MOUNTAINS OF THE MOON UNIVERSITY
BACKGROUND
The idea of starting a University in the Rwenzori Sub-Region began in 2000 and Mountains of the Moon University (MMU) was registered and incorporated as a company limited by Guarantee on 28th June 2002. No wonder that the name of the university is Mountains of the Moon a figurative expression that is used in reference to Rwenzori. Rwenzori is a range of mountains that link the following areas together: Kabarole, Kasese, Bundibugyo, Kibaale, Bushenyi and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The founding Committee consisted of Prof. Edward Rugumayo, Justice Seth Manyindo, Hon. Colonel Tom Butime, Dr. Jockey B. Nyakaana, Fr. Albert Byaruhanga(RIP), Hon. Percy Night Tuhaise, Mr. Yusuf Karmali, Ms Charlotte Karungi, Dr. Arseni Semana, Prof. Oswald Ndoleriire and Eng. Dr. Albert Rugumayo.
Mountains of the Moon University (MMU) is a not-for-profit Community University whose ownership is expressed through the various representative communities which include the Districts, Municipalities, Religious communities and the Business Communities of the Rwenzori Region. No person or external organization profits from the University and any surpluses generated by university activities will be reinvested within the university or re-directed for the benefit of the community.
The university is unique in Uganda as it was conceived and founded by leaders in the local community in western Uganda. As a community university the community stakeholders are represented on the University Council which is responsible for the general governance, supervision, and control of University affairs. The University Council has representatives of members of the public; representatives of all stakeholder districts in the community nominated by the respective district councils; representatives of the business community and representatives of faith-based denominations.
The University is located at Kabundaire, less than a kilometer from the center of the town of Fort Portal. Kabundaire is off the Fort Portal-Kampala road just after the bridge and it is on the left side of the road as you leave Fort Portal town on Kampala road. The main campus is under construction at Lake Saaka, which is about 8 kilometers from Fort Portal town.
School of Business and Management Studies
The Mountains of the Moon University Business School (MMBS) offers students world-class Business and Management Education, with an emphasis on meeting Regional and local needs at the same time keeping pace with International Standards and Trends.
The school concentrates on teaching the disciplines that provide significant insights into business and management theories, analysis, practices and policies. Interdisciplinary inquiry is also encouraged to ensure consistency to the country’s broad policies like poverty eradication.
The school as well encourages relationships with business, government leaders, other schools in the University and other Universities and professional organizations.
The school shares knowledge with the local business community through seminars, internships, work assignments, research as well as community service.
School of Informatics and Computing
We live in exciting times. The dawn of the knowledge age has brought with it an unprecedented opportunity for delivering a higher quality of education, in more engaging ways, to a wider audience than ever before. Information and communication Technologies (ICTs) have the potential to act as revolutionary tools, opening doors to any one learning any where, anytime. The
innovative and appropriate use of the ICTs can help those excluded from learning and improve the quality of education for all. Through ICTs, disparities in educational access and quality can be reduced, while at the same time, education systems can enhance the knowledge and skills of their learners, promoting creativity, critical thinking, Decision making, Team work and Learning how to learn.
The School of Informatics and Computing issues professional and an interoperability framework to support the delivery of IT and IS services to staff, students, stake-holders, citizens and enterprises.
The School is comprised of two departments, that is IT Academic Department and the IT Technical Department
It recommends technical policies and specifications. It is based on open standards and encourages the use of open source software.
School of Education
The legacy of the School of Education, established over the last 4 years, is one of identifying tough problems in teaching and learning in schools then tackling them head on through teacher training and linking research to practice. The reputation of the school is based on training students in new and better approaches and techniques in teaching and learning in education institutions.
The School of Education is responsible for Teacher Education programmes at Mountains of the Moon University. The University has attached great importance to the development of Teacher Education, for it recognizes that Teacher Education is a powerful tool for the transformation of primary and secondary schools in the Rwenzori region and beyond.
