Conversation with Jonathan Mukalazi

– 3rd year student of BSc. Computer

Jonathan is a very warm presence and talking to him didn’t feel at all unnerving or uptight.
The 55-minute phone-call felt like one that you have with a friend, talking casually about
things like you’ve known each other forever – this was my very first actual conversation with
Jonathan.

He asked me where I was for O Level, we talked about points and when I told him I got a B in
Economics he asked me why I didn’t do PCM and I had to explain to him that Chemistry and
I were not the best of friends. He put Electrical Engineering as his first choice on the PUJAB
form and he did in fact get it on government but he chose to pivot to his second choice
because he just “didn’t really want to do engineering”.

Jonathan: “People in Uganda limit themselves in the way they think about jobs. I
think the education system teaches them that there isn’t much opportunities
outside of the usual ‘Doctor, Lawyer, Engineer’ field. When the truth is there is. In the
real world, there are so many job opportunities.”

He emphasized open mindedness about career paths as we kept talking.

Jonathan: “You need to be good at what you do. Don’t think about the jobs just yet.
The course doesn’t necessarily get you the job. It’s your skill that does.”

So, on that decision to do this course he was thinking about doing something that he loved
because he wanted no regrets.

Me: “I like Computer Science a lot because it allows me to pivot into doing
something di erent in case, I don’t find something appealing. I’m still unsure what I
want to do with my life.”

Jonathan: “Now this is the best course for someone for someone who has no fixed
idea on a career path. There’s an array of options. If you’re good at what you do, the
jobs will open for you. Just to highlight how competitive this course is, I already got a
 job o er I couldn’t accept because it was using something called SWIFT for
compensation, which doesn’t work well in Uganda, since it was an international
o er.”

Jonathan is a third-year Makerere Student doing a Mathematics Major and Computer

Me: “Why Mathematics Major?”

Jonathan: “I love Math.”

Me: “What was the hardest thing you’ve had to do in the course so far?”

Jonathan: “Operating Systems in Computer Science. You have to put in the work. If
I’m being completely honest, I struggle with programming so much. I wish I started
learning these things before. Try to learn Python, C, Java, the more you do the better
you become. People graduate and they don’t know how to code. Most of the time
since people are just reading to pass and not actually to practice. You must be very
eager to learn and super self-driven.”

Me: “What are some of the bad things?”

Jonathan: “Well, they’re not that many. But since we’re very little people who do this
course, it might as well be systemic issues due to the numbers. We’re about only
four people in my year. Issues might be: clashes in timetables (but if that happens
you can always do night lessons instead), unserious lecturers, adjusted curriculum
which won’t teach robotics, delayed results. And that’s about it.”

Me: “Are there other things you do on top of this course? Like certifications?”

Jonathan: “I haven’t done any for Computer Science because I didn’t get the time. I
have done so many for Maths since I involve myself in many of those Olympiads. But
I’m looking into Cybersecurity and Machine Learning things I could work on between
the end of the semester and graduation. It’s good to have those certifications.
[Laughs] As a man, you’ll spend a lot of time thinking about how you’re going to put
food on the table so it helps to shift from what you want to do but what you can do
that will bring in money.”

Me: “What career prospects do you see for yourself in the future?”

Jonathan: “I’m leaning towards Data Science right now, but I can venture into so
much.”
 Me: “Is there a question you wish people asked you about this course that nobody
ever does?”

Jonathan: “[Laughs] Funny. There are a lot more questions that I wish people didn’t
ask! People will tell me ‘You do Computer Science and Math, what are you going to
become?’ and my response is always, ‘Google It’! Sometimes it feels like people are
using you as THAT example. You know what I’m talking about. [Laughs] But if there is
something I wish people would ask it would be about the course itself. Many people
don’t even know this course exists. You’re one of the lucky few. Yet, whenever you go
for an interview in the STEM field. They’re always going to ask about your
competence in mathematics. You just can’t avoid that.”

Me: “What’s something that surprised you about the course?”

