Grand Challenge
CAES-ISP Grand Challenges
The grand challenges stem from challenges that have been identified by academic staff and administration of CAES as they carry out their core roles of teaching, research and outreach. The grand challenges are focused on improving the way academic staff and administration perform their various roles while impacting students, communities, private sector and policy makers. These grand challenges contribute to Makerere’s vision “to be a leading institution of academic excellence and innovations in Africa” and mission, “To provide innovative teaching, learning, research and services responsive to National and Global needs.”
The Grand Challenges also contribute to Uganda’s vision 2040 that is aimed at “transforming the Ugandan society from a peasant to a modern and prosperous country.'' CAES-ISP offers an opportunity during which CAES academic personnel can work as interdisciplinary teams to solve problems that are relevant to the food systems in Africa, while at the same time offering support to the CAES leadership team to invigorate the innovation culture within the college.
The CAES-ISP invites Makerere scholars and management to bring ideas to a set of Grand Challenges that are defined by the mission of the University. The CAES-ISP will then work to support the scholar as they convert their Grand Challenge solution into actual development impact via processes that are used by private sector to create solutions that are receptive/adaptive to the needs of beneficiaries. The CAES-ISP views innovation as a process as well as a product. The ISP will equip scholars with the tools, training, and support to learn, fail fast, adapt, and practice innovative thoughts, approaches, and actions. The CAES-ISP design team identified the following five grand challenges aligned with the major functions of the university: teaching, research, outreach.
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Effectively preparing students for a changing international and local market
In a country where 77% of its population is under 30 years of age, and with a youth unemployment rate of 13%, there is need to produce students that are employable. Technologies like ICT, artificial intelligence, autonomous vehicles, big data, machine learning, cloud computing etc. are increasingly transforming the way people live and do things. Under this grand challenge, the CAES-ISP invites applications that depict the relevant skills demanded in the market for CAES graduates and innovative ways of imparting the skills.
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Preparing students for self-driven career paths
While market relevant skills are important, there is an increasingly urgent need for students to apply such skills in launching and advancing their own career paths. These skills are commonly understood as entrepreneurial skills. As more and more students graduate from universities across the country every year, it is becoming harder for students to find jobs in their chosen fields even with good grades. Students need to be taught skills that will enable them to create jobs for themselves rather than seek jobs when they graduate. The project should indicate the entrepreneurial hands-on skills that will be imparted to the students. Proposed ideas from applicants should specify the relevant entrepreneurial skills for CAES graduates and how they will impart these skills. The idea should indicate the opportunities for learning-by-doing and any experiential learning that will take place. Indicate how the project will empower students to develop and inculcate an entrepreneurial spirit to develop and incubate a business idea to a scalable level. Explain how your idea will challenge students/teachers to employ the different technical skills learned from the various courses and programs.
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Developing innovative technology for the market
Innovation and/or technology here are described as, but not limited to, an idea, a skill, a method, an equipment, or a platform. This Grand Challenge is for those who either a) have an innovation that is ready to be brought to market and need support to do so or b) are interested in developing a process to support CAES faculty and students bring future innovations to market. The applicant’s idea should be able to differentiate between research, technology, and innovation and reflect pathways that commercialize the developed technology or innovation. To this effect, applicants have to show the process that will be followed to commercialize their technologies or innovations. Projects that tackle gaps that affect commercialization of innovations at CAES are highly encouraged. The idea should demonstrate novelty on how the administration and/or faculty (academic staff) can support the commercialization process. Finally, projects could map the innovation ecosystem that the researcher has identified as the beneficiaries of the innovation.
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Strengthening CAES’ influence in policy decision making
Research is one of the major mandates of academic staff of Makerere University. How might we as CAES engage in market-driven, policy-relevant, and problem-solving research? While broadly recognizing that agriculture is the backbone of Uganda’s economy, this grand challenge gives space to think ‘outside the box’ and innovate to solve the problems of a diverse set of stakeholders in Uganda’s agriculture sector. In demonstrating relevance, the proposal should show practical and realistic ways to provide solutions to CAES stakeholders. It requires thinking about the people that the research will impact, not just the scientific or political key actors. This theme gives an opportunity to provide publishable results that also solve current and foreseen market-needs.
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Developing a thriving CAES innovation environment (CAES Top Management Track only)
This grand challenge will be to create a conducive environment for innovation scholars that nurtures creativity, exploration, discovery and commercialization of knowledge aimed at improving livelihoods. The proposed idea should indicate how CAES top management will inculcate and support an innovation culture among students and faculty within CAES.
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