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IUIU Welcomes Delegates from SESRIC

• 08th February, 2024 3:16pm
• 3 minutes read

The Islamic University in Uganda (IUIU) hosted distinguished delegates from the Statistical, Economic and Social Research and Training Centre for Islamic Countries (SESRIC) on Wednesday, February 7th, 2024, at its main campus in Mbale. Accompanied by the Ambassador of Uganda to Turkey, the visit aimed to explore avenues of collaboration between IUIU and SESRIC and familiarize OIC member countries. 

The delegation included representatives from SESRIC led by H.E. Mr. Kenan Bagci, a senior researcher from SESRIC, and Mr. Muzamil Edema, and was accompanied by the Ambassador of Uganda to the Republic of Turkey, Hon. Ms. Nusura Tiperu. 

The visitors were warmly received by Deputy University Secretary Mr. Rashid Kinsambwe, Director of the Center for Postgraduate Studies Assoc. Prof. Matovu Musa, Academic Registrar, deans, and lecturers at the office of the Rector.

In his opening remarks, Mr. Rashid welcomed the guests, commending them for their visit to IUIU. He emphasized the institution's recent successes and expressed hopes that the discussions would uncover opportunities for collaboration between IUIU and SESRIC.

Mr. Muzamil Edema, a statistician with SESRIC and an alumnus of IUIU, highlighted the challenges of a lack of experts in Islamic economics and statistics, while also pointing out opportunities in halal tourism given the positioning of IUIU main Campus In the Elgon Region. He lauded the university for its leadership in research and encouraged Ph.D. holders to contribute more articles following their qualifications.

"We aim to build the capacity of experts from OIC member countries, especially Uganda and IUIU," he added.

H.E. Mr. Kenan Bagci emphasized the opportunities available and urged IUIU staff to contribute articles to journals published by SESRIC.

Ambassador Ms. Nusura Tiperu encouraged the university to engage with the Council for Higher Education in Turkey to benefit from opportunities such as scholarships and staff exchange programs. She suggested utilizing the Elgon region's resources through the Faculty of Agriculture to support the local food chain and proposed the university become a model farm for the government's agro-processing strategy.

"Can we design a mechanism to be engines of the agro-processing strategy for the government using the university as a model farm?" she added.

she urged the university to tap into the tourism market by introducing relevant courses, given Uganda's abundance of natural resources. She emphasized the importance of engaging students in projects focused on agro-processing and producing graduates who can serve the community effectively.

The visit concluded with a tour of the main campus, with a particular focus on the new Faculty of Engineering currently under construction.