MAKERERE UNIVERSITY LAUNCHES VARSITY AWARD SCHEME
(Posted 04th October 2015)
East Africa’s arguably leading but definitely most famous ivory tower, Makerere University in Kampala, has recently launched their own award scheme, recognizing not just academic excellence but also covering creativity, innovation and social engagement, among others.
Community impact, as shown further below in the various award categories, ranks high and in particular grass root tourism projects are thought to stand a good chance to be selected in the shortlist and even make it to the podium.
‘This is not a duplication of other business award schemes or even a proliferation of them. It is novel because it recognizes excellence in several fields and focuses on the future through innovation, leadership, inspiration and social impact. We think this is one reason why we attracted good sponsorships even from Brussels Airlines which will give our overall winner a return ticket to Europe. More, every nominee, academic staff and even students of Makerere qualify for a rebate for tickets booked and paid for until the exercise closes at the end of November. We launched last week and hope this will make a big impact on people’s lives’ commented a former academic colleague.
The airline’s Marketing Manager for Uganda, Ms. Belinda Sebunya, then also confirmed their participation as a key sponsor, highlighting Brussels Airlines’ constant support for the academic sector by offering special fares for exchange students coming from across the network to Uganda and vice versa, as well as equally helping with lecturer exchanges through special fares for the academia.
The award categories include teaching awards, sports awards, innovation and creativity awards, social, inspirational and achievement awards with four sub categories each.
Said University spokesperson Ms. Rita Namisango: ‘These awards are dedicated to rewarding and showcasing talent and committed to pursuing the development and growth of personalities’ – a noble concept especially in fields relevant to improving the lives of Ugandans across the country. With tourism being a leading economic sector and Makerere offering several tourism related graduate and post graduate programmes is it therefore understandable that special encouragement is given to in particular nominate individuals, organizations and companies involved in Uganda’s tourism and conservation sectors.
