By Patrick Opio
Senior Communications Officer
Lira University’s Senior Librarian, Dr. Andrew Ojulong has commended the Research and Education Network for Uganda (RENU) for providing Lira University with affordable internet service that yields high quality education and research.
Dr. Ojulong commended RENU for accepting to provide more free internet services at students’ halls of residence (private hostels). “Internet connectivity is the power and engine in today’s learning, research and innovations. We are grateful for this generous support to our students,” he said.
Dr. Ojulong said RENU is a great partner with the University in internet networking and supplies of IT equipment. He was representing the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Jasper Ogwal Okeng at a meeting with RENU Team held at the Education Building Library on 14th July 2026.
The Team also visited the Administration Block being constructed, especially the ICT establishment plan and Server rooms.
With the long experience of working with Lira University, Dr. Ojulong said, RENU has always provided affordable bulk internet, managed campus networks, domain hosting, and zero-configuration cloud solutions, which drastically reduce IT and infrastructure costs.
Mr. Nicholas Mbonimpa, the RENU Team Leader said they provide secure global collaboration tools (like eduroam and eduVPN), and free access to premium digital research libraries.
Mr. Mbonimpa said RENU significantly lowers operational costs and eliminates the burden of purchasing expensive commercial bandwidth.
To enhance the University’s visibility, Mr. Mbonimpa named some of the indicators as researchers, search engine optimization (SEO) and research output. “Visibility of your university affects your university’s global ranking!” he said
On the seamless global connectivity, Mr. Mbonimpa said that integration with eduroam allows students and faculty to access secure, uninterrupted internet on-campus and while visiting thousands of participating campuses globally without paying for additional data bundles.
He said that through the RENU Identity Federation (RIF), researchers and students can seamlessly access premium global journals and scientific databases both on and off campus.
Mr Mbonimpa said that the Zero-Rated E-Learning component, provides unrestricted access to e-learning portals and educational websites without exhausting students’ personal mobile data.
He noted that RENU ORCID Consortium benefits a University through enhanced research visibility, researcher identity management, research integrity and administrative efficiency.
To enhance collaboration, Mr. Mbonimpa explained that RENU services bridge the gap between local universities and international institutions, facilitating online post-graduate programs, joint research projects, and global knowledge sharing.
Mr. Mbonimpa added that RENU provides an environment for university software development teams to build institutional services that solve localized bureaucratic issues, driving digital job creation.
On support to research output, Mr. Mbonimpa said, RENU provides local open access journals, digital Object Identifiers (DOIs) and digital repositories for each university.
The meeting was attended by Faculty Deans and Directors and senior non-academic officers.