A four person Universities Ireland delegation visited Uganda between 19 and 26 November to explore the potential for greater co-operation between universities in Ireland, North and South, and higher education institutions in Uganda (a second leg to Ethiopia had to be cancelled because of the political situation in that country). The delegation consisted of Professor Jane Grimson, former Vice Provost of Trinity College Dublin, Dr Peadar Cremin, President of Mary Immaculate College at the University of Limerick, Mr Norman Bennett, Director of Finance at Queen’s University Belfast and Mr Andy Pollak of Universities Ireland, who acted as the delegation’s secretary (Professor Áine Hyland, Vice President of University College Cork, was forced to pull out on the morning of departure because of a bereavement).
The delegation visited universities, colleges of education, medical, nursing and laboratory training schools, hospitals and schools in Kampala, Nkosi, Jinja, Kiwoko and Fort Portal and had discussions with a wide range of people from ministry officials and university presidents to schoolteachers and people working to combat HIV/AIDS. The delegation’s report will be posted on this website once it has been approved by the next Universities Ireland Council meeting on 25 January 2006. In the meantime here are some photos from the visit (taken by Peadar Cremin).