Uganda: HEA-East Africa launches initiative to award research scholars and science-led learning

The Higher Education Awards-East Africa has launched an initiative to recognize and promote educational research and science teaching in educational institutions, in the East African region and Uganda, according to a report by University World News

The initiative would also focus on the relativity of research efforts and teaching relevancy on the socio-economic development of a region.

The initiative aims to highlight the importance of universities in enabling the economic growth of a country by providing better livelihoods to its people, said Zerubabel Mijumbi Nyiira, the former agriculture minister of Uganda who is also a member of the National Academy of Sciences.

As reported it also aims to build more than a hundred higher learning institutions for the development of more than a hundred million citizens by accelerating technological advancement in the East African Community (EAC), Nyiira added.

As explained by him, the award scheme would help "reawaken" universities' potential by helping to identify scopes of mutual interest, skill-building, and the ability to respond to the socio-economic needs of the region. To make formal entries the call would be launched on 25 January, it reported.

The categories in which the entries could be made include lifetime achievement, excellence and innovation in the arts, business schools, the project of the year in humanities, social sciences, and arts, and research projects in engineering, mathematics, and science technology.

Followed by a process of shortlisting, the awardee will be declared on 29 May with a cash prize, Nyiira added.

Emanated from East Africa Community Treaty the Higher Education Awards-east Africa initiative is designed to inspire research scholars in academia, excellence in teaching and research, and the improvement of human resources to update technology-driven economy, and science development, as per the report.