Experts have opined that with research and innovation, Uganda will be able to thrive in turbulent times like the Covid pandemic.
“If Uganda becomes a vibrant hub for research and innovation, the country will go through the turbulent times. It is through research that we are able to make meaningful change,” Dr. James Williams Tamale, the National Drug Authority ( NDA)head of regional offices said.
“Take an example of the Covid pandemic where many people questioned too quickly the vaccines we had got. Little did we know that researchers who were sleeping in labs for many years tried many methodologies of improving these vaccines. That’s how innovations and solutions were able to get to the market to save the world from Covid. These are the fruits of research.”
Dr. Tamale was on Friday speaking during the second edition of the Nkumba University International Research Conference.
The official from NDA said it is because of research and innovation that the world was saved from the deadly Covid pandemic which threatened to wipe out the world.
Putting it into perspective, he explained that when the pandemic hit , researchers went to work to help come up with an innovation in form of a vaccine that could help the world deal with Covid.
He however noted that it never came on a silver plate but rather after a series of failures.
“We should not be in a comfort zone but should always ask what if something happens. It is because of research and innovation that we were able to get zoom, an application that helps connect people .This was because Covid had made life difficult and people could not hold physical meetings, students could not go to class. That is the change we needed to harness research and innovation.”
Dr. Tamale however noted that such research and innovation is a culture that must be born out of universities and other academic institutions to students to ensure social and economic transformation.
“That research from the university may not be the solution to the problem at hand but with time, it might come in handy to solve a certain problem. Just like zoom was invented many years ago but it later became a solution to a problem cause by Covid. Which kind of culture are we as an institution and country promoting? We should promote a culture of research and innovation to help question the status quo. This is where as leaders have to offer guidance. That’s how we shall be able to thrive amidst the chaos and come up with solution.”
According to Prof. Jude T.Lubega, the Vice Chancellor for Nkumba University, the conference is aimed at giving platform to researchers at the university, in Uganda and the world at large to disseminate information across the world.
“There are so many researchers out there including Ugandans to whom conferences might be so expensive to enable them attend. Having this conference is a way of giving a platform to young researchers to present their ideas, receive feedback and in turn grow their research and it will in turn lead to national development,” Prof.Lubega said.
He said the conference is part of efforts for Nkumba to be a research led university in the country.
“in the future we plan to be a research led university and such conferences is where we are starting with the journey. I think there is a great future for this institution since it is built on a research foundation.”