Background

PTRI started in early 2013, its focus is highly specialized cutting edge scientific research, research education and hands-on skills and competency development in the areas of innovation, research training and community service. This follows the fact that many graduates leave training without the requisite knowledge, skills and attitudes to do what their papers confess about them; many institutions do not prioritize basic research, product development, business incubation and industry driven innovation.

The institute lays appropriate emphasis on community service and seeks to empower clients (individuals, corporations, government departments and NGOs) in the above areas using her cognitive transformative and hybrid methodologies. PTRI supports and promotes creativity, innovation and collaborative cross-cultural exchanges in partnership with national and international universities and other higher institutions of research and training.

Areas of operation

  1. Product development

PTRI has facilitated and promoted incubation of new ideas and experiment, one of the current ones being the making of soap and lotions through the brand name TIWE. This was a pilot project started in 2015. In the last two years, a number of product development themes have been pursued by the Institute. The prominent ones include skin care and cosmetics using indigenous plant species; foods and beverages, and appropriate technologies. These initiatives are all tailored to address the national commitments regarding poverty eradication and environmental health and safety. For details on this project, please see PTRI projects.

2. Business development and technical skills transfer’

PTRI has trained people in parts of Northern Uganda as part of its training program for hands-on and creative value driven people. A group of people were trained in soap making in Phaida, a town in Zombe district, West Nile region, besides the training offered to our own staff at the Institute.

3. Research

The institute provides cutting edge scientific research and training in order to make major contributions to the progress of science and societal welfare. To that end, PTRI will soon avail scientific writing through journals while it continues to train research students, policy makers and corporations in different areas of societal need. For details on the courses offered, please see the PTRI Courses Catalogue.

PTRI also conducts baseline studies, impact studies, monitoring and evaluation, and needs assessment analysis. There are two on-going projects, the first involving the evaluation of an education acceleration project funded by Geneva Global, in which PTRI evaluates its effectiveness. The 5 year project which began in 2016 seeks to help children between the ages of 8 and 14 years catch up with a 3 year education gap within a duration of one year. The project is being implemented in the districts of Gulu, Nwoya, Amuru and Omoro, all regions of Northern Uganda, as one of the efforts to address the effects of the 20 plus year insurgency in this part of the country.

The other is another 5 year project in which PTRI was consulted to perform baseline and impact studies of state of the schools that benefit from the Education Finance Program of Opportunity International.