The Mountain Journal
Mount Kenya University (MKU) will establish Malindi Maritime Academy in the provision to achieve standards of training and certification in the profession.
MKU chairman Prof Simon Gicharu said the institution will be the first kind of the academy established in Malindi.
The institution, he said, will end Kenyans flying to study in Korea and other Asian countries for the mandatory course to be enrolled in the merchant navy, cruise ships and other vessels.
He spoke during the varsity’s 25 graduation ceremony in Thika, where he said the institution will be launching a Bachelor of Nautical Sciences program, making MKU the first university in the region to train Ship Captains and officers.
During the occasion MKU Chancellor Prof John Struther conferred degrees and diplomas to more than 7,974 graduands.
Those who graduated in 14 PhDs
530 Master’s Degrees,155 Postgraduate Diplomas, 5,090 Bachelor’s Degrees,1,801 Diplomas, and 384 certificates
“The new course will help hundreds of the youth from the East African region who have been traveling to the far east to seek for Maritime education,” said Gicharu.
He added that they have acquired a grant from the World Bank funded Innovation programme through the Ministry of Investment Trade and Industry to establish an Innovation and Incubation facility.
During the graduation, Higher Education and Research PS Dr Beatrice Inyangala urged the universities to register with Times Higher Education (THE) SDGs ranking platform.
The platform, she said, will lead to total integration and mainstreaming of SDGs support structures across the university processes and activities, saying her ministry will support the initiative.
The universities, she said, should strive towards registration on free charge of United Nations academic impact SDGS hubs in line with the available guideline of September 30,2025.
“I challenged university graduates in Kenya to use the knowledge and skills acquired to make a difference within the communities.
The PS added that Kenyan graduates have the capacity to steer the world into achieving the aspired socio-economic goals in a secure environment.
MKU Vice Chancellor Prof Deogratius Jaganyi said this year they have the highest number of graduands owing to the strategic approach to student recruitment in ensuring that our enrolment targets are not only met but surpassed.
“In the current semester/trimester of May-August 2024, the University registered a total of 56,225 students,’ said the vice chancellor.