Jonathan: “I thought computer science would have more coding. It’s surprisingly
theoretical. Most of the coding you’ll do is self-taught.”

Me: “Is the workload hefty compared to other courses? Does it feel like you’re doing
two courses?”

Jonathan: “Actually. If I’m being candid. If you compare it to other courses like
Engineering or any other ones really It actually feels pretty light. In Mathematics we
don’t have projects or presentations, or even assignments unless you give them to
yourself. Just two tests per course unit and that’s it. For computer Science, you’ll
have a bunch of projects and presentations so you rarely have to do a written test. In
fact, there was a whole semester which was just projects! And those aren’t very
hard.”

A lot is omitted for the sake of brevity, but we talked about what his parents though about
the decision, the campus lifestyle and the best way to have a decent school-life balance. I
appreciate that a good portion of the conversation was him being absolutely shocked that I
knew so much already about this course that only four people in his year do. And he told
me to keep him posted of any more developments. Great person.

Jonathan shared with me the timetable that they use and I wanted to compare it to the way
Computer Science is structured at Makerere… and abroad. I used Imperial College as the
base instead of MIT because the American education system is VERY di erent from ours
and uses a 4-year system where 1 year of that is basically foundation learning in unrelated
subjects like Biology, Chemistry, History etc. Imperial is the 2nd best in the world and has a
similar 3-year system – but not much cuts across. Green highlights course unit similarity.
The orange is just for emphasis on the Computer Science and Maths degree.
 BSc Computer Science BEng Mathematics and
BSc Computer Science
and Mathematics Computer Science
Makerere University Makerere University Imperial College London
Year 1 - Semester 1
Structured and Object-Oriented Structured and Object-Oriented
Principled Programming
Programming Programming
Computer Architecture and Computer Architecture and
Organization Organization
Digital Innovation Digital Innovation Logic and Reasoning
Mathematics for Computer Introduction to University
Science Mathematics for Computer Science Mathematics
Computer Literacy Computer Literacy Analysis
Communication skills Communication skills
Calculus 1 Calculus and Applications
Linear Algebra 1
Foundations of Mathematics
Year 1 - Semester 2
Data Structures and Algorithms Data Structures and Algorithms Graphs and Algorithms
Systems Analysis and Design Systems Analysis and Design Machine Learning in Action
Operating Systems Operating Systems
Probability and Statistics Probability and Statistics Probability and Statistics
Calculus 2 Software Development Project Linear Algebra and Groups
Calculus 3
Year 2 - Semester 1
Artificial Intelligence Artificial Intelligence Practical Systems Engineering
Computer Networks Computer Networks Computer Systems
Database Management
Database Management Systems
Systems Software Engineering
Discrete Mathematics Discrete Mathematics Real Analysis and Topology
Probability Theory Embedded and Real Time Systems Multivariable Calculus
Development Studies Linear Algebra
Designing for Real People
Year 2 - Semester 2
Software Construction Software Construction Machine Learning
Introduction to Machine
Learning Introduction to Machine Learning Systems for Machine Learning
Automata, Complexity and Automata, Complexity and
Compatibility Compatibility Statistical Modelling
Linear Programming Research Methodology Groups and Rings
Numerical Analysis 1 Cloud Computing
Year 3 - Semester 1
Advanced Programming Advanced Programming Deep Learning
Computer Science Project 1 Computer Science Project 1 Computational Optimization
Cryptography and Coding
Theory Cryptography and Coding Theory Probability Theory
Computer Graphics Entrepreneurship Principles Mathematical Finance
Statistical Interference User Interface Design
Numerical Analysis 2
 Year 3 - Semester 2
Computer Security Computer Security Reinforcement Learning
Computer Science Project 2 Computer Science Project 2 Statistical Information Theory
Stochastic Differential
Equations in Financial
Compiler Design Compiler Design Modelling
Emerging Trends in Computer
Graph Theory Science Computing Individual Project
Number Theory Distributed Systems Development