Mountains of the Moon University

Mountains of the Moon University (MMU)
Established	2005
Type	Private
Chancellor	Professor Edward B. Rugumayo
Vice-Chancellor	Prof. John M. Kasenene
Students	1,000+ (2012)
Location	Fort Portal, Uganda 00 39 31N, 30 17 06E
Campus	Urban
Website	Homepage

The Mountains of the Moon University (MMU), is a private, non-profit university in Uganda. It is named after the Rwenzori Mountains, lso known as the Mountains of the Moon.

Location

The university is located approximately 1 kilometre (0.62 mi), northwest of the central business district of the town of Fort Portal, in Western Uganda, approximately 320 kilometres (200 mi), by road, west of Kampala, Uganda's capital city. This location lies in the Kibundaire neighborhood, to the north and west of the Fort Portal-Mubende Road, immediately after the bridge, as you leave Fort Portal. The coordinates of the university campus are:00 39 31N, 30 17 06E (Latitude:0.6585; Longitude:30.2850). A new campus is under construction at Lake Saaka, approximately 8 kilometres (5.0 mi), northwest of Fort Portal, along Saaka Road. The coordinates of the new campus are:0° 41' 15.00"N, 30° 14' 51.00"E (Latitude:0.6875; Longitude:30.2475).^[1]

History

After a long planning phase, the Mountains of the Moon University received the official license to become active as a University on March 29, 2005. The License was granted by the National Council for Higher Education. MMU is a Community Trust University and is a non profit organization. The trustees include the Local District Councils, the three main religious bodies and interested and supportive individuals. It has no specific affiliations.

Overview

MMU was established as a service for the rural communities of Uganda. Courses are structured to develop analytical and applied skills. All students undertake assessed field work during the 'recess term' which is presented using computer based technology at the start of the next semester. All students complete three (3) hours of hands-on computer studies every week. The majority of courses can be taken as either a Weekend or an Evening option. This is designed to allow students to work and help to pay their way through their courses. The Austrian Service Abroad is active at the MMU since 2007.

The University is has established a Centre for African Developmental Studies, to study, research and create African knowledge and understanding, and suggest how this can be applied to inform development in an African context. MMU’s ‘special approach’ will permit new ideas that effectively bridge between local cultures and broader developmental opportunities to be tried and tested, new development models to be synthesized and development competences to be identified and understood in a holistic framework. As well as integrating these ideas with current courses, the centre has established a Masters programme, undertaking research and establishing a Cultural and Historical Archive. All these areas of activity have strong potential for partnership between MMU and universities overseas.

Programs offered

At the moment there are 5 main study programmes offered which generally include certificate, Diploma and Degree options:

• Education
• Public Health
• Horticulture with Entrepreneurship & Management Skills
• Business Management
• Public Administration
• Social and Community Development
• Information and Communication Technology (ICT)

External links

• Mountains of the Moon University
• Mountains of the Moon University fundraising
• Austrian Service Abroad
• Sozialdienst.at

See also

• List of universities in Uganda
• Fort Portal
• Uganda Pentecostal University

References

1. ^ Location of New Campus Of MMU

Coordinates: 00°39′31″N 30°17′06″E / 0.65861°N 30.285°E / 0.65861; 30.285