Some of the excited post graduate students after being confirmed by the Chancellor during the 21st graduation. Photos by Arnest Tumwesige
By Arnest Tumwesige
Gulu: The Uganda Management Institute (UMI) Chancellor, Chief Justice Emeritus Bart Katureebe, has stated that academics are important only if they impact and change the community.
Katureebe’s statements follow the trends of expensive parties thrown by families after their children graduate.
He observed that the benefits of education to the community are not about congregating and partying, but the impact the community will get from that education.
The Chancellor made the remarks during the 21st graduation held at Gulu branch on March 15, 2024. Where 314 students graduated with postgraduate diplomas and master’s degrees in different fields.
Katureebe urged UMI academia and the graduates to convert the knowledge gained into service to the various communities. He questioned the value of a well-written research paper that hardly changes people to deal with issues surrounding them.
“I ask the professors at UMI to do pro bono classes to meet their communities.”
The chancellor asked that service to the community be embedded as a core of recruitment and promotion of all staff, especially the research-led academics.
“Pro bono service should be part of UMI’s top management expectation of every member of staff.”
He noted that as the institute embarks on the research-led mode of education as a graduation imperative, grandaunts should either individually or as groups do projects with a community that has evident measurable impact.
“Communities here in Northern Uganda, are still smarting from the postwar trauma. It is not enough to speak fluent English to them. It is important to listen to these communities and consciously set out to empower them.”
Katureebe said he dreams of a UMI professor doing a class with a community woman in Lacor who is working on the preservation of one of his favorite dishes, like Malakwang vegetable.
“Imagine the impact of a professor interacting with would-be charcoal burners and finding a sustainable energy option. Sharing a meal with them and explaining complex trends in the language they understand. If invited, I would be glad to join these community engagements.”
Concern on environment
On the other note, he asked the grandaunts to celebrate by planting a tree of their choice and nurturing it as a celebration of the achievement attained in academics.
Katureebe observed that it is important for the educated to lead the fight for environmental restoration and protection and reduce the effects of deforestation.
Stella Kijange, an advocate and women activist supplemented that if every parent and grandaunt plants a tree, it would impact a lot on the environment.
Kijange equally commended the Chancellor for speaking on the issues that scholars must tackle in the community, especially projects like teenage pregnancy, and environmental degradation.
“You don’t need to study from UMI and again you leave your community. You’re studying to transform the community. So I implore the graduates to make use of their research,” Kijange observed.
Threat of Artificial Intelligence
Dr. James Nkata the Director General of UMI, noted that Artificial Intelligence is going to change a lot of things in the manner and mode of operation, of management in organizations in the private and public sectors.
Dr. Nkata implored the grandaunts to deeply look into their soft skills and demonstrate their relevance in the changing work environment where technology is slowly narrowing the space for human employability.
He however encouraged managers to apply soft skills like adaptability, empathy, compassion, innovativeness, incisiveness, communication, flexibility, and critical thinking among others that cannot be overtaken by technology.
Community engagements are effective in improving service delivery