Uganda Management Institute (UMI) officially flagged off a pioneer delegation of Master’s students and academic staff on November 11, 2026 at UMI’s Kampala campus. The team is set to participate in the high stakes Digital Logistics and Entrepreneurship (DLSE) Student Hackathon and Project Closure Evaluation Meeting in Cape Town, South Africa. The delegation consists of five sponsored Master of Science in Digital Logistics and Entrepreneurship (MDLE) students that include Niwaha Sam Sezi, Alezu Lydia, Isabirye Ismail, Ssempebwa Emmanuel Kayizzi, and Uponja Emmanuel.

Speaking during the flag-off ceremony, Director General Prof. James L. Nkata congratulated the students and urged them to represent both Uganda and the institute with pride. He encouraged them to look beyond mere academic competition and use this as an opportunity to challenge conventional thinking, test their ideas, demonstrate their capacity to innovate, build global networks and translate classroom theory into practical, ground-breaking solutions. He further commended the project coordinators across UMI, UWC, and HNU for turning the partnership’s vision into tangible impact.

UMI’s Directorate of Programs and Student Affairs’ representative and academic staff commended the programme’s robust entrepreneurial momentum, highlighting that the pioneer cohort of 15 students have already conceptualized viable business ventures and advanced towards commercial implementation. The team was assured that their progress was reinforced by UMI’s institutional commitment to housing student enterprises within designated incubation centres to facilitate scaling. Dr. Rose Kwatampora, UMI’s Head of Projects and Head of Delegation oversaw comprehensive logistical and administrative arrangements for the team and delivered a comprehensive briefing on personal safety, diplomatic protocol, discipline, and local currency management.

UMI leadership urged the cohort to serve as proud ambassadors for Uganda, fly the institute’s flag high and hold daily debriefs to track emerging innovations. Management also extended its gratitude to the German partners for funding and supporting the initiative.

About the Hackathon: A rapid sprint toward commercialization

Described by organizers as a “rapid sprint” where no day passes without delivered results, the Cape Town hackathon will blend students from Uganda, South Africa, and Germany into cross-country, multidisciplinary teams. Grouped by core strengths such as concept gathering, software development, and product ownership, the participants will tackle live industry cases in smart supply chains, fast moving consumer goods and sustainability.

Throughout the week, students will work with enterprise tools such as SAP and Internet of Things (IoT) systems, interact directly with business owners and present daily milestones. By Friday, November 20, teams must pitch a final prototype and commercialization roadmap to lecturers and industry leaders.

The week long Hackathon engagement will be running from November 16^th to 20^th 2026 at the University of Western Cape (UWC) and it marks a major milestone in a unique North-South-South academic partnership uniting three institutions that include UMI in Uganda, UWC in South Africa and Neu-Ulm University of Applied Sciences (HNU) in German. The three partner universities have worked closely on capacity building, joint curriculum design and training of trainers including prior intensive software engineering and programming workshops hosted in Kampala.

Housed under UMI’s School of Management Sciences, the DLSE partnership co-created the Master of Science in Digital Logistics and Entrepreneurship (MDLE) which is an accredited international curriculum designed at the intersection of business technology and IT. With the global logistics market projected to reach $8.07 trillion by 2033, the partnership specifically targets urgent local challenges. For a landlocked country like Uganda, limited cold-chain infrastructure, warehousing bottlenecks and supply delays often lead to high post-harvest losses and revenue leakages. To tackle these issues head-on, the programme has already on boarded five key industry and public sector partners that include National Medical Stores (NMS), Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA), Beyond Logistics Ltd, and Katosi Fish Landing Site where local boat owners stand to benefit directly from a student developed digital fish monitoring application.

Powered by German partnership to drives Supply Chain solutions

Supported by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) with funding from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, the collaboration aims to give the regional logistics market a digital facelift boosting employment, modernizing e-commerce and plugging critical supply chain gaps across East and Southern Africa. Having completed eleven rigorous academic modules spanning from Global Supply Chain Management, Applied Information Technologies, Data Analytics, AI and Machine Learning and Digital Strategy, the pioneer student cohort that was drawn from ICT and procurement career backgrounds will use the Cape Town hackathon to bridge classroom theory with practical industry solutions.

Student commitment

The students expressed gratitude to UMI management, partner universities and sponsors for entrusting them with this transformative opportunity. Recognizing the investment made in their potential, they pledged unwavering discipline, seamless teamwork and high performance throughout the exchange. They vowed to represent the institute with excellence, complete the programme successfully and return with impactful market-ready solutions.

Conclusion

Upon returning to Kampala, the delegation will submit a comprehensive report detailing the commercial prospects, prototypes and strategic outcomes generated from the exchange. Beyond marking the culmination of the hackathon, these deliverables will serve as a blueprint for deepening tripartite academic-industry partnerships across Uganda, South Africa and Germany. Ultimately, this initiative underscores UMI’s enduring commitment to translating academic excellence into market-ready solutions thus driving measurable efficiency across East Africa’s supply chain sphere and accelerating sustainable socio-economic transformation.