The College of Engineering, Design, Art and Technology will this year graduate over 500 students with 21 students graduating with First Class Honors degrees in various fields. This year’s graduation ceremony will be held starting May 17 to May 21, 2021.
Some of the best students shared with us their motivation to succeed at the university.
Coutinho. K. Gloria
I am a proud artist and an emerging fashion designer. My three-year journey at the Margaret Trowell School of Industrial and Fine Arts can best be described as an extreme sport indeed! However, despite it being significantly challenging, I feel a great sense of fulfilment because Art is my calling and therefore, I wouldn’t trade my experience for anything. My success is inspired by an inbuilt drive for perfection and excellence. In addition, I applaud Makerere University for giving creatives
the freedom of expression as well as a conducive environment to blossom and impact positively on society. Last but not least, to mom and dad, for the moral and financial support in a world where the idea of a career in art is often received with a lot of skepticism, gratitude is a must!
Karungi Prunella. N
I am a goal-oriented person. I came to campus with a goal of getting a First-Class degree and nothing less. That meant I had prepared my brain for the task ahead and was determined to work as hard as I possibly could to attain it right from the first year. People make the mistake of playing around in first year and yet it’s the stage when things are a bit easier and is a great opportunity to maximise your chance to excel since it contributes to the final score at the end of the course, rather than wait for things to get harder and accumulate.
I believe the company one keeps affects the manner in which they conduct themselves. I for one identified people who shared in the same goal with me and made them very close friends of mine and were actually part of my discussion groups: Owino Shelah, Owot Derrick, Kagimu Solomon were among them. We motivated and challenged each other to push to our best at all times even when it got tiring and that’s what kept us going, which is why we were all able to attain first class degrees.
I really wanted to make my parents proud. I have been blessed with both parents who have provided everything I have ever needed. I never had any trouble at school. I never lacked anything and I knew that all they wanted was for me to emerge as one of the best. I wanted to make them proud in that aspect as a way of my gratitude towards their tireless commitment towards taking care of me and my every need.
Bayiga Sharon Natukunda
I loved art and I had the talent for it. I believe I picked this from my mother who was a gown fashion designer. I look up to my mother and other ladies in the world that have succeeded in using art to express and reveal themselves. This motivated me to take it on and push this talent to another level.
This talent was driven by passion. I was doing what I love most ‘ art’. That forced me to work hard, be persistent and the desire to achieve my academic excellence in art. It has been said by many students that its impossible to get a first-class degree in BIFA, it is this myth that I wanted to demystify. I am glad I did.
Martin Senkubuge
Am Martin Senkubuge aka SMQ, during my first week at campus I met with my Primary and High school (Ntare School) friend Davis Tushabomwe, who was doing Petroleum Geoscience and Production. We had a three-hour conversation and he shared with me basic principles of managing campus life and academic excellence.
Out of this long and impactful conversation, I came up with my three principles
1. Living a life without regrets, this controlled my decision making all the time, amidst campus life temptations
2. Never be a beggar. This always encouraged me to work on everything myself incase no one was there to help
3. Act like a fool and be a good listener. This helped me so much in my course since I knew I was an exceptional piece of talent. I had to ensure that I listen to whatever my lecturers and professors passed on to me, whether it made sense at that moment or not, I always believed it would later. This is where most students always think they are too smart than their lecturers and professors. This principle guided me so much and helped me stay Humble
I surely had a number of challenges throughout my years at campus however they never affected me so much since I was passionate about what I was doing.
I had to always raise some money out of small projects to ensure that I submit daily courseworks in time, my friends always complained about my red eyes since most of them didn’t know about my sleepless nights and busy schedules during day.
I had heard from many Alumni, that BIFA wasn’t easy but being a born again Christian always reminded me that Greater is He in us than the one in the world.
And I knew that through prayer, hard work and respect for my principles, I would definitely make it and I did
I am glad that my uneducated parents have a first-Class degree son in the whole clan. Let this motivate you reading this, everything is possible, simply create the right mindset and be positive all the time.
Special Thanks to the MTSIFA fraternity, all my supervisors, my parents, secondary parents and helpers, my art clients all over the world, my classmates, my siblings and everyone else.
Looking forward to pursuing further studies
Agatha Masaba
My family always had high expectations and so I didn’t want to disappoint them. I also wanted to be the first in my family to get a first-class degree. I don’t like the idea of failure at all. If I’m doing something, I do it well.
