Academia is the environment or community concerned with the pursuit of research, education, and scholarship. For economic growth, collaboration between academia and industry is key for successful business incubation. Difficulty in customizing university/industry links can bring a shift to shift-term problem solving rather than long-term support for major projects entailing significant innovation and Technology transfer.

Expansion of the education Sector in Uganda is characterized by the increase in the demand and supply of graduates. This increase in the demand and supply of university education is indicated by the rise in the number of students looking for university places. For instance, statistics from the Ministry of Education and Sports in Uganda indicate that total enrolment in Universities increased from 57,114 in 2002 to 345,000 in 2016 (MoES, 2018). On the other hand, there is an increase in the number of public universities from 3 in 2002 to 9 in 2019 and private universities are currently 43 (NCHE, 2018).

Academia contributes to the production of developmental research in Uganda. This involves providing invaluable contextualized knowledge, insights and locally relevant recommendations for policy formulation and implementation; solving existential problems; creating technological products; and producing new knowledge that can be adapted for economic, political and social improvement.

The Vehicle Design Project of Makerere University Kiira EV is one of an innovative research project aimed at applying contemporary technologies to develop sustainable transportation solutions for Uganda and Africa. The Project was inspired by the Vehicle Design Summit (VDS), an International Student-Led Consortium aimed at Leapfrogging Sustainable Transportation Technologies.