THE IDEAL UGANDA: MY PERSPECTIVES BY PROFESSOR VENANSIUS BARYAMUREEBA BIOGRAPHY NOTE ABOUT THE AUTHOR By Rebecca Pearl Tumwebaze Professor Venansius Baryamureeba was born on May, 18, 1969 in Ibanda, Western Uganda to Florence Bitwakakye and Pius Kabukure, a former second world-war fighter who later turned into a businessman. Learning from his mother’s religious lifestyle and his ever knowledgeable and smart father’s business acumen, Barya, as he is often called, grew up to have a passion for mathematics, business, politics and God. As a young boy, Baryamureeba attended primary school at Buryansungwe Primary School in Kabarole district where he later emerged best student in the district before joining St. Leo’s Kyegobe (SLEK) in the same district for his secondary education. Throughout his time at SLEK, he maintained excellent scores and was always at the top of his class. He completed his A’levels at SLEK and joined Makerere University in 1991 where he pursued a Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics. In 1994 after graduation, Baryamureeba was retained at Makerere University as a tutorial assistant at the Institute of Statistics and Applied Economics where he taught mathematics. It was a policy in Makerere to retain the best students as tutors. Baryamureeba used this opportunity not only to work but also further his studies. Today he also holds a Master of Science and PhD in Computer Science. From his role as a tutor at Makerere University in 1994, Baryamureeba grew through the ranks to lecturer, senior lecturer, professor, director and dean before finally serving as Vice Chancellor of the ivory tower. At his appointment on November 1, 2009 Professor Barya, who was only 40 years of age, actually broke a record as the youngest Vice Chancellor at Makerere University and also on the entire African continent. During his time of service as Vice Chancellor at Makerere, the university greatly improved in its rankings and the university processes and procedures were streamlined. In was also during his term of service that Makerere which was formerly known for its bureaucracy was able to give out timely transcripts to students at graduation ceremonies. To date Prof. Barya is still fondly remembered and credited for transforming Makerere University into a collegiate university with federated constituent colleges. He later left Makerere on September 6, 2012 to start Uganda Technology And Management University (UTAMU), where he currently serves as Chief Executive Officer and founding Vice Chancellor. In only two years of existence, UTAMU has grown to be the preferred university for students interested in technology and management courses and continues to be referred to as the MIT of Africa among sections of students. UTAMU has grown from its five maiden undergraduate programmes in 2013 to over 30 programmes at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels and a student population of over 600 students. Besides his role as UTAMU Vice Chancellor, Professor Baryamureeba also serves as Chairperson of the Uganda Vice Chancellors’ forum, a body that brings together all vice chancellors in Uganda; Chairperson, Uganda Business and Technical Examinations Board, a body mandated to streamline, regulate, coordinate and conduct credible national examinations and award certificates and diplomas in Business, Technical and Vocational professions in Uganda; Chairperson of Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) Innovation Council whose primary responsibility is to provide advice to COMESA Member States relating to existing and new knowledge and innovations, and best ways of applying the knowledge and innovations in the Member States; Chairperson, Makerere University Business School; and member of senate for both Mbarara University of Science and Technology and Busitema University. He also services as member of several reputable boards. Barya has indeed become a much sought after leader whose achievements in his different roles are unquestionable. Baryamureeba is also passionate about politics. In June 2001, he contested for the Ibanda South parliamentary seat which he lost due to irregularities in the election process. To date, he still remains popular among the people of Ibanda who have continuously requested that he contests for the parliamentary position again. However, Barya now believes he can serve his country through other avenues and not through being a Member of Parliament. On April 7, 2004, Baryamureeba became the founding president of a political party, the National Progressive Movement (NPM) which later became the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) before handing its leadership to Hon. Jaberi Bidandi Ssali, a former Vice Chairman of the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM). He handed over the chairmanship of the party after the government of Uganda passed a code of conduct and ethics barring public officers from participating