Kampala — IN a bid to improve their ranking in East Africa, Makerere and Kyambogo universities are taking steps to improve their research work.

To this end, the two institutions will send postgraduate students to Nairobi on a fact-finding mission.

Abdul Muhiire, the president of Makerere's council of graduate students, said the students would share information with their counterparts from Kenya so that they could learn from each other.

"As East African countries integrate, we want to be at the forefront by sharing experiences," he said.

Muhiire explained that the University of Nairobi, at position 25, was ranked higher in Africa than Makerere at 59. The ranking was done by Webometrics, an online ranking organisation.

He noted that Makerere was not doing well in research publication. "Although Makerere has improved its infrastructure, we want to see how these universities publish their research online."

The three-day trip will kick off on September 8 and will involve a workshop at Kenyatta University.

The students will discuss the universities' performance and the grading tools used in the ranking. "We want to hold dialogue with the lecturers and students from Kenya to get a way forward," said Muhiire.

Egerton, Nairobi and Kenyatta universities from Kenya will also participate in the workshop.