18 EbEnEzEr Friday, july 29, 2022 news UCU School of Dentistry By Patty Huston-Holm with Vanessa Kyalimpa (This article was edited from the May 2022 published version) That ache in your tooth can cause a pain in your belly. To be more precise, oral bacteria weakens the stomach’s ability to fight infection and could result in inflammatory bowel disease. Vice versa, gastrointestinal issues can yield gum sores. The human body is one package, according to Dr. Arabat Kasangaki, a dentist and lecturer with the Uganda Christian University (UCU) School of Dentistry. He explains this more than once each day to students and patients at the Mengo Hospital, Kampala, location. On this day, April 5, 2022, and seated at left with yearfour student Ayikoru Hilda Diana and a male patient to his right, he reinforced the importance of using the proper words – explaining well and sensitively. “If you only chew on one side of the mouth, chances are the food is not breaking down properly,” Arabat said in response to the male patient’s assertion that he has learned to live with discomfort. “It will not get better on its own.” After an X-ray, it was determined the patient needed a root canal, a procedure where the infected pulp is removed to save the tooth. Ayikoru, slated to finish UCU’s five-year dentistry program in 18 Striving to fill dentistry gap low numbers The UCU School of Dentistry has the same number of students – nine – it started with in 2018, but the later classes declined. The third-year class has seven. The second-year class numbers eight. Only five new students enrolled in the current, first year. For the first two years, much of the curriculum for School of Medicine and School of Dentistry is the same, with students in the same classes. “Dentistry has always been less attractive in our country than medicine, even though the skill sets are much the same,” Dr. Arabat said. “Our numbers took a greater hit during the pandemic shift to no learning and then on-line learning that was new to most students and many faculty.” Dr. Arabat and student discussing tooth x-ray months, already knows that the teeth incisors and canines cut and tear food and that molars crush and grind. But as monotonous as that is for a dentist or dentistry student, the patient needs the education to understand, approve and trust. “A good dentist serves and teaches to convince the patient to let us help do the right thing,” Arabat said. “The way God created us, we run when we feel pain.” Uganda has 320 dentists licensed to practice in the country with more than 45 million residents, resulting in shortage that the Uganda Dental Association (UDA) attributes to limited training institutions. UCU is working to fill that gap – progress stymied with the Covid lockdown. Dr. James Magara, the SoM dean with a prestigious dentistry practice in Kampala, knows the global virus impact from the education, economic and service side of his profession. “In normal times, wellness is difficult to reinforce here,” he said. “During the height of the pandemic when many were not earning money, it was even harder for us to send the message that regular dental checkups would help prevent emergencies like severe tooth pain from happening…and even harder to recruit students into a career where you are in close proximity to the disease-spreading mouth.” Peter Kabuye, a pioneer student of UCU School of Dentistry that was launched in 2018, described the challenges faced during the two on-line semesters because of two Covid-related, government-ordered lockdowns. “There are times when Moodle platform was unreliable, so we had to resort to platforms such as Zoom and Google Meets to have real time lectures,” he said. Additionally, not all resources on the UCU Moodle platform were free. For dental, as well as medical students, “we had to dig deeper into our pockets” to pay sh3,000 (85 cents) to sh5,000 ($1.40) each to access real-time lectures, he said. Despite all the challenges, there was no option, but to persevere to reach his goal of being a dentist. Tuition from an American friend and the mentorship of both Dr. Ken Chapman, an American and Ugandan dentist who serves as a lecturer at the UCU school of dentistry and director at the Mengo Dental Clinic; and Dr. Martin Aliker, retired dentist, have sustained Kabuye. “I’ve always wanted to be a dentist since I was very young,” he said. Since age four, his parents’ medical insurance privileges allowed him more than two dozen visits to a dentist to learn and reap rewards of good oral health. Like most School of Dentistry and School of Medicine students and faculty, he returned to inperson training with Covid-19 vaccination status and wears a mask as usual. The return found equipment donations through Midmark and the Uganda Partners. These include sterilizers, a suction machine, compressors and work stations with chairs, as well as a simulated lab with computers. Partnerships signed in past year ankrah A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) is an agreement between two or more parties to accomplish a goal with designated action and