Fahadi

RENU at UCC Testbed Hackathon 2026 RENU joined the Uganda Communications Commission (@UCC_Official ) and fellow implementing partners for the inaugural UCC Testbed Hackathon 2026, held from 5th to 6th November 2026 at the UCC National Communications Testbed, UICT Nakawa. Held under the theme “Innovating Safer Digital Spaces for Children through Cybersecurity and Artificial Intelligence,” the hackathon brought together 40 university students, recent graduates and young technologists to develop practical solutions addressing cyberbullying, online exploitation and harmful content. Speaking on behalf of RENU CEO, Nicholas Mbonimpa, Brian Masiga (@ByAdmiral) , CEO of RENU Labs, encouraged participants to develop solutions that address real challenges, protect children's privacy and respond to Uganda's local context. He emphasised that the true measure of success goes beyond an impressive demonstration to whether an innovation can make children safer without exposing them to new risks. As part of the implementing consortium, RENU contributed to this initiative alongside @netLabsUG, @Makerere University Technology and Innovation Centre (MUTIC), and NextGen Restyling Uganda. Thank you Ministry of ICT and National Guidance (@MoICT_Ug ), UCC, our fellow implementing partners, mentors, judges and participating innovators for their contributions towards creating safer digital spaces for children.

How can connectivity support lasting institutional growth and digital transformation? At the @UbuntuNet Connect 2026 Conference, our Network Engineer, Kaboggoza Rajjab (@RajjabKaboggoza), made a presentation titled “Beyond Connectivity: Leveraging CNaaS, Community Wi-Fi Sustainability Models, and Customer-Centric Innovation to Drive Institutional Sustainability and Digital Transformation in Uganda.” His presentation explored approaches to sustainable connectivity and customer-focused innovation that support the evolving needs of Uganda’s research and education community. #UC2026 #UbuntuNetConnect #Africa

Exploring smarter ways to manage finances in NRENs At the UbuntuNet Connect 2026 Conference, our colleague from the Finance Operations Department, Leen Nambozo (@Leenjulie2020), presented on “Operationalising Sovereign AI and Workflow Automation for Scalable Financial Management in National Research and Education Networks.” Her presentation explored how sovereign AI and workflow automation can support efficient, scalable financial management across Research and Education Networks. #UC2026 #UbuntuNetConnect #Africa

Strengthening Research Visibility Through ORCiD (@ORCID_Org ) at @Makerere University Yesterday, we conducted an ORCiD awareness and training session at Makerere University, a member of the ORCiD Consortium of Uganda, bringing together representatives from the University's library, research, graduate training and quality assurance departments. The engagement explored how institutions can move beyond individual ORCiD registrations to integrate researcher identities into their systems, strengthening research visibility, recognition and the management of scholarly outputs. During the session, Prof. Robert Wamala, the University Director of Research, Innovations and Partnerships (DRIP), emphasised the importance of institutionalising ORCiD to ensure researchers' identities are accurately captured and validated across university systems. Such engagements demonstrate the opportunities available to institutions through coordinated ORCiD adoption, from improving researcher identification to strengthening institutional research records. We appreciate Makerere University for its continued collaboration and encourage more institutions to explore how the ORCiD Consortium of Uganda can support their research visibility and management needs. Read more about the engagement in Makerere University's article: news.mak.ac.ug/2026/11/insti…

We proudly congratulate our colleague, Daniel Sempala, on graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from Mbarara University of Science and Technology (MUST). This remarkable achievement reflects his dedication, discipline, and commitment to professional excellence. Keep reaching for greater heights, Daniel!

Happy Independence Day! 🇺🇬

@nche_uganda Joins the @eduroam Family On 26th September 2026, the National Council for Higher Education (NCHE) joined the eduroam family, integrating secure and seamless connectivity into its operations and strengthening its connection to the wider global research and education ecosystem. As the regulator for higher education in Uganda, NCHE plays a central role in establishing standards, guiding the establishment and management of institutions, safeguarding the quality of higher education, supporting the recognition and equivalence of qualifications, and advising the Government on higher education matters. By joining eduroam, NCHE affirms the role of eduroam as the connectivity standard for Uganda's higher education and the enabler for institutional collaboration and knowledge exchange in Uganda. We are delighted to have NCHE as part of the eduroam family! @MoICT_Ug @UCC_Official @STIsecretariat @inthefield @UbuntuNet @WACREN @ASRENorg @SomaliREN @Educ_SportsUg

We're honoured to support the digital infrastructure and high-performance computing capabilities that enable AI-driven bioinformatics research, helping researchers process complex data and accelerate scientific discovery. Great to see researchers building practical skills in bioinformatics. Connection | Collaboration | Community

RENU Hosts Federated Identity Management (FIM) & eduroam Workshop 🌍 This week, RENU is proud to have hosted the Federated Identity Management (FIM) & eduroam Workshop, an @UbuntuNet Alliance AfricaConnect4 Systems Capacity Building Regional Training taking place from 17–21 August 2026 in Kampala, Uganda. The five-day workshop brought together 25 systems engineers from 13 countries and National Research and Education Networks (NRENs) across Eastern and Southern Africa, with Uganda as the host country, to strengthen regional capacity in federated identity management and @eduroam. Through practical learning, knowledge exchange, and collaborative planning, participants are strengthening their capacity to deploy, operate, and grow federated identity and eduroam services. The workshop is also supporting participants to build the technical and institutional foundations needed to advance these services within their respective countries. We are pleased to welcome our colleagues from across the UbuntuNet Alliance community to Uganda and to contribute to strengthening the expertise that supports secure and seamless access to research and education services across the region. We acknowledge the European Union's support through the AfricaConnect4 Project and appreciate UbuntuNet Alliance for bringing this important capacity-building initiative to Uganda. @EU_Commission @GEANTnews @ZambiaRen @Maren_net @SOMALIREN @WACREN @ASRENorg @MoRENet12 @kenet_ke

RENU Hosts Research Repository Stewardship Workshop in Uganda 📚🌍 Last week, RENU was pleased to host the Librarian Capacity-Building Workshop on Modern Repository Management and Metadata Curation at Fairway Hotel, Kampala, organised by UbuntuNet Alliance under the “Unlocking Potential: Elevating Open Institutional Repositories in Africa for Global Impact” Project supported by Invest in Open Infrastructure (IOI). The workshop brought together 35 librarians from across Uganda to strengthen their capacity as repository stewards, covering key areas including repository management, metadata quality, discoverability, governance, policy, access, rights, and the role of institutional repositories in increasing the visibility of African research. Participants left better equipped to strengthen repository practices within their institutions, improve access to research outputs, and contribute to a growing regional community around Open Institutional Repositories. RENU is honoured to support initiatives that strengthen the skills and digital infrastructure needed to make African research more visible, discoverable, accessible, and globally impactful. We appreciate the @UbuntuNet Alliance and @InvestInOpen for organizing this important capacity building initiative and for supporting the project.