Makerere ranked 5th best University in Africa

Sep 09, 2020

This is the latest Times Higher Education world university rankings, an annual publication of university rankings by the UK’s Times Higher Education magazine.

Ask about a good medical doctor in the East African region and I will show a graduate of Makerere University.

At least every medical powerhouse in the region has a product of Makerere University.

It is undoubted, therefore, that even in the recent rankings, Makerere University has been ranked as the fifth-best university in Africa and its College of Health Sciences ranked second on the continent.

This is the latest Times Higher Education world university rankings, an annual publication of university rankings by the UK's Times Higher Education magazine.

Globally, Makerere improved by 200 places, moving from the 700-900 position to the best 400-500 universities.

According to the rankings released on September 2, Makerere tied with three other universities in the fifth position in Africa.

These are the Aswan and Mansoura universities of Egypt and Ibadan University in Nigeria. Makerere, however, remains the best university in East and Central Africa.

On the global scene, Makerere's College of Health Sciences was ranked in the 250th position. The rankings consider research publications, education, and general performance of the institution.

IMPORTANCE OF RANKING

Makerere University vice-chancellor Prof. Barnabas Nawangwe welcomed the ranking, noting that they are important because they measure the quality of research and teaching. They not only consider the number of publications but the citation index too.

"The rankings confirm that our health research is top-notch. We beat the whole world in clinical research and we excel when it comes to infectious diseases such as HIV/AIDS, Ebola and tuberculosis. Makerere has three of the top 50 clinical researchers in the world. They are Prof. David Serwadda, Prof. Nelson Sewankambo and Prof. Frederick Wabwire Mangeni," Nawangwe said.

He said the rankings prove that Makerere is a research-led university of world repute. "We can provide leadership in research for all the other universities in Uganda and the region," Nawangwe added.

OUTSTANDING AREAS

Prof. Charles Ibingira, the principal of Makerere University College of Health Sciences, said they have stayed top as a college due to research.

At the moment, he said, the college research, lecture notes, public health and medicine are adopted by several institutions globally. In addition, he said, they avail Nawangwe the information to a number of international institutions, including the World Health Organisation and that this keeps them at the top. "Our medical school is ranked among the top 100 best medical schools globally.

This shows how good we are," he said. All this, he said, is attributed to university structure, which allows the college staff and students to carry out research on their own.

Through this, he said, they have been able to get the best solution in health and it has attracted a number of international collaborators with Makerere.

At the moment, he said, the college is the best on the continent in making high impact research in various fields, which has transformed into clinical research.

"We introduced the prevention of mother-to-child HIV/AIDS transmission, which was later adopted by the World Health Organisation," he said.

"We introduced the treatment for meningococcal meningitis and some research in cancer management, malaria, tuberculosis and maternal health among others. These keep us at the top," he said.

 

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