The Institute of African Culture Science and Technology (IACST) is a semi-autonomous institute established under Universal/Uganda Technology and Management University (UTAMU) in the year 2024. The Institute was established to bridge the gaps in Africa’s culture, science and technology sectors emphasising the importance of indigenous cultures, science, knowledge, innovations and community-driven development. IASCT is creating awareness and promoting existing African culture, science and technology; undertaking research and innovation, engaging in business development and offers qualifications ranging from certificate, diplomas to degrees in different areas of African culture, science and technology.
The institute will also generate income to sustain its activities. Moreover, there are many credible practitioners in varied forms of African science and technology in both tangible and intangible cultural heritage as well as material but are dispersed; creating a challenge for the development of the African culture, science, technology, art and craft of African knowledge. Albeit, credentialism and foreign languages as medium of education marginalize these practitioners in the African indigenous knowledge from mainstream research, academia, innovation and dissemination, branding and trading to competitive level. The Institute wants to contribute to a future that is based on the ideas, structures, methods and approaches of indigenous knowledge and technologies.
When it comes to training and capacity building, IACST is a pan-African institute, whose satellite centres/campuses are in different countries of Africa. It uses distributed-learning and students are admitted to UTAMU but study from any study Centres/Campuses across the continent. It is flexible and inclusive and it supports the students to enroll and get a qualification recognised globally. Evaluation and recognition of prior learning for credit accumulation and transfer is a big part of the IACST education system.
The Institute among others focuses on the following areas:
- African Cultures and Traditions, Governance and Justice Systems;
- African Performing Arts and Entertainment;
- African indigenous knowledge, Science, Technologies and Digital Transformation;
- African Agriculture, Medicine and Spirituality;
- African Business and Economics; and
- African Education Systems, Sports, History and Languages.