By Pauline Luba
Uganda Christian University (UCU) Prof. Peter Nyende’s first love was football. In the 1980s, as a young boy at Kenya’s Jamhuri High School in Nairobi, he was part of the national team that represented the country in the under-14 football competition in South Korea. Nyende’s interest in the game made him harbour intentions of playing it at a professional level. However, his father thought he should pursue a “more serious career.” 

Background & Formation of the Bible Scholar

By the time, as the teenager started his A’levels at Jamhuri, his interest had shifted to economics. However, he says as time went on, he had a deep sense of God’s calling to serve him fully in the church. By 19 years, Nyende was fully committed to serving God in the ministry. While growing up, Nyende was an active member of the church and in the Christian Union in school.

“I felt a deep sense of God’s call in my life,” Nyende related during an Uganda Partners’ interview in his UCU-Mukono campus residence.  “That made me abandon the other ambitions I once had.”

However, when he applied to join a theological school, he was told that he was “too young and too bright” to immediately venture into the priesthood. He was advised to first study something else that he was interested in before joining a theological college. 

Again, Nyende’s father did not approve of his son’s choice of a career in the church over work as an economist. Later, Nyende’s father warmed up to his choice, noting that it must have been God’s plan. Nyende went to Daystar University, also in Kenya, for his undergraduate degree, with a major in Bible studies. He then undertook training at an Anglican college in Nairobi and was ordained in 1998. Thereafter, Nyende obtained a Master of Pastoral Studies from Ridley Hall in Cambridge and a Master in Theology in the New Testament from Edinburgh University. 

Currently, the 53-year-old is an Associate Professor of Biblical Studies at the Bishop Tucker School of Divinity and Theology of UCU. He also is a canon in the Anglican Church and a commissioned evangelist with the Church Army Society of Africa. Nyende has an interest in biblical theology and the interpretation of the Bible in African contexts. 

He says the “word of God must make sense in the context of the hearers.” Nyende has to date published 12 research articles and 2 book chapters. This year, he has hit another milestone, with his latest publication, a 288-page book, The Restoration of God’s Dwelling and Kingdom. 

In the book, published by the UK-based Langham Publishing, Nyende presents the central story of both the Old and New Testaments as the restoration of God’s dwelling and kingdom in the world. “He traces this narrative through its many stages of development — creation and fall, God’s covenants with Israel, exile — to its ultimate fulfilment in Jesus, the church and the new Jerusalem,” says a short profile of the book on the Langham Publishing website. 

Though mainly written for theological students and teachers, the book can be read by anyone who wishes to deepen their understanding of the Bible. Nyende says he began writing the book in 2019 and had completed it by December 2022. He was lucky to land a deal with Langham Publishing to have it published in 2023.

From Nairobi to Kampala

For a man who studied, lived and worked in Kenya, how did he end up as an academic at UCU? In 2014, he says he was approached by the Dean of UCU’s Bishop Tucker School of Divinity and Theology to join the university community. Through the Archbishop of the Anglican Church in Uganda, the Archbishop of Kenya was informed of the need for Nyende at UCU. Nyende says when he was informed of the request, he accepted and applied to join the UCU family, which he did in 2015. He says he has been able to witness how the Church supports activities of the Bishop Tucker School of Divinity and Theology, enabling the preparation of well-trained pastors.

As an expert in the interpretation of the Bible, when Uganda Partners asked him how the challenge of the misinterpretation of the Holy Book can be dealt with, Nyende said to properly interpret the Bible, there is a need to understand the context in which a section was written, why it was written and what prompted the writing.  There is also the need to understand the whole Bible as one book. 

“The Bible is one book. One cannot read one book (or a chapter in the book) in isolation from the books before and after if one is to understand the Bible properly. Although it is made up of 66 books, they are interlinked,” Nyende explained. 

Born in Butere town of western Kenya on June 15, 1969, in a family of 10 – seven boys and three girls – Nyende’s academic journey got rocky when his father retired just before he began his university education. However, he says by that time, he was old enough to know that the responsibility of completing school lay with him. He says he made money teaching English privately to students and also raised some funds from friends and the church. 

