The National Forensic Sciences University, India-Uganda, Jinja Campus has announced it will hold its inaugural Cyber Security Awareness Run on October 17th this year, an initiative aimed at spreading cyber security awareness deep into communities.
According to the university authorities, the five-kilometer run in Jinja City is designed to equip ordinary Ugandans with practical knowledge on how to protect themselves from the growing wave of online fraud, identity theft, cyberbullying and misuse of digital platforms.
In a pre-event media interview, the IT Officer at NFSU India-Uganda Jinja Campus, Mr Arnold Lujjumba, revealed that cyber security and digital forensic science remain the core mandate of the university and that there is an urgent need to sensitise the public.
Lujjumba explained that the university realized that many people are losing money and personal data simply because they do not know how to secure their devices and credentials.
He said the run is intended to help reduce the landscape of threats by teaching the public basic digital hygiene in a simple community language. He added that all preparations are done and that participation kits are going for only thirty thousand shillings.
The Campus Director, Air Commodore K R Thaakar, said the university decided to have a Cyber Run basically to spread awareness among the people to be vigilant and more aware of the shortcomings of cyber security so that people are safe and their money and assets remain safe in the face of increased cyber insecurity.
He noted that as reliance on mobile money, online banking and social media increases, public awareness becomes critical in reducing vulnerabilities to cybercrime.
Ahead of the event, the National Enterprise Corporation, the commercial arm of the Uganda Peoples’ Defence Forces, through its subsidiary NEC Uzima Limited, has donated four hundred cartons of drinking water to support participants.
Thaakar commended the Ministry of Defence and Veteran Affairs and NEC for supporting the initiative, saying the donation will help facilitate participants during the event.
The NEC Uzima Head of Sales and Marketing Richard Kanyomozi said the company will continue collaborating with NFSU on initiatives aimed at supporting the university.
According to organisers, the run is more than a physical fitness activity. It is a public campaign that will bring together students, security officers, boda boda riders, market vendors, parents and youth to learn how to secure phones with biometrics, avoid sharing one-time passwords and personal identification numbers, verify links before clicking to avoid phishing, protect children from online exploitation and report cybercrime.
About the University.
The National Forensic Sciences University was established in 2009 in Gandhinagar, Gujarat, India, under the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and later elevated in October 2020 to an Institution of National Importance.
It is the world’s first and only university dedicated entirely to forensic sciences and was founded by renowned forensic scientist Dr J M Vyas who has more than five decades of experience.
The Jinja campus is historic. It is India’s first ever overseas campus of any public academic institution in the world and the first forensic university in Africa.
It was inaugurated on April 12, 2023 at the Uganda Rapid Deployment Capability Centre, Gaddafi Barracks in Jinja, by the 3rd Deputy Prime Minister of Uganda Hajjat Rukia Isanga Nakadama and India’s External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar.
The inauguration was witnessed by top leadership from both countries including the then Defense Minister Vincent Ssempijja and the then Foreign Affairs Minister General Jeje Odongo.
The campus sits on one hundred and thirty acres of land provided by the Uganda Peoples’ Defense Forces.
The campus was created to share India’s expertise with Uganda and other African countries. As the Campus Director Thaakar has stated before, there is no forensic university in Africa and it is the vision of the President of Uganda HE Gen (Rtd) Yoweri Kaguta Museveni to have forensic training conducted in Uganda.
Experts say the university is part of the longstanding strategic relationship between Uganda and India, intended to be broad and to train people of various backgrounds to contribute to overall regional and international security.
The vision of NFSU is to be a world leader in forensic science education, research and training, fulfilling the need for skilled manpower for strengthening criminal justice delivery globally.
Its mission in Uganda is to assist the Republic of Uganda and other friendly African countries in capacity building to strengthen criminal justice delivery through academic courses, training for working professionals from police, defense, judiciary and prosecution, consultancy services, research and assisting in setting up new laboratories.
Currently the Jinja campus has three departments which are Forensic Science, Cyber Security and Digital Forensics, and Police Science and Security Studies.
It offers masters programmes in Forensic Science and Digital Forensics and Information Security and post-graduate diplomas in Cyber Security, Homeland Security, Crime Scene Management, and Fingerprints and Questioned Documents, alongside short professional courses.
The university is positioning Uganda as a regional hub for forensic training, attracting trainees from across Africa, with students already enrolled from countries including Gabon and Botswana.
The October 17th Cyber Run is therefore seen as a continuation of that mission, taking forensic awareness out of the laboratory and into the streets of Jinja where digital threats are most felt.
