MBALE: The 1st Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for East African Affairs, Rebecca Kadaga, has urged government to fast-track the patent and copyrights law to protect innovators from unscrupulous people and institutions that tend to copy innovations of others.
Kadaga was speaking as chief guest at the official opening of the 14th National Council for Higher Education (NCHE) expo that is taking place in Mbale city. The expo started on Monday with a higher education conference held at Mbale Resort Hotel and will close on Saturday.
“I see many institutions investing in research and innovation but we need copyrights and patents so that whatever they are coming up with is not taken by other people,” Kadaga said.
Students listen attentively to one of the exhibitors.
She also lauded NCHE for rolling up these exhibitions to regions so that people in other parts can get information about higher education.
Speaking at the same function, NCHE executive director Prof. Mary Okwakol commended Uganda Christian University for not only accepting to host the event but also ensuring that the place is suitable for the exhibition, the first of its kind outside Kampala.
“Organising exhibitions is part of our mandate so that we furnish the public with information about higher education. Council recently took a decision to hold these exhibitions at regional level on a rotational basis starting with Mbale,” Prof. Okwakol said.
The Vice Chancellor of Uganda Christian University, Prof. Aaron Mushengyezi, in his speech lauded NCHE for giving his university the honour to be the first host of the regional exhibitions.
“We thank you for the opportunity. It points to the fact that we are a Centre of Excellence in Africa and I can assure you we spent sleepless nights to ensure everything is in order,” Prof. Mushengyezi said.
He asked government to consider private universities for the research grants which are currently a reserve for public universities.
UHTTI exhibitors.
The NCHE Expo is an annual event that aims at allowing interface between learners and institutions of higher learning as well as offer career guidance to learners and parents.
This year’s expo that is being held under theme; ‘Fostering Graduate Employability and Innovations’ has attracted 35 out of the 52 universities in the country and 10 tertiary institutions, including the Uganda Hotel and Tourism Training Institute, the lone government owned hospitality school in the country.
