Bernard Ongodia joined the Petroleum Exploration, Development and Production Department under the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development in 2002 as a Geophysicist and in 2017 he was promoted to Acting Principal Geophysicist. He is also the current Head of the National Content Unit in Directorate of Petroleum, Project Coordinator-Skills for Oil and Gas (SOGA) project and a Member of the Governing Council, Uganda Technical College-Elgon. Bernard is in transition to become the first substantive Principal of Uganda Petroleum Institute Kigumba.

Bernard holds a Bachelor of Science Degree (BSc.) majoring in Physics from Makerere University, Kampala (1996), Master of Science Degree in Exploration Geophysics from the University of Leeds, United Kingdom (2005) and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) Oil and Gas Management from Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen, United Kingdom (2015).  He also holds various diplomas and certificates in; Electrical Engineering, Petroleum Management, Environment and Petroleum Geoscience obtained from the various reputable institutions across the world.