In a move that signals growing momentum behind Africa-led academic collaboration, Makerere University has been selected to host the Africa Office of the Alliance for African Partnership (AAP), positioning the institution at the center of a continental effort to reshape research partnerships and capacity building.

The announcement was made during a meeting of the university’s Central Management and an AAP delegation on 23 February 2026. University leaders described the decision as a strong endorsement of Makerere’s proven capacity to coordinate complex research consortia and its alignment with AAP’s long-term strategic priorities.

According to officials, Makerere’s selection was based on its demonstrated commitment to partnership-driven research, its administrative readiness, and its track record in managing multi-institutional initiatives.

Founded in 2016 by Michigan State University in collaboration with ten African universities and agricultural policy research networks, AAP focuses on addressing critical development challenges across education, youth empowerment, health and nutrition, agri-food systems, science and technology, water, energy, environment, and culture and society.

Speaking during the engagement, Vice Chancellor Barnabas Nawangwe welcomed the development, noting that strategic partnerships such as AAP are essential to strengthening doctoral training across the continent.

“One of the greatest challenges facing African universities is PhD training, particularly supervisory capacity,” he said. “Through partnerships such as the Alliance for African Partnership we can leverage international expertise to strengthen supervision—whether through training supervisors or through joint supervision arrangements.”

Professor Nawangwe also highlighted the impact of joint initiatives already underway, particularly the Grant Writing and Publication project, which led to the establishment of a Writing Centre at Makerere. The centre, launched in March 2023, is expected to serve as a regional capacity-building hub for AAP member universities while supporting postdoctoral collaboration between African and U.S. institutions.

Reinforcing the significance of the decision, Titus Awokuse, Vice Provost and Dean for International Studies and Programs at Michigan State University, said Makerere’s selection reflects its long-standing leadership in advancing African higher education and research excellence.

Dr. Awokuse traced AAP’s origins to a pivotal conversation convened by Michigan State University nearly a decade ago in Atlanta under the theme: How should we partner differently? The dialogue ultimately gave rise to AAP as an Africa-centered consortium grounded in equity, mutual benefit, shared leadership, and respect for African priorities.

Today, the partnership brings together 12 institutions across Africa and the United States. Awokuse emphasized that the consortium’s progress is the result of collective institutional commitment rather than the efforts of any single partner.

He also acknowledged the foundational role played by Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources in hosting the Africa Office during its formative years.

The newly appointed Africa Office Director, Racheal Ddungu Mugabi, brings expertise in intersectional inequalities in Uganda and the Global South. As a faculty member in Makerere’s Department of Development Studies within the Institute of Gender and Development Studies, she is expected to drive expanded collaboration and partnership building across the network.

AAP Co-Directors Jose Jackson-Malete and Amy Jamison were part of the visiting delegation, alongside AAP staff including Ms. Clare Cheromoi.

During the meeting, Dr. Jackson-Malete highlighted the African Futures Research Leadership Program as one of AAP’s flagship initiatives. The program mentors early-career scholars, with a strong emphasis on advancing women in higher education. In its fifth cohort, the program admitted its first male participant, Alfadaniels Mabingo of Makerere University.

The AAP consortium has expanded steadily since its founding and now includes eleven African members, among them Egerton University, United States International University-Africa, Université Cheikh Anta Diop, University of Botswana, University of Dar es Salaam, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, and the recently added University of Pretoria.

With the Africa Office now based in Kampala, AAP expects to deepen research coordination, mobilize new funding streams, and strengthen global engagement in support of socio-economic transformation across the continent.

Photo courtesy / Google

Article by Jed Mwangi

https://news.mak.ac.ug/2026/02/mak-selected-to-host-alliance-for-african-partnership-africa-office/