part of Opinira’s work was leading Sunday and midweek services, which attracted congregations of 400-500 people. He was also in charge of handling the administrative duties of the choir. As the Music Director, a position he held from 2016-2017, Opinira oversaw the planning of music in line with the scripture messages, as well as teaching songs to choir members, who numbered up to 50 people.

UCU
October 27, 2023By

UCU launches waste harvest and biogas production plant

By Kefa Senoga
Uganda Christian University (UCU) has launched one of its latest innovations that will see the institution turn much of its waste into wealth. While launching the waste harvesting and biogas production plant at the UCU main campus in Mukono early September, the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Aaron Mushengyezi, said he had, indeed, come to believe that waste can be gold.

Mushengyezi’s remarks came after watching a demonstration where waste from the UCU kitchen, fecal matter and cow dung is mixed to produce biogas that can be used for cooking. The biogas production plant was a collaborative venture between UCU’s Faculty of Engineering, Design and Technology and PSEM Africa, an engineering company.

Ucha David, renewable energy engineer at PSEM Africa, demonstrates the waste harvesting process to the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Aaron Mushengyezi.
Ucha David, renewable energy engineer at PSEM Africa, demonstrates the waste harvesting process to the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Aaron Mushengyezi.

Moses Nuwaha, the projects manager at PSEM Africa, highlighted their experience in constructing biogas digesters, with a history of continuous refinement and development. He said even if they have handed over the project to the university, their participation and partnership should continue as they are looking forward to working with the research team to improve the innovation.

Ucha David, the renewable energy engineer at PSEM Africa, who conducted a demonstration of the biogas production, explained that they combine fecal matter, cow dung and food waste to create a diverse feedstock, ensuring a balanced nutrient composition, to be able to generate gas. 

Waste is collected from the treatment plant and transported through pipelines to the holding tank. Ucha explained that given that the biogas plant is a prototype, they are currently pumping only one cubic meter of waste per hour, even though the pump has the capacity to handle 20 cubic meters.

Ucha explaining to the UCU officials at the waste treatment plant.
Ucha explaining to the UCU officials at the waste treatment plant.

According to Ucha, the biogas plant does not only rely on fecal solid and liquid septic waste. They combine cow dung and food waste into the mix to utilize all the resources. He emphasizes that relying only on facal waste would not yield enough gas.

Waste from cooked food is crushed into a homogenous mixture — to the same level like cow dung, Ucha explained. He noted that waste from raw food, such as banana peelings, is not effective for the process.

After obtaining the gas, it is stored in gas bags, which are then transported to the kitchen for use. He adds that a full gas bag of two cubic meters is sufficient for two days of kitchen use.

Dr. Miria Agunyo, the Dean of the Faculty of Engineering, Design and Technology, said their next research will address the packaging of the gas. He said one of the gas bags was accidentally damaged by a stone in the kitchen. In industrial settings, gas is stored and transported in cylinders.

Harry Oryema Langalanga, the chairperson of the Uganda National Biogas Alliance, encouraged the Faculty of Engineering, Design and Technology, which is in charge of the plant, to consider acquiring a solid-liquid separator to enable more efficient utilization of the nutrients found in the digestate. The liquid portion, rich in nutrients, can serve as liquid fertilizer, while the solid part can be subject to further processing or employed as solid fertilizer.

The Dean of the Faculty of Engineering, Design and Technology, Dr. Miria Agunyo (wearing overalls), briefs officials about the facility.
The Dean of the Faculty of Engineering, Design and Technology, Dr. Miria Agunyo (wearing overalls), briefs officials about the facility.

Prof. Elizabeth Balyejusa Kizito, the Director of Research, Partnerships and Innovations at UCU, said her directorate would extend support for the expansion and growth of the project. She appealed to Mushengyezi to consider recruiting more technicians to the different science departments at the university. 

