KAMPALA. Victoria University Vice Chancellor Prof Lawrence Muganga has credited the late businessman Rajiv Ruparelia with helping sustain the institution’s ambitions during the Covid-19 pandemic, describing him as a key figure in its growth from a university of 180 students.
Speaking at the university’s 10th graduation ceremony at Speke Resort Munyonyo on Monday, October 19, 2026, Prof Muganga said Mr Rajiv’s belief in the institution helped its leadership look beyond the challenges of its early years and pursue a more ambitious future.
He recalled that their paths crossed in 2020, when Mr Rajiv recognised the university’s potential at a time when its growth prospects were not yet apparent to many.
“I have told this hall that Victoria University said yes before anyone else did. I have not told you who taught us the word,” Prof Muganga said, according to remarks published by TheSpy Uganda.
He added: “When the rest of us could see a building with 180 students, he could see this. His eyes were always on where this university was meant to be, long before the rest of us could find it on the map.”
Prof Muganga said Mr Rajiv’s encouragement became particularly important during the Covid-19 pandemic, when institutions across the world faced disruption and uncertainty.
Rather than focusing solely on survival, the vice chancellor said, Mr Rajiv challenged the university’s leadership to remain forward-looking and work towards better prospects.
“He held our hands through the hardest seasons. When the world shut in 2020, he did not ask us to survive. He asked us to look for better days. To work for them. To walk towards them. And because he asked, we did,” Prof Muganga said.
The vice chancellor described Mr Rajiv as a visionary whose confidence in the university and its staff helped shape their determination to expand the institution’s reach and ambitions.
He said the late businessman believed that a small team in Kampala could build a university capable of competing with leading institutions across Africa and beyond.
Beyond his business interests, Prof Muganga remembered Mr Rajiv as a family man and friend whose influence extended to young people and those who worked with him.
The tribute formed part of the university’s 10th graduation celebrations, which also provided an opportunity to reflect on its development and outline plans for the next phase of expansion.
New campus planned for Naguru
Looking ahead, Prof Muganga announced that Victoria University planned to begin construction of a new campus in Naguru, Kampala, in January 2027.
According to the vice chancellor, the proposed campus will incorporate technology-driven learning facilities and a teaching hospital to support plans for a medical school.
The development, if implemented as announced, would form part of the university’s efforts to expand its academic offerings and strengthen practical training for students.
Prof Muganga also called on government, parents, employers and education institutions to embrace artificial intelligence, arguing that technological adoption would be important to Uganda’s economic transformation ambitions.
His remarks come as Victoria University marks a decade of operations, with its leadership seeking to build on the institution’s growth while positioning it to respond to changing demands in higher education and the labour market.