Africa sits on one of the world’s richest seams of energy potential – solar, wind, hydro, geothermal. At the same time, the continent accounts for less than 3% of global energy investments. And across Africa, millions live without reliable electricity.
Fred Burondwa, a July 2025 Uganda Christian University (UCU) School of Law graduate, knows this and more.
Growing up in Uganda, Burondwa saw how energy inequality and climate change exacerbate existing social and economic disparities. His grandparents were cattle keepers and subsistence farmers who often lost crops and animals to prolonged dry spells or unseasonal rains. Their resilience in the face of these challenges inspired him to seek solutions that could empower farmers and enhance their ability to adapt to changes to the environment. With this perspective and a vision that evolved through his UCU studies, he seeks to shape energy law, policy and finance to advance the transition to clean, affordable energy systems.
From the USA state of New Hampshire in the autumn of 2025, Burondwa talked about his desire to shape energy law, policy and finance to advance the transition to clean, affordable energy systems and equitable financial arrangements in agriculture-dependent countries like Uganda.
As a candidate for the graduate degree Master of Energy Transition (MET) at Dartmouth College, Hanover, N.H., Burondwa is in a position to pursue his vision. The MET is a one-year program administered through the Dartmouth’s Guarini School of Graduate Studies and the Irving Institute for Energy and Society. The program covers the three themes (i.e., “Technology of Energy Systems,” “Business and economics of Energy and Science” and “Policy and impact of Energy”). The program accepts candidates from different disciplines (law, economics, engineering, political science, etc.) to work together to seek sustainable energy solutions to real-world problems and to help vulnerable communities adapt and thrive.
Speaking to Richard Ranger, a Dartmouth alum and Society of Anglican Missionaries and Senders (SAMS) lecturer at UCU, Burondwa shared how he is adapting to life in the northeastern United States and how his studies at UCU prepared him for the challenges of a rigorous program at an international university.
“During my time at UCU, two course units in particular shaped my academic and professional direction,” Burondwa said. Business associations II, taught by Emmanuel Kashaija, introduced him to corporate finance and business structures to raise capital. The Oil and Gas Law unit deepened his understanding of the energy industry, though he would encourage evolution of the course to “Energy Law and Policy” to reflect today’s broader energy mix beyond fossil fuels.
“Because my long-time mentor, Alexander Kibandama, taught me that the role of a lawyer is to mitigate risk, I realized then that my path as a lawyer would be in business advisory,” Burondwa said. “However, because the business landscape is broad, I decided to focus on energy.”
The UCU coursework allowed Burondwa to approach the MET program “not from scratch, but with contextual insight as someone from Africa who understands both the legal frameworks and the real-world challenges of the energy sector,” he said.
Burondwa saw first-hand that Ugandan farmers who were once accustomed to predictable dry and wet seasons faced uncertainty that threatened their traditions and livelihoods. Milk and meat from the Burondwa family cows, along with coffee, played a significant role in ensuring that he was able to receive an education. That background both motivated him to seek practical and scalable solutions and equipped him with insights to ensure that the perspectives of rural Africa have a place at the table where ideas are tested – even if the table is on the other side of the world.
Burondwa, who became a UCU law student in 2021, was active in campus student leadership. He was president of the Launchpad Debate Club and vice president of the UCU Law Society. He represented UCU in Uganda’s 9th Annual Inter-University Constitutional Law moot court competition in 2022 and before the Debate Society of Uganda where he won the Youth Action for Climate Justice through sustainability financing Award in a 2024 competition. He also served as Prime Minister to the National Youth Parliament of Uganda.
Burondwa sharpened his professional skills with work or internships at three different law firms in Kampala, and consistently pursued his intellectual interests in health, environmental and climate law along with the role of energy in economic and social development. His work for one of the law firms on the East African Crude Oil Pipeline project provided an opportunity to analyze the complexities of energy infrastructure in developing regions like East Africa. The questions such projects raise about environmental sustainability and equity and the effects on nearby communities have strengthened Burondwa’s resolve to a career that centers at leveraging strategic investment and robust legal frameworks for deployment of cleaner, more sustainable energy solutions that balance economic development with environmental stewardship.
Dartmouth’s MET program will provide Burondwa the opportunity to bring to a classroom or work group a focus and passion for seeking energy solutions that is grounded in the experience of Ugandans he knows whose needs are both practical and profound.
Burondwa believes problems in developing countries like his arise not from lack of opportunity but from mismatched financing.
For Africa to respond both to international opportunities and to assuring energy security for African people, it must attract unprecedented levels of capital. He says the current dollar centric system makes this target unreachable because global finance channels capital toward liquid, short-term assets favored by western markets rather than productive, long-term investments in emerging markets. Africa’s energy future requires breaking that pattern with systemic reforms in global finance. The MET program enables Burondwa to study and work alongside learners from different professional backgrounds to develop solutions to meet such challenges.
Graduate study in upper New England has introduced Burondwa to a part of the world with a different natural splendor.
“The beauty of the fall term at Dartmouth is unique, seeing the trees around the towns of Hanover and Lebanon shed their leaves and the sense of new beginnings it brings,” he said. “It made me appreciate how nature itself marks transitions, much like this new chapter of my life.”
In the New Hampshire, Burondwa will experience his first snowy winter.
He notes that he has been blessed to discover a new community at Dartmouth to help make up for the community at UCU that he left behind.
“Without a doubt, I am receiving a world-class education at Dartmouth,” he said. “The coursework is rigorous and intellectually engaging, but what has exceeded my expectations is the Dartmouth community, especially the alumni network. The alumni are not only accomplished but also genuinely willing and delighted to guide and support current students. That spirit of mentorship has been invaluable.”
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