President Museveni Launches Makerere University’s Research and Innovations Week 2025
His Excellency President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni Inspecting one of the stalls at the Exhibition Week.
On 8th April 2025, H.E President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni launched the three-day Research and Innovations Week at Makerere University. The event, which was held at the University’s Freedom Square and Main Administration Building, offered a dynamic exploration of research breakthroughs and innovative projects in fields such as health care, critical infrastructure, behavioral science research and emerging technologies among others.
On his tour of the exhibition of multi-disciplinary projects, President Museveni was joined by Hon. Dr. Joyce Moriku Kaducu who was representing the Minister of Education and Sports, Hon. Dr. Monica Musenero, Minister for Science, Technology and Innovation, Prof. Barnabas Nawangwe, Vice Chancellor Makerere University, Mrs. Lorna Magara, Chairperson of the Makerere University Council, and other dignitaries.
The Master of Ceremonies, Dr. Zahara Nampewo from the School of law highlighted that “…the Research and Innovations week is intended to publicly show case and disseminate our research and innovation findings within the University and also to showcase our innovations to our stakeholders.”
In his keynote address, President Museveni congratulated Makerere on achieving such a milestone, praising the University community for the impressive innovations showcased. Expressing his satisfaction with the diverse innovations displayed, President Museveni also thanked the university administration for responding to societal needs. He noted, “The money we are allocating for research and innovations is merely ‘endozo’ (jaribu, a sip, a taste); we shall provide more in the future.”
Mrs. Lorna Magara, Chairperson of the Makerere University Council, highlighted that the projects on display were designed to enhance productivity, empower individuals and stimulate wealth creation at all levels of society.” She called for enhanced collaboration among academia, government, industry, and civil society, to ensure that Makerere University remains at the forefront of sustainable development and impact for the benefit of current and future generations.
The Minister for Science, Technology, and Innovation, Hon. Dr. Monica Musenero, called upon government to buy local products. She asked President Museveni to mandate that all procurements for vehicles for MPs, Ministers, and all government agencies be sourced from Kiira Motors. Minister Musenero argued that this move would provide a ready market for the new local car production plant and foster its rapid growth. She expressed that the same approach should be applied to all domestically produced items developed by Ugandan researchers and innovators.
