Latest Updates

By Gregory Ndwandwa Sikumba, RUFORUM alumnus Email: gregorysikumba@gmail.com I first developed an interest in research for development while studying for a bachelor’s degree in animal science at the University of Namibia. After graduation, I joined the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development in Zambia in 2008 as a Tsetse Control Biologist in Copperbelt Province. As a biologist, I realized that I needed to be skilled in research and survey design; data management... Read More 0

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (19 February, 2018) – Over 130 participants from 25 countries met to confirm partners and priorities at the launch meeting of the CGIAR Research Program on Grain Legumes and Dryland Cereals (GLDC). Dr Peter Carberry, Director of GLDC, set the framework from the start, underlining that the Program’s approach is how it can add value to what is already being undertaken. Linking initiatives and building on each other’s strengths... Read More 0

In 2016, The mastercard foundation approved a grant of US$27.1 million to RUFORUM for a period of eight years (2016-2024). This grant supports the training of 220 students; 110 undergraduates and 110 Masters African economically disadvantaged students, giving opportunity to those from post conflict countries such as South Sudan, Somalia, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Burundi.  The Programme is currently executed by the RUFORUM Secretariat, together with two early adopter universities;... Read More 0

Moi University is a public University and a RUFORUM member University located in Eldoret, Kenya. The University offers world class training both at undergraduate and postgraduate levels. As a result of successful application of World Bank funding during the African Center of Excellence II bidding by Eastern and Southern African states, the University is hosting African Center of Excellence in Phytochemicals, Textile and Renewable Energy, ACEII-PTRE. The Center is, therefore, offering limited... Read More 0

RUFORUM is a network of 85 Universities in 35 African countries with mission to strengthen the capacities of universities to foster innovations for strengthening agri-food systems through the training of high quality researchers, the output of impact oriented research and the maintenance of collaborative working relations among researchers, farmers, national agricultural research institutions and governments. The RUFORUM Sixth African Higher Agricultural Education Week and RUFORUM Biennial Conference, will be held 22 –... Read More 0

What is the program about? The EU under its Intra-Africa Academic Mobility Scheme has provided funding to support training of graduate students in African universities. In this mobility programme, five African partner institutions and one EU technical partner will collaborate in the training of professionals to achieve sustainable crop production that shall lead to increased yield and enhanced food and nutritional security. A total of 24 Masters (6 credit seeking, 18 degreeseeking)... Read More 0

Only 28 percent of women worldwide have careers in science, as reported in the 2015 UNESCO science report. While this has been slowly increasing, it still remains low. One persistent challenge is that high numbers of women drop out of academic research and teaching in the sciences in the early stages of their professional careers. If there were a greater number of female role models and mentors in senior positions, more junior... Read More 0

By Joseph Jabu- TAGDev Administrative Assistant, Egerton University The day was 27th November last year, the TAGDev Egerton Students visited Amiran- Kenya Limited for a field trip. In a bid to extend the benefits of the TAGDev program to other students at the University, the program invited an additional 13 continuing students to join in. The trip provided an opportunity for the students to be exposed to the activities of Amiran Kenya... Read More 0

The Regional Universities Forum for Capacity Building in Agriculture (RUFORUM) periodically puts out calls for grants and scholarships and invites eligible members from our member universities including researchers and students, people in the academia and members of the public to apply, as a way of supporting research and development, and training a new generation of scientists for Africa. RUFORUM is grateful to all applicants who responded to the respective calls for RUFORUM... Read More 0

By Marius Murongo, Graduate Teaching Assistant Sixty five (65) staff and postgraduate students of Uganda Martyrs University in Uganda completed a five-day training in Scientific Data Management organized by the university’s African Centre of Excellence in Agro Ecology and Livelihood Systems (ACALISE) hosted by the Faculty of Agriculture, in partnership with RUFORUM. The training, which took place from 15th to 19th January 2018, covered topics such as data collection and management using... Read More 0

