Feature

Drunk driving remains a pressing issue in Uganda, contributing to a significant number of road accidents and fatalities. According to the Uganda Police Force (UPF), the number of reported fatalities in the country increased by 6% from 4534 in 2022 to 4806 in 2023, over 3,500 road traffic accidents in the past year were linked to alcohol consumption, resulting in more than 800 deaths.

The awards recognize the company’s innovative fruit shelving technology that leverages nanotechnology to combat post-harvest losses. In a world struggling with food security challenges, the innovation, which preserves fruits and vegetables by releasing a safe organic formulation extending shelf life by 30 days, offers hope and demonstrates the power of homegrown solutions. 

Studying a course for five years is not for the faint hearted. The 23-year-old Beatrice Birungi is one of the 45 tenacious students that pioneered the grueling Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery training at Uganda Christian University (UCU), completing it this year. 

“My father did not study his dream course — law — unlike his brothers,” Baitwa said. “And that saddened him. Someone, however, told him that if he got a son one day, he could live his dream in his son.” Baitwa’s father, Enoch Tumusiime Baitwa, instead studied a certificate course in veterinary medicine. 

Christa Oluka, UCU’s director of academic affairs, while closing a two-week international entrepreneur summer camp, told the students and the entire staff of the School of Business that to yield success in innovation, it calls for a combined effort from everyone.

When 33 student athletes from 10 Ugandan universities met in July to flag off participants to a global sports competition, one of the items on the agenda was to select the team captain. The athletes were heading to China’s Chengdu city to compete with students from more than 150 countries in the World University Games. 

“Watching your peers graduate in their third year while you still have two more to go is hard,” Hilda Diana Ayikoru said. This is what Ayikoru had to contend with at Uganda Christian University (UCU) for two years as she completed her five-year course while those who were pursuing three-year courses walked out of the university with degrees.