Govt Pledges to Boost Makerere Research and Innovation Funding

The government has pledged to increase funding for research and innovation at Makerere University, with Finance Minister Henry Musasizi assuring stakeholders that allocations to the institution’s Research and Innovation Fund will be enhanced.

Musasizi made the commitment during the unveiling of Makerere University’s 2025–2030 Strategic Plan, which seeks to reposition the institution as a fully research-led university driving innovation, entrepreneurship and national development.

The pledge comes amid concerns raised by Vice Chancellor Prof. Barnabas Nawangwe, who disclosed that the university’s Research and Innovation Fund had been reduced from Shs30 billion to Shs20 billion—cuts he said undermine the university’s ambition of becoming research-intensive.

“It is very unfortunate that the cut was made on research, which is contradictory to what we are trying to do,” Nawangwe said, adding that the reduction weakens efforts to strengthen research capacity.

He, however, welcomed the minister’s assurance that government would restore and increase the funding in the coming financial year.

Musasizi said government recognises universities as critical drivers of Uganda’s long-term transformation agenda, noting that knowledge, technology and innovation are central to achieving the country’s ambition of growing the economy tenfold by 2040.

“The Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development recognises that achieving Uganda’s development aspirations requires higher education institutions to become engines of innovation and practical problem-solvers,” he said.

He urged Makerere to expand alternative financing mechanisms, strengthen innovation ecosystems, commercialise research outputs, and deepen collaboration with industry.

The minister also noted that Makerere has the potential to become a national centre of excellence in data analytics, economic planning and policy evaluation, pledging closer collaboration with government in evidence-based policymaking.

University Council Chairperson Lorna Magara described the new strategic plan as the beginning of “Makerere’s next chapter,” saying its implementation will shape both the university’s future and Uganda’s broader socio-economic transformation.

She said the strategy prioritises producing graduates who create opportunities, researchers who solve national challenges, innovators who build industries, and leaders grounded in integrity.

“Education is not merely a social service; it is an economic investment,” Magara said, adding that innovation is “the currency of competitiveness in the 21st century.”

The plan sets ambitious targets, including doubling postgraduate enrolment, raising STEM enrolment from 30 to 55 per cent, improving PhD completion rates from 10 to 35 per cent, and significantly increasing research outputs, patents and innovations.

Magara also revealed that government support to Makerere is projected to rise from just over Shs380 billion to nearly Shs640 billion over the strategic period, urging accountability in the use of public funds.

“Every shilling invested in Makerere must return value to the people of Uganda through knowledge, innovation and national development,” she said.

Speaking at the same event, Nawangwe said the university has made notable progress under the 2020–2025 strategic plan, including increasing PhD-holding academic staff to more than 1,000 representing 73 per cent of faculty.

He also noted that annual research publications have grown from under 800 to 1,365, while infrastructure development has expanded across the institution.

The university, he added, will maintain undergraduate admissions but significantly expand postgraduate enrolment, targeting a 30 per cent graduate student population by 2030.

“We are not going to reduce undergraduate admissions. Instead, we shall increase postgraduate enrolment,” he said.

Nawangwe further highlighted plans to commercialise research outputs, strengthen postgraduate supervision, and expand artificial intelligence capacity through dedicated laboratories at the College of Computing and Information Sciences and the UniPod innovation hub.

He said AI is now central to the university’s academic direction, with efforts underway to integrate it across all disciplines.

Despite anticipated government increases, he said Makerere will continue to mobilise external research funding and partnerships to bridge financing gaps.

Representing the Executive Director of the National Planning Authority, Senior Planner Samuel Kasule commended Makerere for aligning its strategic plan with Uganda’s Fourth National Development Plan (NDP IV) and Vision 2040.

He said Uganda’s 10-fold growth strategy requires sustained double-digit growth driven by productivity gains in labour, capital efficiency and innovation systems.

“Universities are central because they generate knowledge and produce the human capital that drives productivity and innovation,” Kasule said.

He highlighted priority sectors including agro-industrialisation, tourism, minerals, oil and gas, and science, technology and innovation, all of which depend on a skilled workforce.

Kasule further urged stronger alignment between university programmes and labour market needs, calling for improved tracer studies and competence-based training.

He also welcomed efforts to integrate local languages into artificial intelligence systems, describing them as key to inclusive digital transformation.

“The university is moving in the right direction. Strengthening research, innovation, and alternative financing will be key to sustaining this ambition,” he said.

The post Govt Pledges to Boost Makerere Research and Innovation Funding appeared first on Daily Star.