Asiimwe challenges universities to produce graduates for changing world
He made the remarks during a high-level strategic meeting at Lira University on November 7, 2026, where the minister received commitments and proposals from science students to strengthen the university’s role in community transformation.
Minister for Science, Technology and Innovation Jonard Asiimwe during an engagement at Gulu University. (Courtesy picture)
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The Minister for Science, Technology and Innovation, Eng. Jonard Asiimwe, has asked universities to prepare graduates who will be able to respond to changing needs that match global developments.
Asiimwe said universities should prepare students to go through the competence-based curriculum, equip them to reason, question and apply knowledge.
He made the remarks during a high-level strategic meeting at Lira University on November 7, 2026, where the minister received commitments and proposals from science students to strengthen the university’s role in community transformation.
He said the office of the president is working to strengthen the role of universities in Uganda’s development in line with the longstanding vision of President Yoweri Museveni to harness science and technology as drivers of national progress.
Asiimwe cited Darwin’s theory of natural selection, the process by which organisms with traits better suited to their environment tend to survive and reproduce more than others.
“If prisoners can generate income for a prison, why can’t students generate income for their university?” the minister wondered.
Asiimwe called on universities to translate knowledge and skills into practical solutions, products and enterprises that generate income and create jobs.
Referring to the United States of America (USA) President Donald Trump’s sweeping policy changes and directives aimed at keeping America competitive, the minister challenged universities to respond to global change with urgency.
“Who are we to remain comfortable at such a defining moment in world history? We should rethink how universities teach, conduct research and translate innovation into wealth,” he noted.
The minister said he was impressed with Prof. Alice Lamwaka’s innovation, where she came up with herbal medicine for sickle cell disease, noting that governments was ready to support such innovators to complete their research.
Prof. Alice Veronica Lamwaka, Gulu University (right), showcasing some of the herbal medicines she developed. (Photo by Wilfred Sanya)
In a telephone interview with New Vision online, Prof Lamwaka said she is currently conducting research focused on traditional African medicine, herbal remedies, and community health strategies.
She said her key research areas include developing and testing indigenous northern Ugandan herbal medicines to prevent, manage, and treat sickle cell disease and its complications.
“We are also looking at investigating traditional knowledge systems used in Northern Uganda to manage agricultural challenges, such as fighting locusts and grasshoppers,” she asserted.
The sickle cell medicine is expected to help the Government save over sh4b annually on hydroxyurea imports, reduce the number of patients who visit hospitals for treatment by 73,500, and minimise drug stock-outs.
“We are waiting for Uganda Virus Research Institute to carry out another test, and when it is done, then we shall take it for clinical trials. We also did acute tests in animals under Gulu University,” she said.
Currently, she said they have been able to gazette five formulations for patency and are waiting for clinical trials to go on before they table their medicine to the National Drug Authority (NDA).