Nyende has been married to Josephine Njoki Marete for 17 years, and they have two children – 13-year-old Brodie, a student at Vienna College, and six-year-old Arabel, a pupil at Seeta Junior Primary School. Nyende says he visits his home country at least three times a year and usually enjoys the Christmas holidays with members of his extended family there.

By John Semakula

High graduate unemployment rates in Uganda

After grappling with raising school fees for years, it is every parent’s dream for their son or daughter to find a good job after university graduation. However, with over 53 universities churning out at least 30,000 graduates every year in Uganda’s mainly subsistence economy, this is a pipe dream.

The unemployment rate for Uganda’s post-secondary graduates is 80%, which is one of the highest in the world, according to BrighterMonday, a recruitment and HR platform.

Why UCU Partnered with Hanze University..?

The government’s effort to meet the challenge through startup capital handouts to millions of unemployed youth is far from yielding results. As a result, many unemployed graduates live a desperate life of admiring school dropouts in the informal sector who can put food on the table for their families.

It’s this situation that has brought Uganda Christian University (UCU) and Hanze University of Applied Science in the Netherlands together to find a solution. With support from Hanze University, in 2020, UCU started the School of Business Incubation Hub to offer entrepreneurial training and incubation services to students to counter the high graduate unemployment.

Elsie Nsiyona, the Associate Dean of the UCU School of Business, says the idea of the Incubation hub was hatched in 2018 as a maiden step towards the realization of the bigger dream of skilling students.  

“This was after we visited the Hanze University’s ‘Cube 50’, the equivalent of UCU School of Business’ Incubation Hub, a centre where students’ entrepreneurial skills are guided and nurtured to fruition,” she says.

Armed with the idea of starting something similar to what was in the Netherlands, Nsiyona says they set off by revising the existing entrepreneurship curriculum offered by the then Faculty of Business and Administration at the diploma and degree level to inculcate a more practical element in the reviewed curriculum called the ‘Intra-skills training’.

“In line with the new curriculum, in teams of four or five, students are required to generate a business idea to solve a community challenge, and work with the market to identify solutions, develop prototypes and test them with the community and market through exhibitions,” she says.

School of Business establishes an innovations hub

In 2020, the UCU School of Business successfully established a Euros14,600 (about sh60m) incubation hub that has since been used to skill dozens of students to use their university education in innovative and practical ways, creating new products. Since then,  the UCU School of Business has not looked back.

According to Florence Wanyenze, the manager at the UCU School of Business hub, the training given to students at the hub is comprehensive and practical in nature that besides enabling the learners to develop feasible business ideas that are tested and turned into functional businesses, it also focuses on sustainability.

“The curriculum covers mindset and attitude changes, business idea development, prototype and feasibility check, plus implementing the business idea based on a business model,” she said.

In the process of revising the curriculum, Nsiyona says they were aware that Uganda ranks among the most enterprising countries and at the same time it tops the list of countries whose enterprises collapse before celebrating their first anniversary. This helped them to draft a curriculum addressing the challenge.

Aston Aryamanya, a trainer at the hub, noted that the facility has made significant progress in the area of entrepreneurship and the creation of jobs for youth in Uganda.

“We have taught aspiring business owners how to be creative and develop market solutions that address today’s problems,” he said, “We have also assisted these young people in realizing their capacity to create work rather than look for employment.”

Victor Ssenabulya, a third-year student of a Bachelor of Entrepreneurship and Project Planning is one of the proud beneficiaries. Last year, after attending one of the exhibitions organized by the UCU School of Business Incubation hub, Ssenabulya started adding value to his rabbit project.

“I had learnt that when mixed with manure, the rabbit’s urine could serve as a fertilizer,” he said, adding, “That’s how I started making the liquid fertilizers.”

So far, he says, he has sold 500 litres of the fertilizer mainly to his close family at Shs10,000 (about USD2.7) per litre. Ssenabulya says his plan is to increase the scale of production of the fertilizer in the near future, especially after school.

Formerly, he only dealt in selling meat products from the farm at Katabi in Wakiso District, Central Uganda.

