________________

The Chancellor of Uganda Management Institute (UMI), Justice Bart Katureebe, has dedicated the 21st graduation ceremony at the Mbale Centre to three specific items: Community engagement, environment interventions and legacy.

He was officiating at the UMI 21st graduation at the Mbale Centre.

Katureebe urged both the academia at UMI and their graduands to convert the knowledge acquired into service in various communities.

"What is the value of a well-written paper, research or thesis when it hardly changes the way we dispose of garbage, the way we preserve our food or giving society a weave around her insatiable energy needs?" he wondered.

He appealed to professors at UMI to do pro bono classes for needy communities.

“Director General, if this does not offend any laws, I ask that service to the community be embedded as a core component of their recruitment and promotion of all staff, especially the research-rich academics,” he said.

 He added that Pro bono service should be part of the expectations of every member of staff.

Katureebe noted that the integration of community projects will take UMI to the heart of the communities.

"Continued research, especially applied research is a great community service. Go out to the communities ask what their needs are and apply your rich researched minds to these questions," he advised.

"I will be glad to join these communities for engagements when called upon. Director General let community engagement be the anchor of our campus in the research-led education," he stated.

Environmental innervations

"We come to the end of the cycle of the 21st graduation ceremonies in UMI at a time when Uganda and countries in this region are hit by a heat wave unseen in the recent past. It would be a lie if we see it as an unanticipated weather phenomenon. We have, unfortunately, actively invited the weather rage upon ourselves." He added.

Katureebe noted that in Mbale, both the natural forest cover on the foothills and the ranges of the Elgon, alongside the planted avenues on the hills and the towns have been razed.

He said that due to the heavy destruction of the environment, not only are we reaping an unbearable weather pattern, but also the life-threatening landslides that have cost precious human lives.

Katureebe urged graduands to each celebrate the day by planting a tree of their choice and going on to nurture it as a celebration of their achievement.

"We can do something about this. I note as well that the world is slowly but surely being hit by freshwater scarcity. Uganda is gifted with various freshwater sources we need to jealously guard and protect these sources," Katureebe said.

" As a community, I ask of you, especially the urban dwellers to actively find means of harvesting the beautiful rain. The harvesting will not only reduce your water bills, but also protect the roads from preventable damage from stormwater. " Katureebe said.

He said that Water stressed communities will benefit from their knowledge and service if they teach them how to harvest and protect these resources which all of us treasure.

"I urge all the graduands here from upcountry to look after and protect community water sources."

Constructing permanent station

While addressing the congregation, Dr. James Nkata, the Director General of Uganda Management Institute (UMI), said Mbale UMI is set to become the second permanent outpost following the city leadership giving them land to construct a permanent station for the Institute.

He said that the process to start construction is already underway, adding that the procurement entity and the projects department are set in earnest to see that the construction starts and is completed in time.

He thanked the wisdom and vision of the leadership in Mbale and promised to make an indelible impact on the community.

He presented to the Chancellor 344 graduands of postgraduate diplomas, of which 145 were female.