Kirabo Edwina
I firstly want to thank the all-mighty God who enabled me to get a first-class degree, I am so grateful. Well before joining University, I had a talk with my older siblings that gave me advice on how best I could pull off a first-class degree. I was told to give it my best from the word go because things would get easier towards the end for as long as I maintained the good grades from first year. Secondly, I made sure every activity had its own time and I wouldn’t mix my studies with other non-academic business. This really kept me focused.
Owot Derick Haron
I struggled with academics as a child and I knew I wasn’t that perfect but wanted to do better every day hence the urge to work hard.
Joining Makerere University on a government scholarship and more so CEDAT was the key and major boost for my confidence. It made me believe I could accomplish anything. I was in the best university and best college so I was among the best. This motivated me the more and made me believe in myself to even do better.
The setting also was so perfect for excellence right from lectures to course mates.
Not forgetting my everyday task of always being better at anything I do. I had no excuse but rather to work harder.
Nabacwa Veronica
The love for engineering particularly civil, always wanting to relate theory to the field, curiosity and thrust in me of wanting to challenge myself.
Agudu Rachael
When I started out in 2016 I had very little knowledge about what I was doing. One of my lecturers though, Sylvia Nakintu inspired me because she was really passionate about valuation. Her breadth of knowledge sparked a passion in me to learn. I became more dedicated to what I was doing and with that I was able to get a first class.
Shelagh Owino
I joined Makerere University because my family could not afford the tuition to send me to a university abroad that had granted me admission. I did not let this put me down. On the contrary, it became the driving force behind all my academic achievements. I was determined to be the best student in Makerere! After the first semester however, I quickly learnt that there is a lot more to life than just books. This, however, should not be an excuse to neglect academia. I began to serve more in church and allowed God to take the centre stage of my life. I recall two exam seasons where I took Holy Communion with my roommate before the papers. I learnt to pray and trust God with my life and the gift of knowledge and intelligence He had given me and He blessed me even more. When the university was closed because of riots in 2016, I started out in business because I realised that street smarts were just as important as book smarts in the world outside school. Since then, I have started more than 4 businesses, 2 of which are thriving to date. All these experiences served to make me more resilient and gave me even more motivation to excel in my studies. In the second semester of third year, I realised that it was time to start thinking of life after campus. By this time, I had relatively good grades and began to seek out recruitment opportunities.
God seems to have had other plans for me because I enrolled for a one year leadership course at the start of 2020 and wrote a book. This experience reminded me of past traumas that had also fuelled my drive for excellence. I wanted to show the girls and boys who had suffered through abuse like I had that it is possible to turn your life around. I cannot neglect to mention the marvellous friends who helped me in discussion when it seemed like the things I was juggling were becoming too much to handle. I am glad that God blessed them with first classes too. To summarise my four years, I can only truly say that it has been God; guiding me, sustaining me, leading me to the right people and granting me ever increasing favour and zeal for excellence. My story can be yours too. Keep striving and trust in God!
| Name | CGPA | Course |
| Owino Shelah Ruth | 4.67 | Quantity surveying |
| Masaba Agatha | 4.65 | Land Economics |
| Agudu Racheal | 4.63 | Land Economics |
| Najjuuko Claire | 4.63 | Telecommunication Eng. |
| Kila Solomon | 4.62 | Goematics and Land Mgt. |
| Kirabo Edwina Mirembe | 4.6 | Industrial and Fine Art |
| Mukasa Peter | 4.58 | Electrical Engineering |
| Tumwine Colette | 4.57 | Land Economics |
| Owot Derick Haron | 4.57 | Quantity surveying |
| Bayiga Sharon Natukunda | 4.57 | Industrial and Fine Art |
| Nabacwa Veronica | 4.54 | Civil Engineering |
| Denise Kabateizi Atuhaire | 4.54 | Electrical Engineering |
| Kagimu Solomon | 4.54 | Quantity surveying |
| Coutinho Kayaga Gloria | 4.54 | Industrial and Fine Art |
| Senkubuge Martin | 4.54 | Industrial and Fine Art |
| Mwanda Vicent | 4.52 | Civil Engineering |
| Mutabarura Pison | 4.5 | Electrical Engineering |
| Karungi Prunella . N | 4.43 | Quantity surveying |
| Mugyenyi Samson | 4.41 | Civil Engineering |
| Kyasiimire Joseph | 4.41 | Land Economics |
| Nangoma Hidaya Nassali | 4.4 | Mechanical Engineering |