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Setting Trends in Higher Education, Research & Innovation |

Agritech News

JKUAT Acquires Nairobi’s Iconic ICEA Building

26th GRADUATION EDITION

A Publication from the Office of the Vice Chancellor

The Most Authoritative Magazine in the Region

Issue No. 63 October – December 2015 Volume 52

TECHNOLOGY FOR DEVELOPMENT

| Agritech News October – December 2015 |

Inside this Issue

JKUAT Scoops the Best University

Trophy

National Inter-Clubs Karate Champions

ESRI Eastern Africa EducationGIS Conference

CEL Exchange Programme

Security Sensitization

Training

Page 6

Page 38

5

Page 14

Page 30

Views expressed in this publication are those of individual contributors and do not in any way represent those of the publishers.The publisher will therefore not be held responsible for any incorrect or otherwise of the information here-in. The editor however welcomes contributions from the readers on subjects of interest.

The Iconic ICEA Building situated in the city centre along Kenyatta Avenue which has been acquired by JKUAT to enhance access to high-er education to students working within the Nairobi CBD and its environs.

Editorial Team

Hindzano Ngonyo - EditorPatrick Amunavi - Associate Editor

Ogeke ArakaCavince AdhereStephen Wakhu

Agritech News is a Quarterly Publica-tion published by the Vice Chancellor’s

Office, Department of Corporate Communications

All correspondence should be sent to:The Editor

Agritech NewsDepartment of Corporate

CommunicationsP.O. Box 62000 – 00200, Nairobi

Tel: +254 067- 5870104Email: [email protected]

Web: www.jkuat.ac.ke

Layout Design & PrintingElston Enterprises

[email protected]

Cover Picture

Agritech News






Discover JKUAT@DiscoverJKUAT

Setting Trends in Higher Education, Research & Innovation |Setting Trends in Higher Education, Research & Innovation |

2015 Has Been the Year to Remember

As the year draws to a close, the University, in its usual nature, has

continued to set the pace for oth-er institutions of higher learning in training, research and innova-tion. Twenty years since achieving University autonomy, JKUAT has clinched several firsts, starting with being a pioneer public university in the region to bag an environmen-tal compliance award, the EMS 14001:2004 Certificate in June, immediately after recertification for the ISO 9001:2008 on Quality Management Systems (QMS) for the second time running.

Again, for the second year run-ning (2014 and 2015), JKUAT has outsmarted other universities to be declared the Best University, clinching top trophies at both the Agricultural Society of Kenya or-ganized Central Kenya Show, and the Nairobi International Trade Fair.

These achievements did not end there: Recently, the Vice Chancel-lor, Prof. Mabel Imbuga was unani-mously elected the new Chairper-son of the Regional Universities Forum for Capacity Building in Agriculture (RUFORUM), the first female to head the board. This is one of the many appointments for our staff. Our students too, have showcased rare creative talent and innovative genius. Just recently, five under-graduate Architectural students won the Architectural Association of Kenya (AAK) 2015 Konza Inno-vation Hub and Park design Com-petition, organized by AAK as part of its Annual Convention.

A similar feat has been repeated by Benjamin Sylvanus Ashuma, an MSc Project Management student who bagged this year’s Competi-tion Authority of Kenya’s essay writing contest that sought to es-tablish whether coordinated price setting by competitors was justifi-able in any sector of the country’s economy.

With the University’s recent roll out of the first locally assembled laptop in the region in July, as well as the installation of an assembly plant capable of producing about 300 laptops per day now in place, the public should expect more in-novations. That JKUAT is home to great researchers and innovators is not a secret. The regular articles in our local dailies, online and social media platforms, attest to this.

This is why as we usher into the job market a sizeable number of graduands today, we also confirm that we have steadfast confidence in the training, skills and knowl-edge they have acquired. They are now set to confront the myriad challenges facing the country. We wish them well in all their future endeavours.

As we end the year 2015, Agri-tech News editorial team wishes all esteemed readers and contribu-tors a wonderful festive season – a Merry Christmas and a Prosperous New Year 2016!

Editorial

3

Hindzano Ngonyo

Seasons GreetingsDear JKUAT Fraternity,

On behalf of the entire University Management, I take this opportunity to convey my warmest seasons greetings and wish you, your families, friends & relatives; Merry

Christmas and a Prosperous New Year 2016!Prof. Mabel Imbuga

Vice Chancellor


Inside this Issue

JKUAT Scoops the Best University

Trophy

National Inter-Clubs Karate Champions

ESRI Eastern Africa EducationGIS Conference

CEL Exchange Programme

Security Sensitization

Training

Page 6

8

Page 25

Page 14

Page 30

Views expressed in this publication are those of individual contributors and do not in any way represent those of the publishers.The publisher will therefore not be held responsible for any incorrect or otherwise of the information here-in. The editor however welcomes contributions from the readers on subjects of interest.

