Stories for Project Support Unit  (PSU)

From February 3rd to 7th, 2025, MUST IUC-UCoBS hosted the annual Flemish visit for project coordinators, led by Prof. Gily Coene, the Flemish Coordinator; Kathleen Wuytack, the Global Partnerships Manager; Christophe Goossens, the Institutional Coordinators for Development Cooperation (ICOS); and other project team members and students.

The purpose of their visit was to monitor the progress of the collaborative activities, conduct field visits touring sites of local engagements with the communities, and co-facilitate workshops and bootcamps with MUST students and the community.

The Flemish partners also toured established infrastructures like set-up laboratories and entrepreneurship buildings under construction and shared best practices from universities in Belgium, held interactive meetings with PhD and master’s scholars on progress, participated in the on-site Joint Steering Committee meeting, and supported ICT in project implementation.

Fig 1 & 2: During the water project in Kihumuro and the entrepreneurship centre site visit 

The annual visit was indeed a success, as it set the pace for the second half of the UCoBS implementation year. 

Left, right: Introductory meeting for Prof. Gilly Coene and Prof. Pauline Byakika Kibwika during the Annual Flemish visit at MUST; laboratory tour at the Faculty of Applied Science and Technology  

On April 1st, 2025, UCoBS welcomed a new project manager, Ms. Asiimwe Lydia, who took over the office from Ms. Annah Amwikirize. Annah Amwikirize served as the project manager from 2022 to 2025, coordinating all six sub-projects’ finances and work plan activities. She successfully concluded her period of service at UCoBS.

Ms. Asiimwe comes with over eight years of experience in management. In her term of service, she will be coordinating the UCoBS 10-year transformative initiative aimed at facilitating community sustainable solutions to demographic challenges in southwestern Uganda—working hand in hand with all the sub-projects.

Congratulations to Ms. Asiimwe Lydia upon the new appointment. UCoBS wishes Ms. Annah Amwikirize a great career in her new position.

Left, Right: Ms. Annah Amwikirize (Out-going Project Manager; 2022 – March 2025), Ms Lydia Asiimwe (In-coming Project Manager; April 2025–Upto date)

From 1st to 4th April 2025, the Mbarara University of Science and Technology (MUST) IUC-UCoBS program welcomed a key visit from the VLIR-UOS auditors representing RSM InterAudit. The audit team, led by Karine Morris, a registered auditor and partner, and Jelle Huysmans, the director, conducted a comprehensive review of the program’s financial and operational activities for the 2023–2024 reporting period.

The audit was conducted with the professionalism and independence that RSM InterAudit—based at Lozenberg 18, 1932 Brussels—is known for, and it resulted in a report of factual findings that was formally shared with the MUST IUC-UCoBS administration.

The findings provided a very positive picture of the program’s progress. The auditors praised the strong performance in several key areas, including financial management and accountability, timely and effective implementation of work plan activities, vibrant community engagement, and ongoing support for postgraduate education at the master’s and PhD levels. The report also highlighted tangible infrastructure improvements across MUST faculties, attributing them to effective use of project resources.

The auditors recognized the seamless integration of UCoBS program management with the larger institutional framework of MUST, praising the leadership team for steering the program with clarity and purpose. Their report expressed confidence in the long-term viability of the IUC-UCoBS initiative at MUST.