The Minister of science and Technology Eng. Jonard Akiiki Applauds Makerere’s Research Legacy, calls for Commercialisation during his Maiden visit to Makerere University.
The Honourable Eng. Jonard Asiimwe Akiiki, Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation in the Office of the President, spent his first day at Makerere University immersed in the work of the very people the Ministry exists to support, its researchers, its innovators and, above all, its students. The visit, his maiden engagement with the University since taking up the docket, opened on Tuesday 21 July 2026 under the theme of research infrastructure, emerging technologies and enterprise creation, and by the time the day closed, the Minister had walked through workshops, laboratories and innovation hubs spanning three colleges, each one built around work led substantially by Makerere students at different levels of study.
During the first day of the Minister’s visit, Makerere Vice Chancellor Prof. Barnabas Nawangwe took the Minister through the University’s research and innovation strategy, touching on its major infrastructure investments, its externally funded research portfolio, its growing stock of patents and intellectual property, and the start ups and spin off companies that have emerged from University research in recent years. He spoke about commercialised technologies already in use beyond the University gates, about industry partnerships that have grown out of research collaborations, and about the specialised human capital Makerere continues to produce in science, technology and innovation fields.
The Minister responded with a strategic vision address of his own, setting out what he expects from the science, technology and innovation sector over the coming years and the role he wants public universities to play in delivering it. What followed was a candid, moderated exchange in which University leadership pressed the Minister on policy direction and the operating environment for research, while he in turn asked pointed questions about how quickly Makerere‘s research strengths can be converted into products, services and enterprises that create jobs and generate revenue. It set the tone for a day that would, from that point on, be less about presentations and more about seeing the work itself.
The Minister’s first day at Makerere continued beyond the stops covered here, taking him further into the University’s natural sciences platforms and its innovation and enterprise pipeline before the day’s programme concluded
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