Justus Asasira, a PhD scholar under Sub-project 3 of the MUST–IUC UCoBS project, has been honored with the Young Researchers Award at the Mbarara University of Science and Technology Annual Research Dissemination Conference (ARDC). The prestigious event took place on 21st November 2025 at Las Vegas Hotel in Mbarara under the theme:
“Catalyzing Sustainable Development Through Research, Science, Technology, and Artificial Intelligence.”
At the conference, Asasira presented one of his PhD papers titled
“A comparative assessment of environmental impacts of production, use, and disposal of parabolic solar cookers and charcoal for cooking in Uganda.”
His work focusing on energy and environmental sustainability , was recognized for its strong cross-cutting and multidisciplinary relevance. The award evaluation considered both his well-crafted abstract and compelling conference presentation.
Left, a photo taken during Justus Asasira’s presentation at ARDC
Asasira emerged among the top five young researchers across the entire university, competing with postgraduate students from all faculties.
Beyond the award, 2025 has been a productive year for Asasira’s academic journey. He has already published three peer-reviewed papers, including:
-
A comparative assessment of environmental impacts of production, use and disposal of parabolic solar cooker and charcoal for cooking in Uganda – Clean Technologies and Environmental Policy (Accepted, 2025)
-
Do Perceptions Influence the Adoption and Abandonment of Biomass Briquettes for Cooking? – Journal of Environmental Management and Sustainable Development (2025)
-
Describing the Performance and Infrastructure Requirements of AI-based Diabetic Retinopathy Screening Algorithms – Journal of Medical Systems (2025)
Several additional manuscripts are currently under review and may be accepted before the end of the year. His growing body of work and research interests can be accessed through his Google Scholar profile.
This achievement highlights both Asasira’s dedication and the strong research capacity being nurtured through the UCoBS project.
Congratulations, Mr. Justus Asasira!
