BACKGROUND TO THE PROGRAMME

The Computer Society of the Institute for Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE-CS) and the
Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) define Computer Engineering as a discipline that
embodies the science and technology of design, construction, implementation, and maintenance of
software and hardware components of modern computing systems and computer-controlled
equipment.

This programme prepares students for careers that deal with computer systems from
design through implementation. Computing systems are components of a wide range of products such
as fuel injection systems in vehicles, medical devices such as x-ray machines, communication devices
such as cell phones, and household devices such as alarm systems and washing machines.

The work done by a Computer Engineer includes designing computing systems and computing components of products, developing and testing their prototypes, and commercializing the products.
Despite the considerable investment by Uganda’s public and private sector in computer systems and
related facilities, there is currently inadequate human resource capacity in the country to design,
domesticate, prototype, test, deploy, and maintain these systems.
The introduction of the Computer Engineering discipline at Makerere University is designed to address this situation.

JUSTIFICATION  FOR  THE PROGRAMME

There is a proliferation of computer systems and related products in the economy of Uganda and
manifested in the Banking, Health, and Telecommunications Sectors, as well as in the Automobile,
Service and Manufacturing Industries. The Computer Engineers trained on this programme will
provide an invaluable human resource for commissioning, supporting, development, and maintenance
of the systems. Further, the graduates of this programme, through establishment and creation of
Business Enterprises, will provide the much needed base in Computer Systems Business Process
Outsourcing for other Enterprises and Organizations whose core business is not Development and
Support of Computer Systems. In so doing Uganda will eventually become a hub for provision of
Computer Systems and Associated Support tailored for both regional and global markets.

OBJECTIVES AND EDUCATIONAL OUTCOMES

The primary focus of this programme is to produce entrepreneurship-oriented graduates who are
capable of propping up new companies, out of the prototypes that they will have developed at the
undergraduate level. This demands that the final year projects should benchmark world class
standards, capable of leading to Computer Engineering and Information and Communication
Technologies incubations.

Educational Objectives
The educational objectives of this programme are to:
(a) Produce graduates who are able to practice computer engineering to serve Uganda and the
regional industries, government agencies, or national and international industries.
(b) Produce graduates with the necessary background and technical skills to work professionally
in one or more of the following areas: computer hardware and software design, computer -based systems, computer network design, system integration, electronic design automation.
(c) Prepare graduates for personal and professional success with awareness and commitment to
their ethical and social responsibilities, both as individuals and in team environments.
(d) Prepare graduates who are capable of entering and succeeding in an advanced degree
program in a field such as engineering, science, or business.

Program Outcomes

The outcomes for the computer engineering program are:
(a) To Understand - to understand fundamentals of computer hardware and software, electronics, electronic design automation, and mathematics, and how these are used in computers and computer-based systems.
An understanding that engineering knowledge should be applied in an ethically responsible manner for the good of society.
(b) To Question - to critically evaluate alternate assumptions, approaches, procedures, tradeoffs, and results related to engineering problems.
(c) To Design - to design and implement a computer system including processor, memory and I/O system, compiler, operating system, and local area network interface.
(d) To Lead - to lead a small team of student engineers performing a laboratory exercise or design project; to participate in the various roles in a team and understand how they contribute to accomplishing the task at hand.
(e) To Communicate - to use written and oral communications to document work and
present project results