By Timothy Okurut
Uganda Christian University (UCU) has been named the first runner-up at the National Council of Higher Education (NCHE) exhibitions in Mbarara. The awards came in three categories: the first category was tertiary institutions, the second was provisional licence universities and other degree-awarding institutions, and finally, the public and chartered universities were where UCU was categorised. The result has paused a five-year streak that has seen UCU finish first in the exhibitions.
The three-day event was held under the theme “Strategies, Challenges, and Practices for Artificial Intelligence Integration in Higher Education in Uganda” and concluded with an awards ceremony. UCU finished behind Mountains of the Moon University, which was awarded first position, and ahead of the University of Kisubi, which came third.
According to one of the judges, Denis Omvia, the awards were made in line with seven different guidelines. These were alignment to the theme, the level of creativity, the level of participation of both staff and students, knowledge of the subject matter, the level of articulation, the number of stalls and the display of the stalls in terms of display. Whereas they didn’t carry equal weight, the judges required the exhibitors to appreciate all these.
Edward Kanyesigye, the chief judge, while making his remarks, commended the exhibitors for their display. “Almost half of the exhibitions had innovations, some of them very high-ingenious.” He, however, underscored some challenges that needed to be spotted out for improvement. “There were obvious problems of internet connectivity and infrastructure,” he said.
Speaking to the exhibitors, the permanent secretary of the Ministry of Education, Dr Kedrace Turyagyenda, who was also the guest of honour, told them that the age of AI has come, and it must be embraced for students to become competent for job applications. “The world is now smaller, but that means it’s more complex,” she said.
In his concluding remarks to the team, the Deputy Vice Chancellor of Finance and Administration, David Mugawe, congratulated both the staff and students who represented the university. “The feedback from the judges was very good; we’re taking a trophy back home. To God be the glory.” His remarks were followed by a chorus from the team, reciting the very last words of his speech as they sang the university anthem.
