Training Proactive Graduates

The RUFORUM supported students graduated 2020
The list of students who graduated from RUFORUM member universities in 2020  Download the full list

Impact Stories

Case Study One - Graduates from the University of Nairobi PhD Dry Lands Resource Management
Dr Tasokwa Kakota (Malawian) graduated with a PhD in dry lands resource management the University of Nairobi in 2011. She was funded by RUFORUM and copleted her PhD studies in a record time of 3 years. She returned to Malawi and is working at the Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources as a Lecturer. Her PhD research title was "The Impact of Climate Variability and Extreme Weather Events on Gender and Household Vulnerability to Food Insecurity". Some of Dr Kakota's achievements after graduation include winning research grants from AAU and ARDEP, presenting papers in conferences, publishing five peer reviewed articles and contributing towards capacity building by successfully mentoring and supervising MSc and PhD students
 

Case Study Two - Graduates Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources
In 2009 RUFORUM launched two regional PhD programmes at Lilongwe University for Agriculture and Natural Resources (LUANAR) in Malawi. These two programmes are: PhD Agricultural Resource Economics and PhD in Aquaculture and Fisheries Sciences.  RUFORUM acknowledges the financial support received from the International Development Research Center (IDRC) and Carnegie Cooperation of New York.  Below is a profile of some of the graduates from LUANAR.

1. Dr Horace Happy Phiri - Undertook a PhD in Agricultural Resource Economics at LUANAR. He is now a lecturer at LUANAR. His thesis title is the political economy of agricultural policies in Malawi – A case of Maize Policies. He has developed two policy briefs that were published in the IFPRI bulletin.
2. Dr Fanuel Kapute- Undertook a PhD in Aquaculture and Fisheries Sciences at LUANAR. He is now a senior lecturer at Mzuzu University in Malawi. His thesis title is Quality and Risk assessment of whole fresh Lake Malawi chambo (Oreochromis Nyasalapia) species. He has published 3 scientific papers in internationally peer reviewed journals.
3. Dr Wales Singini - Undertook a PhD in Aquaculture and Fisheries Sciences at LUANAR. He is now a the Dean of the Faculty of Agriculture at Mzuzu University in Malawi. His thesis title is Bio economic Approach to rebuilding Chambo (Oreochromis spp.) and Kambuzi (small Haplochromine spp.) fish stocks of Lake Malombe in Malawi. He has published a total of 6 scientific papers in peer reviewed international journals.
    

Case Study Three - Makerere University PhD Plant Breeding and Biotechnology Graduates
Since 2008, RUFORUM and the Uganda Millennium Science Initiative (MSI) have been providing financial support to a regional PhD programme in Plant Breeding and Biotechnology hosted at Makerere University in Uganda.  Below is a profile of the new PhD holders
Dr. James Mwololo is Kenyan. His doctoral thesis title is Resistance in Tropical Maize to the Maize Weevil and Larger Grain Borer. Out of this PhD research, he published 3 papers in international peer reviewed journals.  He is now employed as a lecturer at Pwani University in Kenya.

1. Dr Phyllis Muturi is Kenyan. Her doctoral thesis title is 'Resistance to the African and spotted stem borers in sorghum in Kenya. She has published 2 scientific papers in International Peer reviewed Journals  She is currently working at a CGIAR center called ICRISAT in Nairobi.
2. Dr Edmore Gasura is Zimbabwean. His thesis title is Developing selection criteria for improving the grain yield of early maturing maize. He published 3 scientific papers from his thesis work in international scientific journals. He is now working as a lecturer at the University of Zimbabwe.
3. Dr Mcebisi Maphosa is Zimbabwean by nationality. His thesis title is enhancing genetic resistance to soybean rust disease. He published five scientific papers in peer reviewed international journals. He has been appointed the Dean of the Faculty of Agriculture at Lupane University in Zimbabwe.
4. Dr Abel Sefasi is a Malawian. His PhD thesis title is efficient regeneration and transformation systems for improving resistance to weevils in Ugandan Sweet potato cultivars. From his PhD thesis research he published four papers in the international peer reviewed journals. He is now a lecturer at Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources in Malawi.
5. Dr Langa Tembo is Zambian. His PhD thesis title is Resistance to Stenocarpella maydis and Fusarium graminearum cob rot pathogens in tropical maize. He published 2 scientific papers in international journals. He is now a lecturer at the University of Zambia.
6. Dr Laban Frank Turyagyenda is a Ugandan. His doctoral thesis title is towards improvement of Ugandan cassava germplasm for drought tolerance.  A total of 3 scientific journal papers were published from his thesis work. Since completing his PhD studies he is working with the National Agriculture Research Organisation (NARO) in Uganda.
7. Dr Mhike Xavier is Zimbabwean. His thesis title is Marker assisted recurrent selection in early generation selection for drought tolerance in maize breeding for farmer variety access and adoption. He has published 3 scientific papers in international journals. He is now working with a seed company in Zimbabwe.
8. Dr Kassim Sadik is Ugandan.  For his PhD thesis he worked on ‘Enhancement of somatic embryogenesis in recalcitrant East African Highland bananas’. He published four papers from the research. He is currently working with the Uganda National Advisory Services.
9. Dr Alexander Bombom is Ugandan. His thesis research was on Interaction of mutant loci, opaque2 and waxy on kernel quality and disease susceptibility in maize. He published two journal papers and one is under review. He is currently employed as a research scientist with a CGIAR centre called ILRI.
    

Training Statistics

Ongoing RUFORUM Regional MSc and PhD Programmes