in party politics. Either way, the members of PPP honoured Barya for his contribution of setting up the party by giving him registration number 0000001 which he still holds to date. In essence registration number 0000001 should be held by the party president. Even in his busy schedule as a professor of computer science and Vice Chancellor at UTAMU, Prof. Baryamureeba’s passion for politics is unrivalled and he continues to give critical analysis to political, social and economic issues affecting the citizenry in the media. Today, Baryamureeba who is only 45 years of age boasts of tremendous achievements including awards at both national and international levels. In October 2014, the African Society for ICT (ASICT) presented him with a lifetime achievement award in recognition of his immense contribution in ICT research and education. During the 51st Ugandan independence celebrations, HE the president of Uganda awarded Barya with the Golden Jubilee Medal, the highest civilian medal of the Republic of Uganda. In February 2012, he was awarded the “Amity Global Academic Excellence Award” during the Amity International Business Scholl International Business Summit in Noida, India. In December 2014, Barya won the Award for Outstanding Contribution to Education at the Africa-India Partnership Summit Le Matinal Educational Excellence Awards held in Mauritius. Prof. baryamureeba has also won other awards like the 2009 TWAS-ROSSA Prize for building scientific institutions for the African region; Most Influential ICT personality in Uganda in 2009 and the Top ICT Educator/Academic Award in Africa. In his work, Prof. Baryamureeba has interacted with dignitaries at both national and international levels. For example, in his official capacity, Barya has been able to host VIPs like: President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda; President Benjamin Mkapa of Tanzania; President Thabo Mbeki of South Africa; President Mwai Kibaki of Kenya; President Pierre Nkurunziza of Burundi and Vice President Stephen Kalonzo Musyoka of Kenya; Her Royal Highness, the Nnabagereka of Buganda, Sylvia Nagginda and The U.S. Deputy Secretary of State, James Steinberg among others. During his official travels, Prof. Barya has also met and interacted with: (i) Her Majesty The Queen, Elizabeth II, Head of Common wealth and Supreme Governor of the Church of England and His Royal Highness; the Duke of Edinburg; Kamalesh Sharma, Commonwealth Secretariat-General; and H.E. Paul Kagame, President of Rwanda among others at the Commonwealth Day, that was held at Marlborough House, London (March 8, 2010). (ii) Former President of the United States of America Jimmy Carter and his wife; and Former President of Mozambique, Joaquim Chissano. This was during a Borlaug Symposium in Addis Ababa, July 13 – 14, 2010. (iii) The former British Prime Minister Hon. Gordon Brown at the Kampala Serena Hotel to discuss global issues in regard to the role of ICT in knowledge driven economy on July 24, 2010. (iv) President Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete at 50th aniversary celebrations of University of Dar es Salaam on October 20, 2011. (v) The Secretary General of the Unted Nations at the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon at 4th Global Colloquium of Presidents and Vice Chancellors at Yale University on January 14-15, 2010. The United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki- moon invited Presidents and Vice Chancellors to participate in the Colloquium under the theme, ‘the Roles of Science in Meeting Global Challenges: Broadening the Base and Organising the Summit’. The Presidents and Vice-chancellors explored opportunities for cooperation and building research capacity in developing countries. Baryamureeba met and interacted again with The Secretary General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon during the the sixth annual meeting of the Secretary-General’s Global Colloquium of University Presidents that convened at Columbia University, April 2-3, 2012. The subject was the global policy impact—particularly in terms of escalating demands on job creation and education—posed by extremely high rates of population growth seen today in virtually every developing nation in the Global South. (vi) Mr. Sindiso Ngwenya Secretary General of COMESA and COMESA Heads of State and Government during the 7th Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) Heads of State summit, which took, place in February 26-27, 2014. During the opening ceremony of this summit, he presented awardees of COMESA Innovation awards in his capacity as the Chairman of COMESA Innovation Council. No doubt, Prof. Baryamureeba is a distinguished academic and leader, whose international exposure makes him well informed and whose views and reforms authored in this book are vital for the development of Uganda.
Posted on: Sun, 28 Dec 2014 10:04:26 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015