East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) Ltd has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Kyambogo University to collaborate with its contractors and suppliers.
The MoU aims to establish a framework for collaboration between the two parties to support national content capacity building initiatives.
Given the scope of the pipeline project, various national and international contractors and suppliers will contribute to different aspects of the construction and supply bespoke equipment for the pipeline.
During the event, Guillaume Dulout, Managing Director of EACOP, described the MoU as a gamechanger. “By partnering with institutions like Kyambogo University, we aim to develop a skilled and knowledgeable workforce that can advance the oil and gas sector and improve the lives of many Ugandans. Kyambogo University has shown its commitment to nurturing talent and innovation. Through this MoU, we acknowledge the crucial role your institution will play in training the next generation of engineers, technicians, and professionals who will contribute to EACOP’s success and beyond,” Dulout said.
“This partnership builds on EACOP’s existing collaborations with institutions such as the Uganda Petroleum Institute Kigumba (UPIK) and Makerere University, as well as professional bodies like the Institute of Surveyors of Uganda (ISU). These initiatives have already been successful in onboarding graduate trainees and creating opportunities for young Ugandans in the oil and gas industry.”
To promote national content, all EACOP’s tier one contractors and suppliers have committed to working with EACOP to support knowledge and capacity building among recent Ugandan graduates, technicians, instructors, professors, and lecturers from tertiary and vocational training institutions. These commitments will be realized through internship or graduate training programs and training of trainer programs.
Prof. Elly Katunguka, Deputy Vice Chancellor of Kyambogo University, expressed his gratitude to EACOP for signing the MoU, highlighting that it will enable Kyambogo University graduates to benefit from EACOP’s capacity building, technology transfer, and exposure to various areas of its operations. “Kyambogo University is one of the largest engineering training institutions in the country, graduating over 1,000 engineers last year. However, with limited job opportunities available nationwide, initiatives like this, which can absorb many of our graduates, are crucial and deeply appreciated. Equally exciting is the trainer program, which will enable our staff members to receive training, acquire new knowledge and technology, and bring these advancements back to benefit the students. This highlights the critical role of the private sector in shaping the university curricula—a role we, admittedly, have not fully leveraged in the past.”
To date, EACOP has signed MoUs with UPIK and Makerere University, as well as with professional bodies such as the Institute of Surveyors of Uganda, to support the onboarding of graduate trainees with contractors/suppliers and interns with EACOP’s internal departments. A total of 128 graduate trainees in Uganda and Tanzania have benefited from bespoke trainings, exposure, and on-job experience through the graduate training program scheme, and 13 train-the-trainer sessions have been held either virtually or in-person by EACOP and its contractors.