Ssenabulya’s success story is just one of the many told at the hub. Such achievements multiply daily because of the eight-year partnership between UCU and Hanze University. In February 2023, the partnership attracted the Hanze University President, Dick Pouwels to visit UCU. The UCU Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Aaron Mushengyezi, visited Hanze University in mid-April, 2022.

Hanze President visits UCU

During his visit to UCU, Pouwels commended the university administration for the initiative geared towards finding a solution to Uganda’s high graduate unemployment. Pouwels also participated in a number of activities geared towards bolstering students’ innovation including the unveiling of the proposed structure for the UCU School of Business Incubation Hub at the main campus in Mukono.

He noted that Hanze University had been working with UCU in different fields such as business, engineering, and social sciences for the last eight years and that he feels the commitment to strengthen the partnership even further in a bid to promote original business ideas.

Turning to UCU students, he said, it was important for them to just look around and focus on building their talents to come up with new innovations. “Entrepreneurship can be very good where you develop your own talent and strength,” Pouwels said.  

In his remarks, UCU’s Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Mushengyezi, commended the partnership between the two universities and urged his administration to ensure that the projects benefit not only UCU but Uganda in general.

The Dean of the UCU School of Business, Vincent Kisenyi, noted that the proposed structure for the UCU School of Business Hub, which was unveiled would widen the scope of the University’s operation in training and empowering students besides creating an avenue for engagement with the outside community.

“We have registered a massive number of students and as well have made entrepreneurship a course unit across all the schools,” Kisenyi said, “This means that the space we have at the current hub is not enough, which is why we are collaborating with Hanze University to create more space.”

The move to address graduate unemployment in Uganda through innovations speaks to UCU’s Vision of being a centre of excellence in the heart of Africa. Already, dozens of UCU students and staff have benefited from the partnership between the two institutions through the exchange programme that allows them to go to the Netherlands every year for a study period.

By Angella Napakol (PhD)

UCU-AIRTEA Project to Benefit Farmers

Uganda Christian University (UCU) has partnered with Psalms Food Industries (SUMZ) to help small-scale farmers in Uganda access bigger markets. This partnership is an offshoot of the UCU-AIRTEA project, which is titled “Enhancing inclusive market access for African Indigenous Vegetables (AIV), seed and value-added products by Smallholder farmers in Uganda”. The AIRTEA project is funded by the EU through the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA) and has a consortium of four partners with UCU as the lead partner. Other members are the Uganda National Farmers Federation (UNFFE), FarmGain Africa Ltd and Syova (U) Ltd.

Outcomes of the project

One of the key outcomes of the project is improved seed and value-added products, as well as expanded market access for small-scale farmers. SUMZ Uganda, being a major player in the African Indigenous Vegetable landscape, was contacted as one of the would-be buyers of the small-scale farmers’ products. Since then, SUMZ has participated in various trainings, including good agronomic practice and field visits to the various farmer groups and study sites. Most importantly, SUMZ has provided pumpkin seeds worth 240 acres. The farmer groups in Mityana have been planting 15 acres of land per month since February 2023.

More about the Project and Impact

The AIRTEA project aims to help small-scale farmers access bigger markets and negotiate fair prices with industry players. Previously, the majority of these farmers could not access such players because they own small pieces of land, about 0.5 to 1 acre. However, with the AIRTEA project farmer mobilization and collaboration strategy, these farmer groups are able to have 30 times more than their normal production and negotiate prices with bigger industry players.

Working with FARMGAIN, small-scale farmers and buyers have been able to sign contracts as a way to keep the commitment. One of the small-scale farmer group leaders, Ben, was impressed by the education they received, especially in regard to the signing of contracts. He said, “I like the idea of signing contracts, it makes the buyer not pull out or change the price last minute but it also compels the farmers to deliver…you see many farmers tend to relax and sometimes not work well together but with this…we just have to be organized”.

One of the registered successes of the project is a farmer group that honoured their contract and had a plentiful harvest. However, the contracted buyer at the time did not meet their end of the contract. Agitation set in among the farmers, but because they had worked in a large group and had a significant harvest, a different buyer was contracted who bought their produce at the same rate as in the contract that had been signed. This was exciting for the farmers who have vowed to increase their produce and do better in good agronomic and post-harvest practices.

