Where Uganda/Africa gets it wrong: Materials Engineering

Africa and Uganda in particular is blessed with world's most desirable minerals and raw materials. However, these natural resources have not transformed into better quality of life for its citizens! The question has always been why? I intend to give my answer on this topic in a few short sentences. When I was a bachelor student of chemistry/engineering at Uganda's most recognised institution of high learning, Makerere University, I always had arguments on which courses are needed if Uganda is to be transformed from donor funded society to a self sustaining country. Many of my colleagues, argued that Pharmacy, medicine and law were the most needed in such a developing society. However, I always disagreed with this notion. Why I did so is the basis for my argument and beneath all this is the reason Africa will lose the battle to survive if this problem is not urgently addressed!.

All of us have at one point had of the word civilization. "Civilization" is the term that has been used to refer to the material and instrumental side of human cultures that are complex in terms of technology,science and division of labour. From the early stone age to new stone age to agricultural revolution, and through the industrial revolution one element has always been consistent. That element is the improvement of human tools through innovations. This principle was the unifying element of all revolutions/civilization's ever found. This principle is what is called materials engineering in modern day science. It is tasked with the use of God given raw materials like ores, timber, soils etc to transform them into modern materials for use in aerospace, car manufacturing, tools manufacturing for agriculture, construction etc etc. This is the same principle our great grand fathers used in the transformation of stones into weapons for hunting, digging etc and hence were able to survive or improve their diets with meat which greatly increased their chances of survival compared to other animals of the time.
However, it is shocking that this very important subject of materials engineering and development is not even among the subjects taught in any of our schools in Uganda and in most parts of Africa. This perhaps explains why Uganda and generally speaking Africa has been left on the bottom of the world's development curve and it is destined to remain like that if no effort is paid to train professionals with the skills to provide us with raw materials needed to make the overdue car or plane or tractor or books etc etc. Finally, let me remind my fellow Ugandans that, no other engineering or manufacturing sector will blossom until our materials development and engineering sector has been corrected!

Alex Luyima: The writer is a research fellow at the Dept of Materials Engineering, Missouri Univ. of Sci and Tech. He is also a PhD candidate, a holder of Master of Science in Materials Engineering from Norwegian Univ. of Sci and Tech. He also holds a Bachelor of Sci in Industrial Chemistry from Makerere University. He has worked as a metallurgist at Kasese Cobalt Company and as a mineral dresser at Dept of Geological survey and Mines, Entebbe