A 7 member – delegation from Western University and Joint Clinical Research centre (JCRC) visited Mbarara University of science and technology (MUST) on Friday July 8 to strengthen the partnership in science and technology led research.
The team from the University of Western Ontario (UWO) branded as Western University included Asst. Prof. Abbas Jessani (UWO), Dr. Melanie Katsivo (Associate Director of African Insititute UWO), Prof. Eric Arts (Microbology, UWO), Ms. Silke Klenk (Director of Internalization, UWO), Assoc. Prof. Jessica Prodger (Director Global Health systems, UWO), Dr. Opiyo Oloya (Associate Vice President Equity, Diversity and Inclusion, UWO) and Dr. John Yoo (Dean school of medicine and Dentistry, UWO).
The team was received by MUST Vice Chancellor Professor Celestino Obua who applauded them for choosing Uganda and particularly MUST.
Prof. Obua briefed the team about the history of MUST as the second public university in Uganda, the university curriculum and the achievements MUST has registered since its establishment.
‘’Mbarara University was established in 1989 by the government of Uganda to extend higher education to the rural settings of Uganda. The success of MUST has given birth to the establishment of other public universities in the rural areas of Uganda. As our vision states, all the courses offered here are aimed at solving societal problems with the aspect of community engagements. We train health workers through research and we take them to communities to learn more as they’re offering services to Ugandans. we have both full time and visiting international students studying from MUST and the number is expected to grow with more partnerships such as this one coming onboard. We are privileged to have you at MUST and what you’ve seen reflects the true image of a university of science and technology,’’ Prof Obua communicated.
The visitors inspected innovations done by the MUST engineering departments which included the prototypes for malaria diagnosis, incubator for premature babies, carpentry and joinery workshops, quality assurance laboratories among others.
MUST also exhibited the state-of-the art laboratories under the Pham-Biotrac Project that deal with standardization of herbs to match with the international market. Pham-Biotrac aims at building a critical mass of specialized and skilled human resource that can advance traditional medicine and Pharm-Biotechnology for socio-economic development of Africa.
The departments of Ear, Nose and throat (ENT) and Dental surgery at Mbarara regional referral hospital presented their success stories in the delivery of health services to the Ugandans.
Dr. John Yoo appreciated the work done by the government of Uganda and MUST in promoting science based innovations. He assured MUST that Western University will be available for any collaboration between the two institutions and other collaborations with over 147 partnerships worldwide.
The University of Western Ontario is a public research university in Ontario, Canada. The university operates twelve academic faculties and schools.
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