The different farmer groups have also been educated about the value of the products they grow. One of the farmer group leads, for instance, noted that “traders often bring their trucks to villages to take tons of pumpkins at incredibly low prices and sell them expensively on the market. They buy pumpkins from the farmers at 500shs to 1,000shs and sell them at about 5,000shs upwards. We knew this but did not know how to address the problem, but we now know what to do…” With this knowledge, the farmers have been equipped through the AIRTEA project and the direct connection to the markets, the farmers are envisioning a much fairer market.

From the Office of the Deputy Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs as of March 29, 2023

Note: This is not final

Uganda Christian University has released the provisional list of shortlisted applicants for the Bachelor of Law, Medicine and Dentistry programs. If you or someone you know applied for any of the mentioned courses, please click the buttons below to download a list of any of the 3 courses:

Caution to Applicants

We would like to remind all applicants that any lists in circulation that do not have the signature and stamp of approval from the office of the Deputy Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs should be disregarded.

We are still accepting applications

Additionally, we would like to inform all interested applicants that we are still receiving applications for the programs mentioned above. The Deadline is March 31^st March, 2023.

How to Apply: Watch the video below

A message from the UCU Vice Chancellor

UCU Vice Chancellor, Prof. Aaron Mushengyezi welcomes you to UCU.

Click here to apply online

By Mercy Mukhaye

Uganda Christian University (UCU) Kampala Campus witnessed an exciting event today, March 7, 2023, as the 25th Guild Government officials were officially sworn in. The long-awaited ceremony was graced by the University Vice-Chancellor, Assoc. Prof. Aaron Mushengyezi, who urged the newly elected guild officials to be solution-givers and transformative leaders in the country.

Guild Petitions

The elections were initially held on November 22, 2022, but a petition filed by Martha Nachirwanda delayed the ceremony. The petition was the result of her dissatisfaction with the election results in which Zedekia Ssekyonda emerged as the winner. However, a re-election was held last week on Friday, and Zeddekia still emerged as the winner.

The new Guild President, Zedekia Ssekyonda, expressed his relief, saying, “This has been a long-awaited day even with the petitions, but this is a big relief to me.” Lillian Nabaasa Tumwine, the MP Law Day, also expressed her gratitude and belief that more opportunities would come her way because leadership comes from God.

The University Vice-Chancellor commended the guild government for exemplifying Christian leadership by working with the university administration to facilitate a peaceful transition of power from the previous guild government to the newly elected officials. It is hoped that the newly elected officials will uphold the values and traditions of the university while working towards achieving their goals.

The newly elected Guild officials have promised to work tirelessly to serve the students to the best of their abilities. They have also vowed to work towards improving the welfare of the students while ensuring that the university maintains its reputation for excellence.

UCU Guild: A model system

UCU is a model institution of higher learning in Uganda, as far as peaceful students’ guild elections are concerned. The university boasts of a clean sheet of no-election violence ever since its inception in 1997. This swearing-in ceremony is yet another testimony.

The students and staff alike are excited about the future and look forward to the positive changes that the new guild government will bring.

E-voting

At Uganda Christian University (UCU), students now have the convenience of voting using an electronic voting platform called eChagua. This e-voting system has made the voting process for students more convenient and easy. With eChagua, students can cast their votes from anywhere, anytime, as long as they have an internet connection.

The use of eChagua has eliminated the need for physical ballot papers and the hassle of queuing up to cast a vote. It has also reduced the likelihood of errors and fraud associated with traditional voting methods. By using eChagua, UCU has demonstrated its commitment to leveraging technology to improve the overall voting experience for students.

About the Higher Education Certificate

The Higher Education Certificate provides learners with the basic introductory knowledge, cognitive and conceptual tools and practical techniques for further higher education studies in their chosen field of study. Attainment of an HEC signifies that the learner has attained a basic level of higher education knowledge and competence in a particular field or occupation and is capable of applying such knowledge and competence in an occupation or role in the workplace. Generally, holders of HEC are expected to be better prepared for further studies and the world of work.

