June 23rd, 2025
The Department of Public Health within the Faculty of Health at Mountains of the Moon University (MMU) on Friday 20th June 2025 held a highly productive one‑day strategic retreat at Lilly’s Hotel Fort Portal, where Department members gathered to reflect on the department’s performance in the 2024/25 Academic Year and develop strategies for enhanced performance in 2025/26 and beyond.
The fun filled retreat, held in the serene environment of one of Fort Portal’s premier hospitality venues, brought together The Faculty Dean, the Department Head, Senior Lecturers and Lectureres for a comprehensive program that included review of past activities, team building exercises, and celebration of achievements. The team building exercises conducted throughout the day strengthened interpersonal relationships among Department members and created opportunities for collaborative problem-solving. These activities complemented the formal review sessions and strategic planning discussions.
Pardon Akugizibwe, the Head of the Department of Public Health, led the retreat proceedings and opened the session by guiding the group members to reflect on three questions: What are we doing well as a department that we should continue? What should we stop doing if we want to achieve more? What support do we need to soar even higher? Realising that the strength of the team lies in the individual strengths, each member was guided to identify, write down and share the strengths they observe in their colleagues. Staff engaged in several team building games and staff discussed the lessons learnt from each game. Highlighting the importance of the retreat, the Head of the Department remarked “this retreat is important because it allows us to reflect on the achievements made in 2024/25, celebrate both individual and team success while we lay strategies for the future”.
He further highlighted the Department’s notable progress in enhancing academic delivery, community outreach, and expanding its regional research footprint. In attendance, the Faculty Senior Assistant Registrar commended the team’s dedication: “Members of the department are cooperative and have done well in delivery of teaching as per schedule including adherence to the assessment processes.”.
Dr. Kimera Emmanuel, Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences, lauded the Department’s camaraderie and performance: “The Department of Public Health has a very good team spirit and has worked hard to achieve all the outputs for 2024/25. I congratulate you all on this achievement and urge you to keep it up.”
The retreat concluded with a recognition ceremony presided over by the Faculty Dean. Each staff member received a gift, and activity coordinators were awarded certificates of service, fostering a celebratory tone and reinforcing MMU’s commitment to recognizing excellence and nurturing a positive work environment.