Gaining knowledge to help fight HIV and AIDS in Africa

I am a Data and IT Manager for the Uganda Virus Research Institute, a partner research centre of the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI).The IAVI connects research centres worldwide, all engaged in the critical task of finding a vaccine.

My job is to provide a statistical resource and the IT infrastructure for the organisation – analysing the results of medical trials and feeding them back to the IAVI’s central database in Washington DC.

I looked at my own background and the professional technical qualifications I have in different aspects of IT, and identified what was missing. I needed more developed management skills, an awareness of strategic issues, and the ability to design better systems and processes. I discovered the MSc Information Technology at Derby and it matched my requirements perfectly.

Helping my career and Africa’s IT reputation

There are things I know now that really help me to approach situations in a more effective way, I have a strong desire to show people in the West that we can achieve levels of excellence in IT in Africa – often more cheaply and efficiently.

We're now getting groups from other countries in Africa visiting us to see how our systems operate, so I'm confident that my skills are benefiting AIDS research already.

Find out more about our MSc Information Technology course.