Southern University Shreveport Louisiana (SUSLA) in the US in collaboration with Avance International University in Uganda have introduced a new course for maintaining planes.

The new aerospace and airframe Mechanical Engineering course is targeting to create expertise in servicing planes, given it being a virgin business in East Africa.

Dr. Martin Etoru, The Vice Chancellor Avance International University Making His Speech During The University Graduation Ceremony. Photos By Agnes Nantambi

According to Samuel Majwega Musoke the founder President of the Avance International University, the two Universities have already signed a Memorandum of Understanding. "For collaboration,  SUSLA is willing to send planes to this country such that our students can learn how to service and maintain them. In this region, servicing and repairing of planes is only done in Addis Ababa at the international level," he said.

He said the program at Avance International University will only be targeting the East African Region, given it being a virgin market for the aviation program.

“As a university, we are focusing on creating a workforce which is competitive internationally. The people we are to train here will be able to work anywhere since they will be having a certificate partly Avance and partly SUSLA. They can be employed anywhere in the world like UK, Canada, US and everywhere else, “he said.

Minister Muyingo Making His Speech During The Ceremony..

Speaking during the 1^st graduation ceremony for Avance University in Nabweru, Majwega observed that as Uganda continues to buy planes under the Air Uganda, there is a need to have experts who can maintain those planes.

He said his zeal to establish the University was based on revolutionising learning in Uganda since, at that point, competence-based teaching was not a focus.

“We realised there was something missing, yet we needed to create job creators other than seekers, who can think outside the box in order to create a pull of job creators other than seekers. When you look at our programs, we have creativity and innovation, entrepreneurship and education mindset change, to change people’s mind,” he said.

He said under the collaboration SUSLA will also help the Avance University in setting up an allied health teaching which includes nursing, lab technicians, dental, pharmacology, emergencies in addition to our own complementary and alternative medicine where we teach people how to develop medicines and treat people using the medicines developed from the herbs.

The Vice-Chancellor Dr. Martin Etoru said the university is currently working towards setting up the first state-of-the-art laboratory for herbal medicine.

The Minister for Education Dr. J. C. Muyingo while officiating at the graduation ceremony advised the graduands to avoid being drunkards and become public nuisance other than benefiting the society they leave in.