Makerere University School of Food Technology

Makerere University School of Food Technology, Nutrition & Bio-Engineering

Makerere University School of Food Technology – see details below:

The School of School of Food Technology, Nutrition & Bio-Engineering (SFTNB) is headed by Dr. Abel Atukwase as Dean. The School is one of 3 Schools in the College of Agricultural & Environmental Science. The School was formed from the integration of the former departments of Food Science and Technology, Agricultural Engineering and Forestry Engineering. This amalgamation enriched the human and infrastructural resources of the School. The School is committed to utilizing its human and infrastructural capacity to facilitate strong human resource training and innovations for the development of the agro- industry sector in Uganda and the region.

Our Mission
The Mission of the School of Food Technology, Nutrition & Bio-engineering is to provide world class instruction, knowledge and research in food, nutrition and bio-engineering sciences. The School’s mandate covers research, training and knowledge transfer in areas of food science, food technology, human nutrition, agricultural engineering, bio-processing and bio-systems engineering.

The School’s strategic goals include:

Increased visibility of food technology, nutrition and bio-engineering disciplines
Transformative research and innovations for sustainable development
Increased student number who meet contemporary and future societal needs
Strong collaboration and networking with key stakeholders
Supply of relevant technologies to food, agricultural and industrial sectors
Provision of technical services and skills development training in food technology, nutrition and bio-engineering
Motivated work force with a culture of service excellence
Enabling physical and institutional infrastructure for teaching, research and professional services
Increased Alumni and corporate partnerships

Units
The School of Food Technology, Nutrition and Bio-engineering is composed of the Department of Food Technology and Nutrition, the Department of Agricultural and Bio-systems Engineering and the Food Technology and Business Incubation Center.

The Department of Food Technology and Nutrition provides training and research in food sciences, food technology and human nutrition. For over twenty years, the department has been at the fore front of training and research for the nascent food sector in Uganda.

The Department of Agricultural and Bio-systems Engineering undertakes research and training in the areas of Food Engineering; Soil & Water Engineering; Farm Power & Machinery; waste water and Environmental Engineering; Agricultural Processing Engineering; Forest Resources Management, Wood Science and Technology.

The Food Technology and Business Incubation Center is possibly the most vibrant University based technology and business incubator in the East and Central African Region. The Centre was commissioned by H.E. President Y.K. Museveni, in 2009. The core business of the FTBIC is technology transfer and nurturing knowledge based enterprises in the food processing and nutrition fields. The Center targets youths and other groups with technology and/or business ideas of commercial potential in the areas of food processing, nutrition and allied industries.

The Center’s program thrust includes:

Nurturing new technology driven food and related enterprises;
Promoting entrepreneurship among students and university staff;
Offering technical support to the food industry;
Technology transfer;
Commissioned research;
Process and product development;
Quality management and troubleshooting;
Training Programs

The School offers the following programs;

B.Sc. Food Science & Technology (4 Years)
The program develops and equips students with competencies in the areas of Food processing, Food Chemistry, Food Microbiology, Food Engineering, Food Quality and Safety Assurance, and Entrepreneurship

B.Sc. Agricultural Engineering (4 Years)
The program develops and equips students with competencies in the areas of Soil & Water Engineering; Farm Power and Machinery; Structures and Environmental Engineering; Agricultural Processing Engineering and Entrepreneurship.

B.Sc. Human Nutrition (3 Years)
The program develops and equips students with competencies in the areas of Human Nutritional Biochemistry, Community Nutrition, Dietetics, Counseling and Clinical Nutrition, Food science, and Entrepreneurship. The School offers Masters and PhD programs in all the 3 B.Sc. disciplines.

The School is in the process of starting two new Bachelors programs (B.Sc. Irrigation and Water Engineering and B.Sc. Bio-processing Engineering) and one Masters Program (M.Sc Food Safety and Management). The new programs have been approved by Council and will start admissions in the academic year 2019/2020.

Non-formal skills’ development (Short training courses)
These target entrepreneurs including recent School leavers. The training is aimed equipping participants with hands-on skills in processing of different products in a business context. The training is run on a short module basis in the months of June-July every year in the thematic areas listed below.

Processing of milk and dairy products
Fruit & Vegetable Processing
Processing of cereal products
Processing of meat, fish and poultry products

Research
Our research program focuses on addressing current development challenges and issues of strategic importance to Uganda’s agro-industry sector. The current research projects cover the following areas:

Food Product Development
Food Safety
Postharvest technology & Physiology
Food Biotechnology
Meat and Fish Technology
Insects for food and feed
Functional foods
Food fortification
Processing and preservation of indigenous foods
Dairy technology
Food and Nutrition Security
Climate change
Land and Water Resources Engineering
Irrigation Engineering
Post-harvest Handling Engineering
Biological and Process Engineering and Technology
Machinery and Equipment Engineering
Renewable Energy Engineering
Wastewater and Sanitation
Structures and Environment
Simulation and modeling (EDEM and CFD

Infrastructure
The School has several labs, an engineering workshop, a well-equipped agro-processing pilot plant, a library, a computer lab, teaching and seminar rooms and a conference hall.

Human Resources
The School consists of 39 faculty, with expertise in the areas of food science, food technology, human nutrition, wood science and technology, renewable energy, bio-processing engineering, waste management, farm power, irrigation and water use technology. Teaching and research is also supported by over 20 highly trained and experienced technicians and graduate assistants. The School also works in partnership with experts and professionals in areas such as business management and marketing.

Partners
The School appreciates all its partners for their support to her programs. The following have provided substantial support to the School programs: The Government of Republic of Uganda; Government of the Royal Kingdom of Norway; NUFU; The Rockefeller Foundation; Thrasher Foundation; McKnight Foundation; Nestle Foundation; USAID; European Union; DFID; Dutch Government; Harvest Plus; International Foundation for Science; SIDA-SAREC; VicRes; BIOEARN; World Food Program; UNICEF; Association of African Universities; and World Fish. We also enjoy close working relations with business support agencies, including the Uganda Manufacturers Association, Uganda Small Scale Industries Association and the Private Sector Foundation of Uganda.

Makerere University Schools

Makerere University School of Agricultural Sciences

Makerere University School of Forestry

Makerere University School of Food Technology, Nutrition & Bio-Engineering

Makerere University College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Courses

Makerere University College of Agricultural Contacts