KAMPALA- The beginning of the month seems to be a good start for those who graduated on Friday, 1st March at Uganda Management Institute (UMI) in Kampala.
This academic milestone marked the 21st Graduation Ceremony for post graduate students with doctorates (PhD’s), masters and diplomas in various disciplines and to many of them; they had ticked off part of their New Year’s resolution in the academic excellence realm.
In his opening speech, the Director General, UMI, Dr. James Nkata said that they had the biggest number of graduates in the history of the Institution with over 3, 793.
“We congratulate them upon this mark of achievement. UMI is aware of great changes and we are in the process of having Artificial Intelligence (AI) and we are building a hub to cater for this with our experts. I implore the graduates to use their soft skills such as empathy, compassion, humility and others that cannot be taken over by AI” added Dr. Nkata.
He also noted that they have been working closely with all institutions both private and government which has been a benefit to having all around learners and they are immensely proud of working with the judiciary system which has been a pillar in building a strong force through research and development.
In his remarks, he urged the now Alumni of UMI to take over the driver’s seat but not the passengers and this will seen in their way of work.
Chancellor, UMI, Justice Bart Magunda Katureebe said that about four years ago he retired as a Chief Justice and testified that there is life after retirement.
“On this big day, I congratulate all the graduates and mostly importantly the PhDs because we are making this a world class management institute. This is through community engagement because they are the ones that make us. Convert the knowledge to serve the people in the community and also put pro- bono services for the people so that they can have UMI at their hearts as well as making community driven research. Imagine a professor’s interaction with a fisherman in Kalangala sharing his complex issues in simple terms that these people will understand and comprehend. That is where we should be headed.” Justice Katureebe explained.
He encouraged the graduates to take part in climate change awareness and advised them to plant a tree in remembrance of this day because of the changes that are hitting us and they should guard the environment jealousy.
Chancellor Justice Katureebe advised the audience to also look at some of the basic things such as water harvesting in their communities as one of the ways of saving resources inorder to have good community free from diseases, floods, dry spells for those in agriculture, broken infrastructure like roads, bridges and others.
In his final remarks, he urged them to keep the legacy of UMI high which has been the case for over the past 50 years and it should be reflected in their work.
The guest of honor, Chief Justice, His Lordship Alfonse Owiny – Dollo appreciated the support and partnership between the Judiciary and UMI that has catapulted in improvement of service delivery in the sector.
He further told the graduates to live by example and be committed to serving their communities diligently.
