A Collaborative Effort To Develop A Research Center In Engineering And Technology In Uganda

In order for Uganda Christian University (UCU) Mukono, Uganda to realize its vision of training East African students to be at the forefront of the impact of technology in both a cultural and a societal sense, a committee was formed to consider how this could be accomplished. The committee was made up of an interdisciplinary team of social scientists, religion professors and engineering educators familiar with the British, European, American and Australian models of engineering education. Surveys were conducted to gauge the needs and expectations of Ugandan industries as well as to assess the quality of student preparation and developmental needs. This paper discusses the development of a research center in engineering and technology at UCU and the supportive program infrastructure. The originality of our ideas comes from our participation with educators in Uganda and the mutual recognition of the need to develop more education in science and engineering.