MKU got a boost after its Vice Chancellor, Prof Deogratius Jaganyi becomes the new Chair of the
International Inter-universities Consortium after the university hosted the 8th
Inter-disciplinary and Inter-universities research conference.
He reckons
that partnerships and collaborations as the strategy for African universities
to forge a synergistic frontier.
Photo/Mount Kenya University (MKU) Vice-Chancellor, Prof
Deogratius Jaganyi, addresses the 8th
International Interdisciplinary and Inter-Universities Consortium –Africa
Conference during the closing session on Friday at the MKU’s Mwai Kibaki
Convention Centre in Thika town. PhOTO: COURTESY
By James Wakahiu
Joint efforts between various
African universities and their partners in academia locally and abroad,
governments, domestic and international private sector players will go a long
way in boosting the uptake of science and technology in institutions of higher
learning in the region.
Mount Kenya University, Vice-Chancellor,
Prof says that globally, partnerships for development are a key strategy in all
realms of human lives. He spoke at the
8th International Interdisciplinary and Inter-Universities Consortium –Africa
Conference held at MKU’s Mwai Kibaki Convention Centre in Thika town last week.
The three-day event saw delegates
engage on diverse multidisciplinary issues ranging from the need to focus on
Science Technology and Innovation (STI) as the driving discussion for attaining
Vision 2030 and Africa Union Agenda 2063 objectives.
The conference brought together stakeholders
from academia, and public and private sectors to discuss strategies to entrench problem-based
research and innovation for socio-economic development.
MKU and Vincent Pol University, Poland
organised the conference which ended on Friday, March 31. Other collaborators were Kyambogo University
of Uganda, Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University (Nigeria), University of
Makeni (Sierra Leone), and Kenya’s University of Eldoret.
All five African universities are members of
the Inter-University Consortium Africa which is dedicated to advancing theory and practices in knowledge and technological innovation.
Closing the meeting, Prof Jaganyi
said the consortium as an entity has achieved a lot in the last 10 years since
its inception. A notable achievement is the African Journal for Education, Science, and Technology which is a multi-disciplinary
journal.
He challenged the editorial board to ensure the journal is indexed so
that students and faculty can have a globally recognised journal that hosts the
consortium publications. He further reiterated the importance of collaborative
staff exchanges, the warm, cordial relationships among the consortium members as
success stories worth a mention,” he said.
Thanking the conference organizing
committee chaired by Dr Henry Yatich for a job well done, Prof Jaganyi said
there could certainly be room for improvement in planning the meeting,
considering the central role played by technology in current international
conferences.
Dr. Yatich who is the Acting Principal, of the College of Graduate
Studies and Research at MKU, underscored the need for innovative led research
with communities and lauded MKU research division for spearheading the development
of an innovative herbal soap with community members from Muranga, in Kiambu
County.
He observed that the formula for the soap is currently awaiting
submission to KEBS, as part of the process of planning for its
commercialisation as an income-generation innovation for the university research
unit.
The conference was held under the
theme, Participatory Leadership,
Innovation and Knowledge Transfer for Sustainable Economies.
The VC thanked the CEO of the
National Commission for Science, Technology and Innovation (NACOSTI), Prof
Walter O. Oyawa who was the chief guest, and Prof George Njoroge (USA) and Prof
Dickson Andala (NRF) who was represented by Dr. Gichini Gatama for their informative
keynote presentations.
“A mention of this conference will never be complete
without a word of appreciation to Vincent Pol University for their participation
in organising the conference and, financial and professional support,” he
added.
Prof Oyawa had earlier told the
delegates that collaboration among higher education institutions in Africa and
beyond was considered a key strategy to promoting cross-national and
continental boundaries so that resources can be pooled to support similar
conference and collaborative research initiatives.
“There is a need for a
framework to evaluate knowledge transfer practices, improve knowledge transfer
metrics and evaluation frameworks, and offer policy lessons,” said NACOSTI,
CEO.
According to Prof Oyawa, Covid 19
pandemic has reaffirmed the vital role of research, science, technology, and
innovation (research systems) as a global public good, for strengthened
national security, enhanced public safety/health, and inclusive sustainable
development.
“Effective public-private knowledge transfer is more crucial to
innovation than ever in the aftermath of COVID-19 crisis,” he said.
Prof Njoroge a renowned
medical researcher and the holder of several patents in the USA as well
as the founder of the Centre of Africa’s Life Sciences (COAL), a proposed
medical hub and tourism project in Naivasha estimated to cost more than Sh20
billion and to employ more than 6,500 people.
Courtesy of Prof Njoroge, the
conference consortium welcomed Prof Vincent Onywera, DVC, Research, Innovation
and Outreach at KCA University. “We appreciate the great partnerships that have
been created during the last three days of this conference and may they be
useful and lasting relationships.
Let us give ourselves targets to bring in
more and more members because together we move far but alone we move fast but
will not go very far,” pleaded Prof Jaganyi, the new chairman of the
consortium.
Prof Jaganyi said Prof
Njoroge’s success in his 40-year career
in research and innovation has been partly because of embracing multi-disciplinary partnerships.
“From his presentation, the message for this
Consortium is to be better advised by being multi-disciplinary and
multi-institutional. We are in the right direction as far as partnerships are
concerned, but we need more partners on board,” said the VC.
Earlier, the MKU DVC had consulted
the outgoing chairman, Prof Eli Katunguka, Vice-Chancellor, Kyambogo University
of Uganda, and Sr Prof Fecilia Opara of COOU (Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu
University of Nigeria. “I will conduct follow-up consultations with consortium
members and chart a strategic direction for the consortium as we consolidate
the gains made by the leadership of the outgoing chairman and other
predecessors,” Prof Jaganyi said.
According to Dr Yatich, the
conference sessions revealed the need for technologically- led innovative
approaches to solve the challenges of food insecurity in Africa as this is one
of the backbone economic activities that promotes improved livelihoods and
healthy living.
During the opening session, MKU
co-founder Dr Jane Nyutu welcomed the delegates and wished them a successful forum with useful findings.
She said through teaching, research, and community
engagement has led to MKU’s award to serve for three years as the United
Nations Academic Impact for SDG No. 10 on Reduced Inequalities.
“This allows us to partner with many
universities, industries, and practitioners in all areas that are of
positive impact on human life; namely, medicine, animal health and production,
education, and social and physical sciences among others. Thus, in a collaborative
effort, the communities across the world will very well benefit from the joint
activities of our deliberations during this conference,” she said.
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