Introduction and Background

Ernest Cook University (ECU) – Project  was incoparated in 2022 and given a letter of interim authority to opperate as a private University by the National Council for Higher Education (NCHE). It is a transition University project  of Ernest Cook Ultrasound Research and Education Institute (ECUREI) 

ECUREI was established in 2002 and accredited by the National Council for Higher Education in 2013 under the category of “Other Degree Awarding Institutions” Its a leading Ultrasound and Medical Imaging training Centre in Sub Saharan Africa. 

In 2007 the Institute was nominated as a Center of Excellence (COE) for ultrasound training in Africa by the WHO’s World Federation for Ultrasound in Medicine and Biology (WFUMB). It has, since then, trained leaders in the field across the continent who conduct scientific research and provide excellent Medical Imaging services. Through its collaborations with other universities and organizations, ECUREI strives to improve healthcare in Africa. ECUREI has collaborated with other universities and organizations such as the University of Vermont, Washington University, Makerere University, Kampala l Imaging Center (KIC), Thomas Jefferson University, and the World Federation of Ultrasound in Medicine and Biology (WFUMB). 

The partnership with the Jefferson Ultrasound Research and Education Institute (JUREI) of Thomas Jefferson University in the USA was the pivotal event responsible for the founding of ECUREI. It started with 3 Radiologists, Prof Henry Stuart Kasozi, Prof Michael Grace Kawooya, and Prof. Elsie Kiguli-Malwadde, training in Ultrasound at the JUREI. This was under the mentorship of Prof Barry Goldberg, who then donated the Institute’s first ultrasound machine for training. In 2002 ECUREI was launched by His Excellency Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, The President of The Republic of Uganda, having been incorporated under private shareholding but with an MOU to manage Radiology services on behalf of Mengo Hospital. The first and only program offered was a Diploma course in Ultrasound (ODU).

Today, ECUREI owns over 30 ultrasound machines, a CT scan, 2 x-ray machines, and a co-owned MRI machine both for service delivery and training of students.

The Institution has grown from one program to 33 programs under three faculties;  Health and Life Sciences, Humanities and finally Engineering, Computing and Applied Sciences.

Environmental Social and Governance Framework

ECU – Project operates within the Environmental social and Governance Framework (ESG) to preserve the environment, promote social welfare and corporate governance and comply with national, regional and global regulatory requirements.

ECU aims to plug the gap in human workforce-calibre and numbers and to produce the much-needed graduate of sound character, who is self-driven and innovative. Additionally, ECU addresses the technology and tools divide and void.

ECU envisions to be a regional and global leader in academia, science, innovation and service