By Elly Tumsifu, Nairobi

The University of Dar es Salaam has won first place in both the best overall paper and best oral presentation categories at the 4th African Conference on Operations and Supply Chain Management (ACOSCM) held recently in Nairobi, Kenya.

At this conference, held at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, Nairobi from 27-28 July 2022, a paper by Dr. Cosmas R. Masanja  from the University of Dar es Salaam was chosen as the Best Paper- in the best submitted papers Category.

Dr Masanja's paper, which was the best among 52 papers submitted from 14 countries around the world, is titled: ‘Modelling Optimal Health Services Supply Chain Costing for Optimal Pricing, Cost Management and Control: Lessons from Big4 Hospitals in Tanzania’.

Similarly, a paper by two other dons from the University of Dar es Salaam Business School (UDBS) namely Prof. Dev Jani and Dr. Nelly Maliva, titled ‘Inclusive Tourism Asymmetries: Location and Gender Aspects’ won the  first prize for the best oral presentation category.

Speaking during the closing ceremony, the Vice Chancellor of the University of Dar es Salaam, Prof. William Anangisye, who was represented at the conference by UDSM Chief Corporate Counsel and Secretary to the Council, Dr. Saudin  Mwakaje, congratulated the winners on this milestone and urged the participants to disseminate and implement the recommendations of the conference in their respective institutions.

"We have a duty to take this agenda forward. I therefore urge all participants to take to heart the issues and recommendations discussed and find appropriate national and regional platforms through which the proposed best practises can be implemented for a sustainable socio-economic future for Africa”, Dr. Mwakaje said.

This 2022 African Conference on Operations and Supply Chain Management (ACOSCM) was jointly organised by the African Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Operations in Resource Management and Food Supply  of the University of Dar es Salaam and the University of Nairobi.

The conference was dedicated to the overarching and important theme: 'Sustainability in Africa: Emerging and Future Trends’, which complemented the three previous conferences as it addressed sustainability in Africa in its broadest sense, that is, current and future dynamic trends.

Congratulations to Dr. Cosmas R. Masanja, Prof. Dev Jani and Dr. Nelly Maliva and the African Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Operations in Resource Management and Food Supply (ACESO) of the University of Dar es Salam for this success.