Each year, Webmometrics, the largest web academic ranking of Higher Education Institutions, does the global ranking twice, based on criteria such as the number of Citations, presence, visibility and Excellence. University ranking continues to remain the common means of informing the public about the relevance and value for investment in Education. In a bid to internationalise the programs in its member universities, while remaining locally relevant, RUFORUM has facilitated the implementation of... Read More 0

The Regional Universities Forum for Capacity Building in Agriculture (RUFORUM) is pleased to welcome and announce a new Technical Committee. The new committee was officially welcomed during the 12th Technical Committee meeting which took place at the RUFORUM Secretariat offices in Kampala, Uganda from 2nd to 3rd February 2018. At this meeting, Prof. Emmanuel Tanyimbu from the University of Buea, Cameroon was elected as the new Technical Committee Chairperson, replacing Professor Kay... Read More 0

The Africa Center of Excellence in Aquaculture and Fisheries Science at LUANAR (AquaFish ACE), in partnership with RUFORUM, earlier this month welcomed visiting professors from RUFORUM member universities in Nigeria, Tanzania, Sudan and Kenya. The visit was part of the Aquafish Staff Exchange Program aimed at improvingthe quality of postgraduate programmes at LUANAR. The visiting team, who stayed from 8th to 19th January 2018, comprised of Dr. Olajide Philip Sobukola, Dr. Addanna... Read More 0

Emmanuel Afutu, now with a new title added to his name ‘Doctor’, was ecstatic as he and his colleagues joined RUFORUM staff on 16th January 2018 during a lunch get-together organized at the Secretariat to honour the new PhD graduates.  He was among the 13 RUFORUM-sponsored students who were conferred with Doctorates during the 68th Graduation Ceremony of Makerere University in Uganda, under PhD programmes of Plant Breeding and Biotechnology (PBB) and... Read More 0

With increasing pressure from university stakeholders and beneficiaries for universities to demonstrate value for money invested in Higher Education, universities are consistently striving to do their best to visibly show their relevance to the public. University ranking, though controversial, remains the common means of informing the public where they should get the ‘best’ education. To this end, RUFORUM strives to build capacity of its member universities to deliver quality education through cutting... Read More 0

The German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), with financial support from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), supports academic qualification measures for individuals from developing countries who participate in the In-Country / In-Region Scholarship Programme. Every year the DAAD awards more than 1,000 BMZ-funded scholarships to junior researchers from Africa, the Middle East, Latin America, South East Asia and South Asia to help finance their master’s or PhD programmes... Read More 0

Pursuing a master’s degree in crop science at Kyambogo University was my career dream come true. Having attained a Bachelor of Vocational Studies in Agriculture with Education at the same university, I wanted to specialise in crop science in order to contribute to increased food production through dissemination of knowledge and technologies to rural farmers.  Although today my face is full of smiles, this achievement did not come on a silver plate... Read More 0

Faculty of science Department of Geography and Environmental Science MOBILE GIS AND PROGRAMMING (1 post) Applicants must have at least an earned PhD in the field of GIScience and Earth Observation/ Remote Sensing/Spatial Analysis with specialization in Mobile GIS and Programming or equivalent, a Masters degree in GIScience and Earth Observation/ Remote Sensing/Spatial Analysis in Mobile GIS and Programming or equivalent with a Merit pass or better. A foundation degree in Geography/Environmental... Read More 0

The Regional Universities Forum for Capacity Building in Agriculture (RUFORUM), a network of 85 universities in 35 African countries, is pleased to announce the conferment of Doctoral degrees to 16 of some of its funded students who were hosted by member universities across Africa. A total of 13 students were conferred with PhDs during the 68th Graduation Ceremony of Makerere University, Uganda under PhD programmes of Plant Breeding and Agriculture & Rural... Read More 0

The Regional Universities Forum for Capacity Building in Agriculture (RUFORUM) has received a 2 year grant of 1.500,000 United States Dollars from Carnegie Cooperation of New York to support post-doctoral fellowships in Africa. Specifically, the grant aims at increasing and ensuring high retention rate of brightest and most promising academic graduates in Africa who will ultimately help strengthen African universities to meet the growing demand for higher education and for a more... Read More 0