College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Innovation Scholars Program (CAES-ISP)

The Makerere University College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences (CAES) and Michigan State University’s Borlaug Higher Education for Agriculture Research and Development (BHEARD) Program with the support of the MSU’s Global Center for Food Systems Innovation (GCFSI) have been working together to advance CAES toward the strategic vision “to be a leading institution of academic excellence and innovations in Africa.”  The CAES Innovation Scholars Program (CAES-ISP) has supported CAES academic personnel to work as interdisciplinary teams to solve food system problems that are relevant to the food systems in Africa, and the CAES leadership team to invigorate the innovation culture within the college.

The ISP allows scholars an opportunity to practice innovation to improve the value, efficiency and effectiveness of their teaching, research and outreach engagements. The program consists of two tracks: (1) Faculty Track: comprising CAES academic personnel leading interdisciplinary teams to innovatively solve food system problems that are relevant to enhance Uganda and Africa’s economic development; (2) Top Management Track: comprising CAES top management investigating how to invigorate the innovation culture within the college to support innovative research, education and outreach.

The program integrated human-centered design thinking in the innovation process thereby institutionalizing the innovation culture in CAES. Today’s innovation showcase is a culmination of the CAES-ISP innovation process with the following features:

• Showcasing academic innovators (students, faculty, management)
• Sharing experiences of CAES-ISP as exemplar process for promoting institutional culture of sustainable innovation
• Engaging with government, industry and development partners
• CAES management engaging with partners to forge strategies for sustainability of the Innovation Scholars Program

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See scholars messages