January Intake Ongoing
The Faculty of Socio-Economic Sciences at Cavendish University Uganda formally inaugurated its 2026 academic semester with a distinguished Public Lecture held on 20th February 2026 at the University’s Main Campus in under the theme “Funding Opportunities, Regional Integration, and the Role of Social Sciences in the Transformation of Africa,” convening faculty, researchers, postgraduate and undergraduate students and invited guests for a rigorous and forward-looking scholarly engagement on Africa’s development trajectory.
The keynote address was delivered by Prof. Jean-Marc Trouille, a renowned Jean Monnet Professor and Director of the Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence on the European Union and Regional Integration in the East African Community. Prof. Trouille presented a strategic and practice-oriented discourse on “Advice on Funding Applications and Regional Integration in Africa,” offering critical insights into competitive grant acquisition, international research partnerships, European and global funding frameworks, and the strategic positioning of African scholars and institutions within evolving transnational research ecosystems.
His address highlighted the imperative of aligning academic inquiry with continental priorities, strengthening institutional research architectures, and leveraging regional integration mechanisms to catalyse sustainable socio-economic transformation.
The keynote was complemented by a high-level panel session on “The Role of Social Sciences in the Transformation of Africa,” featuring scholarly reflections from Cavendish University Lecturers including Prof. Haruna Ayuba, Dr Olar Ronald, and Dr Anyona Ondigi, who critically examined the theoretical foundations, policy relevance, and applied contributions of social sciences to governance reform, economic resilience, peacebuilding, social justice, regional cooperation, and sustainable development across the continent.
The engagement stimulated robust intellectual exchange, reinforced interdisciplinary collaboration within and beyond the faculty, strengthened faculty and postgraduate capacity in research proposal development and grant competitiveness, and enhanced the Cavendish University’s institutional visibility within regional and international academic networks.
In setting a deliberate intellectual tone for the semester, the Lecture reaffirmed the Faculty’s commitment to scholarly excellence, evidence-based policy engagement, and transformative research that meaningfully contributes to Africa’s integration agenda and long-term development aspirations, as underlined by Dr Busuulwa Huthaifah, Ag. Dean of the Faculty.
