Makerere University (MAK) and Mount Kenya University (MKU) signed a memorandum of understanding on 19th September 2017 where the two institutions agreed to collaborate in the improvement of higher education in the region.
The goals of the collaborations are as follows:
- To stimulate communication, cooperation, and partnerships between the two Colleges including exchange of students and faculty and to develop twinned curriculum thus enhancing the educational quality and resources of both Colleges.
- To provide information on academic programmes of both Colleges so that students take full advantage of existing international education opportunities.
- To create a collaborative relationship between MAK and MKU College of Health Science (CHS) in which either party will recognize the other as a partner in training and research.
In a bid to foster one of the MKU mandates, research, Mount Kenya University, through Mount Kenya University Foundation, donated USD 100,000. A joint seed grant to Mount Kenya University (MKU) and Makerere University College of Health Sciences (MKU-MaKCHS) in support of collaborative research activities.
The Makerere University CHS has over 200 research, training and development projects. It is the home of some of the internationally acclaimed projects like RESILIENT AFRICA network (RAN) that brings together 22 Colleges in USA and Africa; NURTURE: Research Training and Mentoring Program for Career Development of Faculty at Makerere University College of Health Sciences; THRIVE to Research Excellence – a Developing Excellence in Leadership, Training and Science (DELTAS) Africa Award. The total number of publications per year is over 500 per year (504 in 2016 from google scholar). Makerere University ranks third in Africa according to the latest Times Higher Education ranking.
MKU College of Health Science is part of the collaborative activities mutually undertaken in the following institutions among others: Ministry of Health, Kenya; Sustainability Opportunity Training Epidemiology Networking Interdependence (SOTENI) Kenya; Gulu University; University of Cincinnati, USA; Chulaimbo sub-district hospital; Kiambu County Assembly; Northern Kentucky University; Kiambu County Assembly; CFBT Education Trust- Daadab Scholarship; Danish Refugee Council(UNHCR- Kakuma Refugee camp); Mathari National Teaching and Referral Hospital; Partners for Care/ Ohio State University, USA; Leipzig University; Kyambogo University, Uganda; Fountain Africa Trust’ County Government of Kiambu & Thika Level 5 Hospital
The goal of the grant is to:
- promote collaborative research between the two institutions
- strengthen mentorship of the postgraduate students
So far, USD 4,400,000 has been competitively awarded to thirteen (13) Principal Investigators (PIs) from the two institutions (7 MKU and 6 Makerere University) to carry out their respective projects. The funded projects deal with cross-cutting health issues such as:
- prevention and early detection of cancer
- improvement of Tuberculosis treatment outcomes
- antimicrobial stewardship
- relation of climate change to disease outbreaks such as cholera among many others
It is expected that, as well respected institutions in the region, results from these and many other projects under the grant would be able to provide insights that would influence health policies on the respective cross-cutting research areas.