The Minister for Information and Communications Technology (ICT) and national guidance Chris Baryomunsi has urged public and private universities to help the government to fasten service delivery to its citizens.
Baryomunsi observed that much as all the 68 universities in Uganda are teaching computer science and installing computers in their libraries, the research and innovations they carry out should be able to find space in the policy arena to translate into meaningful interventions that help change society.
‘You cannot say technology is for the Western world. It will find you where you are even if you hide your head in the sand. I have been to countries like South Korea where the doctors are using artificial intelligence to make quick, accurate and better diagnosis of ailments like cancer. How do we bring these technologies into the health sector in Uganda for our health workers to perform better?’ Baryomunsi wondered.
The minister made these remarks while presiding over the 18th graduation ceremony of ISBAT University at Hotel Africana on November 12, 2025 in Kampala, celebrated under the theme transforming higher education by integrating emerging technologies.
‘We are looking at issues of e-government services and digitising and automating government service delivery. We are looking at issues of digital literacy and skilling in Uganda by working and collaborating with universities. We are looking at the issues of innovation, entrepreneurship and cyber security. The question I would like to pose to universities is the role they are playing in facilitating the digital transformation agenda,’ Mr Baryomunsi added.
The 18th graduation of the university was remarkable that the Indian High Commissioner to Uganda, Shri Upender Singh Rawat was part of the 962 graduands and awarded a masters degree in public health.
Ambassador Rawat said he aims at using the knowledge he acquired to enhance relations between Uganda and India’s healthcare sectors.
‘And as a career diplomat for 27 years and a country’s representative, we have to deal with all the subjects in foreign relations. I thought that it’s a good time in the later part of life to gain new knowledge and new expertise and public health and health overall is one of the most important topics that we need to deal with everywhere in the government but also in diplomacy. I took time to gain more knowledge in public health so that I can use it in my work to advance Uganda and India altogether,’ said Mr Rawat who has been in Uganda for two years and five months.
While giving his keynote address titled transforming higher education by integrating emerging technologies, George William Nyombi Thembo, the Executive Director of Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) reminded higher institutions of learning how the world is living through a period of rapid technological change, unlike anything humanity has ever experienced.
My Nyombi added that artificial intelligence, data analytics, virtual reality, and other emerging technologies are writing the rules of every industry such as healthcare to finance and manufacturing to creative arts. Education, especially higher education, Nyombi reiterated, cannot and must not remain on the sidelines of this transformation.
‘Traditional lectures, fixed curricula, and standardised assessments no longer align with the dynamic, personalised and digital fast world that students inhabit. Education, pedagogical approaches and other approaches have been disrupted. The lecturer and professor who used to be the depository of knowledge will see these becoming more of facilitators of learning other than spewers of knowledge because it has been democratised and put on the web. Today’s learners are digital natives and live in an ecosystem of constant information, connectivity, and instant feedback. To remain relevant, higher education must evolve from a model of simple knowledge transmission to one of knowledge creation and application. Emerging technologies are the catalysts to make this revolution possible,’ Mr Nyombi said.
For his part, Varghese Mundamattam, Chairman, board of directors of Isbat university said higher institutions of learning cannot transform in isolation but through multi-sectoral partnerships to match the trends of emerging technologies.
‘Strong partnerships with industry, government and civil society provide real problems for students to solve, internships that build practical skills and pathways to research to translate into public benefit. Strong academy partnerships also help universities remain up to date with current technological evolution,’ Mundamattam said.
In Uganda, the ICT sector contributes approximately nine percent of the country’s GDP and employs approximately 1.3 million citizens with an annual growth of approximately 15 percent. Yet, one major challenge that remains is the gap between what industries need and what traditional institutions and education systems produce.
It should also be noted that all universities in Uganda produce over 700,000 graduates into the job market, yet according to the Uganda Bureau of Statistics national housing and population census report, unemployment in Uganda stands at 12.3 percent, with 42.6 percent of Uganda’s youth between 15 to 24 unemployed, not in education or training.