Benefits

This is a competency-based curriculum carefully designed to provide study and learning support skills for academic life and academic knowledge needed for further higher education. The knowledge shall emphasize general principles and application. The programme will cater for students interested in both Arts and Science subjects to prepare them for different courses of their choice at University depending on how they have performed. 

Who is eligible?

The HEC Programme is an intensive programme intended for students who have successfully completed the Uganda Advanced Certificate of Education (UACE) or its equivalent but who may not have attained sufficient grades to enrol for Diplomas or Degree programmes.

It is also intended for teachers with Grade III certificates who would like to upgrade to degree programs as well as students from countries whose secondary school qualifications are not considered equivalent to UACE but permit admission into Higher Education in those countries.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=66RvDCJxymg

Duration

The minimum duration of the HEC  programme is 9 months for those who will be full-time and one academic year for those doing recess modular.

Programme Rationale

The current admission requirements to any higher education programme require at least two principal passes for degree programmes and one principal pass and two subsidiaries for a diploma programme.  Unfortunately, there is no remedial programme for candidates who qualify for UACE but have not scored sufficiently good grades to enrol for degree or diploma programmes.  The only available option is for them to repeat Senior Six or enrol for Certificate programmes using the Uganda Certificate of Education. In addition, teachers holding a grade III take a longer route through a diploma to enrol for the degree The programme is therefore intended to provide an alternative route to join higher education.  

Minimum Admission Requirements

• UCE or its equivalent and UACE with at least two subsidiary passes obtained in principal subjects or its equivalent. For the avoidance of doubt, a holder of UACE with only one principal pass shall be deemed to meet the admission requirements.

• Vocational Qualifications at level 2 or level 3 of the Uganda Vocational Qualifications Framework. 

•  Grade III Teacher’s Certificate 

• Qualifications equivalent to the UACE shall be determined by the National Council in consultation with the Uganda National Examinations Board

• An ordinary certificate from an institution recognized by NCHE.

• Students whose foreign secondary school qualifications are not considered equivalent to UACE but permit admission into Higher Education in a foreign country. Such students shall have passed at least five subjects with at least a credit in each of the five subjects. In addition, foreign students whose studies were not conducted in English shall show proof of proficiency in the English Language. The English proficiency centres shall be accredited by NCHE.

Categories of HEC 

• UCU runs three tracks of Higher Education: Higher Education Arts, Higher Education Physical and Higher Education Biological.

• Higher Education Arts for those who intend to do Humanities courses at the university such as Law, SWASA, BAED, BBA, and Journalism etc.

• Higher Education Biological for those who want to pursue: Medicine, Dentistry, Nursing, Agriculture, Environment, Bachelor of Science with Education etc.

• Higher Education Physical for those who want to pursue Engineering courses, Computer Science, Bachelor of Science with Education, etc. 

For whom is the HEC intended and Why?

• UACE Holders: The HEC is intended for holders of the Uganda Advanced Certificate of Education or equivalent qualifications but who may not have attained sufficient grades to enroll for Diplomas or Degree programmes in Uganda. 

• Foreign Qualification: The HEC can also serve as a foundation programme for students whose foreign secondary school qualifications are not considered equivalent to UACE but permit admission into Higher Education in the foreign country.

• Linkage between Vocational Qualifications and Higher Education Qualifications: One of the challenges facing holders of vocational qualifications is the inability to cross to Higher Education at the same levels as those with school qualifications.  For example, although an Enrolled Nursing Certificate is equivalent to the UACE, holders of the former can only join degree programmes after two and a half years of an intermediate diploma in addition to years of experience while holders of UACE can enrol for degree programmes right away. Similarly, teachers holding a Grade III certificate will have to go through a two-year diploma to have access to a degree program.  There is a general belief that holders of vocational qualifications and grade III certificate teachers may be highly skilled but lack adequate theoretical foundations to join knowledge-based higher education programmes. A HECA programme has been designed to enrol holders of vocational qualifications and teachers with Grade III certificates, exposing them to rigorous theoretical foundations that will enable them to pursue desired higher education programmes.