The School comprises of the Department of Education that is coordinated by the office of the Dean. In the near future the school intends to expand the Departments to include: Department of Science Education, Department of Arts Education and
Department of Educational Foundations and Management.
The school offers undergraduates a broad range of programs in inclusive Bachelor of Science with Education, Bachelor of Art with Education, Bachelor of Education (Primary and Secondary), and Diploma in Primary Education. The true value-added for the students of the school is the knowledge and experience that the lecturers of the school bring from their world of work to the classroom and the opportunities available for its students to take part in School Supervised Placements (SSP), where they apply the principles and techniques theoretically learnt into real-life problem solving situations. As the School of Education expands, it plans to start new undergraduate programs in Early Childhood Education, Guidance and Counseling and Computer Science in Education.
Distance Learning
In 2010, the School of Education adopted Distance Education as an innovative teaching approach, investing in the potential of the self study materials and Internet in order to expand its students’ educational mandate in Diploma in Primary Education and Bachelor of Education programmes. The Distance Education Program is used as an alternative and a complement to traditional education training methods in order to make course materials accessible to a bigger number of students countrywide, bridge the gaps of distance and time, and reduce the costs of access to education by the students. Module self study materials have been specifically adopted to allow a student have a self guided learning, activity based discovery learning and self
evaluation.
As the program expands, the school intends to open up study outreach Centers in different districts in Uganda that will provide a local point of contact for students as they work through their Distance Education modules. The centers will also provide a means of establishing a local focus in each District of the Ruwenzori Region, in keeping with the principles of the community university. In this way the University will be an ultimate model for one of a devolved university – with a relatively small home campus linked to other centres in the region.
It is a model that will meet the aspiration to be a community university in which the districts feel part-ownership. School of Health Sciences. In many African Universities training in Public Health is mainly at postgraduate level. This renders it difficult to produce enough Public Health professionals for public health services. Yet it is a very well known fact that no country sore above its educational system.
The interplay between education, health, economy and the life expectancy of a nation is very crucial. In Uganda institutions of higher learning especially those in science field are not many. There is also high disease burden attributed to the high prevalence of preventable diseases such as malaria, tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS and malnutrition despite that there is a National Health Policy which emphasizes the importance of health promotion and disease prevention.
Mountains- of- the- Moon University has thus come in to contribute to the bridging of this gap by offering a Bachelor of Science in Public Health, in East Africa. The Department of Health Sciences is focused on producing outstanding Public Health Professionals who meet National and international standards for modern job market.
School of Agricultural Sciences
The Horticulture Department at Mountains of the Moon University is proud to have a highly experienced teaching staff that offers a practical competency based learning and training looking at having graduates who not only will compete highly in the job market, but also be able to create their own jobs. The school has chosen that approach because it serves social needs of the community, it provides for a good learning environment, and it enhances the basic competencies of learning. The lectures are punctuated with prior knowledge assessment, role plays, case studies, presentations, debates, practicals and panels.Practices in the department are based on the tasks defined in a specific job profile.
Therefore the learning environment assimilates tasks done in the real working environment. The department has been equipped by the University through the Nuffic project with tools, equipment, structures and land. The available tools, equipment, structures and land have provided the school with the strong training base for practicals. The department trains practical subjects under horticulture and floriculture, which require a balance of knowledge and practical component.
The department has partnered with many NGOs in the region in order to meet the needs of the community. Some of the NGOs involved with the department are: SATNET, KRRC, SNV, TBG, CABCS, among others. The partnership with SNV has involved the department in their three platforms on honey production, pineapple production and oil production in the region of Rwenzori which has prompted the school to find solutions to the community’s needs in these areas.
The programmes offered under the department generally trains participants in aspects of general sciences related to Horticultural and agricultural production. Such courses include inputs supply chain, propagation, crop agronomy, animal husbandry, harvest, post harvest handling, marketing, processing, and consumption of agricultural products all of which are potential employment segments of graduates of the department.
