By Alex Kamukama
The National Council for Higher Education (NCHE) invited its stakeholders to the 10th higher education exhibition. The theme for this year was “strengthening innovations for sustainable development.” It focused on the current technological demands in higher education and the impact of ICT in the transformation of society.
In line with the theme, the NCHE acknowledges ICT as a strategic tool in its strategic plan 2017-2020. The implementation process is underway for the NCHE to acquire an Integrated Management Information System (IMIS) which will improve data management monitoring and compliance through easy access to data as well as the efficiency of service delivery to stakeholders. The NCHE has also established a data center with the potential to serve as a one-stop center for all higher education information in the country.
The expectation was that the exhibition would generate practical ideas that impact societal transformation in Uganda. Prof. Opuda Asibo John (Executive Director NCHE) said that society depends on societal values such as food security, availability of water, shelter, health, education, procreation, the environment, technology and good governance. These are critical products for sustainable development.
The NCHE has a responsibility to ensure sustainable development by strengthening innovations within the education sector. He urged institutions to provide relevant knowledge to provide excellence and quality in innovations.
At the exhibition, Kampala International University (KIU) showcased a number of innovations from both the Main and Western Campus; among which included; The Petrograph, an App that detects early stages of Preeclampsia before it physically manifests in pregnant women, The Health Directory for accountability and transparency of health facilities, personnel and expiry of drugs, The Virtual Classroom where students can study online in real time and interact with a real live classroom and The Personal Clinic that diagnoses symptoms of disease and then suggests the nearest clinics, hospitals and/or specialists within the vicinity of the patient.
NCHE’s as the regulator of higher education in Uganda is mandated by section 5(b) of the Universities and other Tertiary Institutions act 2001 as amended to “promote and develop the processing and dissemination of information on higher education for the benefit of the people.” It’s under this mandate that NCHE holds annual exhibitions to provide the public with a highly interactive forum for information dissemination from a comprehensive and diverse display of higher education sources.
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