responsibilities. Under the leadership of Uganda Christian University (UCU) Vice Chancellor Assoc. Professor Aaron Mushengyezi, UCU has signed nearly a dozen such bilateral agreements with both academic and nonacademic organizations. Initiation of MOUs is aligned with UCU’s 2019/2023 strategic plan with the primary MOU initiation and oversight responsibility under the Research, Partnerships and Innovation directorate. Among the MOUs signed since May 2021 are: Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) Signed on May 31, 2022, by the Deputy ViceChancellor for Finance & Administration, David Mugawe, on behalf of the Vice Chancellor, to strengthen related School of Business courses. Co-signer from ACCA Uganda is Charlotte Kukunda, who noted that UCU is the only university in Uganda with more than five academic programs that are exempted by ACCA. This accreditation of courses runs until the October graduation date of 2025. African Institute of Investigative Journalism (AIIJ) Signed on May 31, 2022, by UCU ViceChancellor Mushengyezi and Solomon Serwanja, the Executive Director, on behalf of AIIJ, this MOU proposes to deepen reporting skills of students in the UCU School of Journalism, Media and Communication. The collaboration is designed to bring practicing professionals in as visiting lecturers and expand opportunities for student internships focused on investigative journalism. Foundation Ankrah Foundation Limited – Signed on Nov. 25, 2021, by UCU Vice Chancellor Mushengyezi and Assoc. Prof. Maxine Ankrah Kodwo, the Managing Director and founder of the Ankrah Foundation, this MOU is a 10-year lease agreement authorizing UCU to use the Ankrah facilities located on Besania Hill, adjacent to UCU’s Mukono campus. The Ankrah Foundation Think-Tank will work closely with the Africa Policy Center (APC) to further community engagements, research and knowledge generation. The UCU School of Business has since relocated its official premises to the Ankrah facilities, where the School’s students also will be attending their classes. Prof. Aaron Mushengyezi receives lease documents from Prof. Eleanor Maxine Ankrah. Human Resource Managers’ Association of Uganda (HRMAU) Signed on June 1, 2022, by Deputy Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, the Rev. Prof. Dr. John Mulindwa Kitayimbwa, on behalf of the Vice Chancellor, this agreement is designed to strengthen human resource training. Co-signer is Ronald Bbosa, the Head of HRMAU. Primary curriculum beneficiary is the UCU School of Business, especially students pursuing a Bachelors in Human Resource Management, and staff working within the Human Resource field. Next Media Upon signing the agreement with this Uganda multimedia company on July 1, 2021, Vice Chancellor Mushengyezi said that both students and staff would benefit from the partnership through acquisition of workplace experience and specialized training in print, television and radio. Co-signer was Kin Kariisa, CEO of Next Media. Stanbic Bank Uganda Signed on July 28, 2021, by UCU Vice Chancellor Mushengyezi and Anne JJuuko, CEO of Stanbic Bank Uganda, this partnership benefits needy students unable to pay tuition. As part of the agreement ,UCU received a donation of slightly over $20,000 (UGX 75m) to sponsor up to 15 students annually. Each student receives up to $1,328 (5 million shillings) worth of tuition and other expenses. Hanze University of Applied Sciences Foundation-Netherlands Signed in 2021, the agreement reinforces the value of both academic and cultural infusion into university teaching and learning. In midApril 2022, Vice Chancellor Mushengyezi visited Hanze University of Applied Sciences, Groningen, Netherlands, where he interacted with some of the UCU students who traveled to the Dutch institution early this year for a six-month exchange related to the Diploma in International Marketing Management. Tokyo Christian University- Japan Signed on Jan 24, 2022, this MOU marks the beginning of an unprecedented collaboration between UCU and an Asian university to facilitate joint research and exchange programs for both students and staff. Cosigned by the UCU Vice Chancellor and Dr. Randall Short, Vice President of International Affairs at Tokyo Christian University, the agreement includes participation in seminars and sharing of academic materials and programs. The partnership reinforces UCU’s commitment to partnerships with international universities and other nonacademic, but relevant organizations. Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS) Signed on May 31, 2022, by the UCU Vice-Chancellor Mushengyezi, and David Livingstone Ebiru, UNBS Executive Director, this collaboration cements the roles of research for UCU and of training for UNBS, which is a government agency charged with ensuring quality products. UCU will supply data to inform the standardization of curricula, short courses, student internships, and training. Through UNBS internationally accredited labs, UCU students will be trained on how to undertake quality analysis of product samples.
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