Contact MMU
If you have any questions, comments or queries about MMU, please contact any of
the following personnel:
P.O.Box 837, Fort Portal Uganda, East Africa
Tel: +256 483 22522/22637
Email: info@mmu.ac.ug
Office of the Vice Chancellor
Email: vc@mmu.ac.ug
Registrar Academic
Dr.Fr. Christopher B. Mukidi
Tel: +256 483 422637
Mob: +256 772 647 166
Email: registrar@mmu.ac.ug
Public Relations Officer
Ms Mugasa Grace
Mob: +256 782 705 484
Email: pro@mmu.ac.ug
Alternatively, Mountains of the Moon University has several information centres countrywide. Course information and application forms may be obtained from the following centres:
Bundibugyo District
Mr. Emmanuel Businge
New Rwenzori Hardware Building
Tel: +256 772 454946
Hoima District
Mbabazi Nora Akiiki
Finest Quality Printers Opposite Dr’s Clinic.
Tel: +256 772 618997
Fax: +256 465 440032
Ibanda District
Jobe Stationers opposite Stanbic Bank
Tel: +256 772 831107
Jinja District
Bayatya Book Shop,
Plot 23D, Main Street.
P.O Box 447.
Tel: +256 775 199665
Kabarole District
Office of the Registrar Academics,
Kabundaire Main Campus, Fort Portal.
Tel: +256 483 422637 ,
Mob: +256 772 647166, +256 782 705484
Kampala District
Honda Uganda,
Plot 30, Jinja Road (opposite Shell).
Tel: +256 414 250802
UMA Show Ground Lugogo, at UFEA Offices,
Tel: +256 312 263320, +256 772 906198
Kagadi Town Council
Mr.Kitakule
Location: Daks Courier Offices on Kibale Rd.
Tel: +256 772 323371, +256 712 132220
Kamwenge District
Mr.Kyomuhendo J Atwooki
KK Investments Stationary Shop
Tel: +256 774 204645
Fax: +256 483 445954
Kasese District
Mugenyi Resty
Gemini Telecom opposite Umeme.
Tel: +256 712 550517, +256 752 550517
Kibaale District
Mr Kutesa,
Naku Stationery Shop,
Karuguza Town.
Tel: +256 772 696059, +256 782 684993
Kyenjojo District
Karungi Angela Abwooli
Behind Centenary Bank on Kajara Rd.
Te: +256 772 465000
Masindi District
Esther,
Esther Book shop opposite Stanbic Bank.
Tel: +256 772 486555, +256 772 851437
Courses offered at MMU
MASTERS 2 YEARS; POSTGRADUATE DIPLOMA 1 YEAR
Courses
Masters of Business Administration(MBA)
Masters of Public Administration And Management (MPA/M)
Post-Graduate Diploma in Human Resource Management(PDHRM)
Post-Graduate Diploma in Public Administration and Management(PDPAM)
Post-Graduate Diploma in Financial Management (PDFM) 2,734,000 Dist. Per
annum
BACHELORS DEGREE COURSES: 3 YEARS
Candidates intending to apply for the degree programs must have an A’ Level
Certificate with a minimum of two principal passes, obtained at the same sitting. In
case of Horticulture, Applied Agriculture and Public Health, one of the principal
passes should be in Biology.
Courses
Bachelor of Science in Horticulture with Management & Entrepreneurship
Bachelor of Science in Public Health
Bachelor of Public Administration
Bachelor of Business Management
Bachelor of Social Science & Community Development
Bachelor of Banking & Development Finance
Bachelor of Arts with Education
Bachelor of Science with Education
Bachelor of Science in Agriculture
Bachelor of Education
Bachelor of Computer Science(BCS)
Bachelor of Information Technology(BIT)
DIPLOMA COURSES: 2 YEARS
Candidates intending to apply for the Diploma programs must have an ‘A’ level
Certificate with a minimum of one principal pass.
Courses
Diploma in Public Administration
Diploma in Computer Science
Diploma in Primary Education
Diploma in Rural Microfinance(DRMF)
CERTIFICATE COURSES: 1 YEAR
Courses
Certificate in ICT for Entrepreneurship
