Funding for these trainings is made available from the Unit’s core funds, by external donors (such as the Rockefeller Foundation, Wellcome Trust, IAVI and others) and through independent scholarship awards such as Commonwealth scholarships for postgraduate courses.

The MRC provides support to the Unit to run its PhD training programme, and financial support for PhD training is also available through some other donors. The Unit supports post graduate training at PhD, MSc and Bachelors levels. A major achievement for the reporting period is that a total of 13 staff are now enrolled on PhD studies, 24 staff on Master of Science courses (most through distance based learning) and 17 staff commenced their Bachelor degree studies at local and international universities. In addition one staff completed a PhD during the period covered by this report, 6 completed their MSc degrees and 3 their Bachelors degrees. In 2008 and 2009, we hosted many students from abroad and from Uganda, their attachments ranging from short work exposures to internships and electives that lasted several months.

Capacity building in support of partner institution in Uganda and beyond:
Based on a grant from MRC, we were able to strengthen UVRI’s capacity in administration, grant management and in managing its Science and Ethics Committee.

These improvements helped UVRI to subsequently attract external grants. For example, in 2009 the Institute won support from EDCTP to set up and coordinate a network of research institutions in East Africa for the conduct of clinical trials focusing on HIV, tuberculosis and malaria. This network of excellence started its operations, involving 28 partner institutions in Kenya, Tanzania, Sudan, Ethiopia and Uganda, with the MRC/UVRI Unit as one of the main supporting facilitators. Similarly, the Unit contributes to a Wellcome Trust funded initiative for a training platform for infection and immunity. This initiative is a collaboration between Makerere University, UVRI, the MRC/UVRI Uganda Unit, Cambridge University and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.more


Participants pose for a photo after the training