Norwegian Delegation Visits Gulu University
A delegation from Norway led by Prof. Astrid Sinnes, the Deputy Vice Rector of Norwegian University of Life Sciences-NMBU and two other guests, Ms. Iben Andersen, Head of International Relations at NMBU, and Prof. Ingunn Engebretsen from University of Bergen visited Gulu University on Monday 10th March, 2025.
The purpose of the visit was to discuss the activities of Global University Academy (GUA) which is a consortium of Universities across Europe, America and Africa that is designing a globally recognized education system for refugees and local communities across the world.
The visit was also to follow up on the existing projects that Gulu University is implementing in collaboration with the Norwegian University of Life Sciences.
While meeting members of the University Top Management, Prof. Sinnes expressed her excitement for working with Gulu University and believes they will be able to develop something good and beneficial for both the university and the target community.
Dr. Solomon Olum who is coordinating two of the projects funded by Norway from Faculty of Agriculture stated that Gulu University is a member of the Global University Academy that will be piloted in Uganda in 2026 upon securing funding, adding that GUA partners had organized a workshop in Kampala to discuss the feasibility of Piloting the initiative in Adjumani refugee settlement, Northern Uganda.
Dr. Olum also presented on the on-going collaborations between Gulu University and the Norwegian University of Life Sciences where he presented four currently running Research projects, mainly from the Faculty of Agriculture and Environment.
The Gulu University Vice Chancellor Prof. George Ladaah Openjuru who welcomed the team to the university appreciated the Norwegian delegates for visiting the university and the different projects being run which is in line with Gulu University vision and mission focusing on community transformation.
Dr. Collins Okello, the Dean of the Faculty of Agriculture and Environment, Pledged Faculty support to the four running projects.
The four projects being run by Gulu University are; The NORPART project, “Partnership for Education in Refugee-Host Contexts: Joint learning towards food security and sustainable development in Uganda” funded by the Norwegian Directorate for Higher Education and Skills, Coordinated by Dr. Solomon Olum.
The second one is Creating Inclusive and Sustainable Food Systems in Refugee Hosting Contexts in Sub-Saharan Africa (ECOFOOD) which is a four-year project with activities running in Uganda and Tanzania, funded by the Research Council of Norway Coordinated by Dr. Solomon Olum.
Climate Smart Agriculture in Sub-Saharan Africa is one of the projects also being run at Faculty of Agriculture and Environment funded by Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD) through Norwegian Programme for Capacity Development in Higher Education and Research for Development (NORHED II) coordinated by Dr. Alfred Obia.
The fourth project “Climate Smart Innovation in Agriculture in Uganda: Improved food security, livelihood and soil carbon” funded by the Research Council of Norway also coordinated by Dr. Alfred Obia.
Leave a Reply