Eng. David Kivumbi, the Director of Facilities and Capital Projects at UCU, noted that whatever can be recovered or transformed from waste needs to be harnessed because resources have become limited. He urged the community to engage in research that benefits the community. 

Mushengyezi suggested that, perhaps, in future, the university can think of transporting the gas through pipes. He said should the project become more beneficial, the funds previously spent on buying firewood and charcoal could be redirected into supporting the plant.

UCU
October 27, 2023By

UIS director shares UCU technology advancement plan

By Pauline Luba
Whereas the Covid-19 pandemic made technology a cornerstone in the operations of many institutions, for Uganda Christian University (UCU), the virus and education lockdown afforded an opportunity to ramp up its use. And there is no looking back. 

Rebecca Kangabe and the team she leads at the UCU ICT Services Directorate have set up an ambitious 10-year plan that is expected to see the university become a data-driven institution using artificial intelligence to predict the necessary resources and drive decisions made by management. 

The move by Kangabe and her team come on the backdrop of UCU ramping up online learning after the Covid pandemic affected physical operations. Kangabe says online learning operations at UCU moved from 30% to 80%. For this move, UCU warmed the hearts of many e-learning lovers, with Janet Kainembabazi Museveni, Uganda’s First Lady and Minister of Education and Sports, acknowledging the university for the strides it had made in virtual infrastructure. 

During a speech at the October 22, 2021, UCU graduation, Mrs. Museveni noted that the institution has a “robust online education program” and encouraged the facility to “share best practices with other institutions.” 

UCU established a Learning Management System, known as the UCU eLearning platform in 2014, to prepare for an information technology-driven academic landscape. Assessed and approved by the National Council for Higher Education (NCHE), the regulators of higher education in Uganda, UCU eLearning platform’s capacity to host students connecting from all over the continent and beyond has since increased.

Students can attend classes online, access reading materials, do assignments and submit coursework/examinations. Likewise, lecturers can teach in real time, record lectures, upload course materials (video, audio and text) and administer examinations.

In 2021, UCU was named best exhibitor in a fair organized by NCHE, where institutions exhibited their e-learning services that reflected the programs taught and their capacity to admit and facilitate learning for students. They also displayed the technological innovations to overcome the challenges caused by Covid-19.

The university also partnered with the Research and Education Networks for Uganda, a not-for-profit National Research and Education Network, for free student access to the learning management system called Moodle. Lecturers also were trained in how to conduct online classes. 

Expanding Technological Infrastructure and Initiatives at UCU

Kangabe, who has been the UIS director since July 2022, says UCU spent over sh1.6 billion (about $425,000) on new equipment such as servers, HVC systems for the servers, increased internet bandwidth and new software for student management. It is infrastructure like these that UIS wants to take advantage of to help improve technological operations at UCU. For instance, according to Kangabe, the directorate plans to improve its software that detects plagiarism, as well as the person-view software that assists in monitoring students during online tests and exams. 

To support some of these initiatives, UCU emphasizes that every student should own a laptop. For those who are unable to make a one-off payment for the laptops, according to Vice Chancellor Aaron Mushengyezi, the university, in partnership with Equity Bank and tech firm CompConsult Technologies, has rolled out a laptop loan product. Through the partnership, “students are able to acquire a new laptop and pay for it over a period of 1-3 years,” Mushengyezi said during the July 28, 2023, graduation.

All students and staff of UCU have access to on-campus WiFi by logging into eduroam. Provided by RENU, eduroam is a Wi-Fi internet access roaming service for users in research, higher education and further education.

Despite technological advancement, the price of Uganda’s internet is still a hindrance to full adoption of online learning. In 2020, during the lockdown, many universities advised students who could not afford internet for online learning to take a dead year. 

A 2019 report by Uganda’s telecom regulator Uganda Communications Commission says Uganda has the highest priced internet in East Africa. One needs sh9,819 ($2.65) to acquire one gigabyte of internet compared to sh8,863 ($2.3) in Kenya and sh8,017 ($2.1) in both Tanzania and Rwanda.