The Iconic ICEA Building situated in the city centre along Kenyatta Avenue which has been acquired by JKUAT to enhance access to high-er education to students working within the Nairobi CBD and its environs.

Editorial Team

Hindzano Ngonyo - EditorPatrick Amunavi - Associate Editor

Ogeke ArakaCavince AdhereStephen Wakhu

Agritech News is a Quarterly Publica-tion published by the Vice Chancellor’s

Office, Department of Corporate Communications

All correspondence should be sent to:The Editor

Agritech NewsDepartment of Corporate

CommunicationsP.O. Box 62000 – 00200, Nairobi

Tel: +254 067- 5870104Email: [email protected]

Web: www.jkuat.ac.ke

Layout Design & PrintingElston Enterprises

[email protected]

Cover Picture

Agritech News






Discover JKUAT@DiscoverJKUAT


COVER STORY


JKUAT – Nairobi CBD Campus Director, Dr. Florence Mwaura, said plans were underway to introduce new Post-graduate programmes such as Engineering, Public Health and Science based programmes at the Campus. Currently the campus has about 2,500 students.

Knight Frank, Executive Director, Mr. Maina Mwangi congratulated JKUAT for the venture and assured the University that the property was in excellent state. Knight Frank is the property management consultant firm that represented the ICEA Lion Group.

Besides being a strategic insti-tutional move aimed at increasing access to JKUAT programs to the working student population within the City Centre and its environs, the acquisition of the ICEA Building comes at a time when Government funding to institutions of higher learning in Kenya has been declin-ing over the years hence universities have had to explore viable and sus-tainable alternative ways of bridging the financial deficit occasioned by re-duced government capitation in

order to meet their financial obli-gations. Those present during the handover ceremony were Deputy Vice Chancellor (Finance), Prof. Bernard Moirongo, Deputy Vice Chancellor (Administration) Prof. Victoria Ngumi, Deputy Director, Nairobi CBD Campus, Dr. Wario Guyo, Prof. Bernard Nyende and Prof. Abiero Gariy.

Varsity Acquires Nairobi’s Iconic ICEA Building

Mr. Mwangi (second left) handing over ICEA building documents to Prof. Imbuga. Looking on (from left) is Prof. Ngumi, Mr. Abraham

Samoei, Prof. Moirongo and Dr. Mwaura

Prof. Imbuga cuts the ribbon symbolizing the handing over of the building. Looking on is Mr. Mwangi (R)

The iconic 21 floor ICEA Building which has for 30 years graced the City’s

skyline is now owned by Jomo Ke-nyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT). The building situated along Kenyat-ta Avenue, Nairobi was initially owned by the ICEA Lion Group.

The Ksh. 1.85 billion investment which houses some of Nairobi’s major corporates like Hamilton Harrison & Mathews Advocates, Prudential Life Assurance Kenya Ltd, Kobil Petroleum Limited, AAR Health Services Limited, GNLD International Ltd, Standard Investment Bank, Kenstrel Capi-tal (East Africa) Limited and the National Bank among others, was acquired by JKUAT on October 24, 2015, and has moved her CBD Campus from Pension Towers to occupy 11th to 14th floor.

The acquisition was possible courtesy of the Kenya Commercial Bank who provided the financial support.

Talking to Agritech News after a brief handing over ceremony held

at ICEA building, Vice Chancellor Prof. Mabel Imbuga said the location of the facility would easily be accessed by most working class students wishing to further their studies on part time basis. “The acquisition of the building comes

at a time when there is high demand for Post-graduate studies especially in the field of Business and Information Technology (IT) related programmes. JKUAT hopes the purchase will be in-strumental in filling this gap and strives to produce highly qualified individuals, who will contribite to the growth of the economy, ” said the Vice Chancellor.

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By Hindzano Ngonyo

COVER STORY


Ministry of Education, Science and Technology Prof. Jacob Kai-menyi commended JKUAT for her additional role in the corridor and urged her to continue excel-ling in training skilled manpower for the region and beyond.

Meanwhile, JKUAT will lead three other regional Universities in conducting and fast tracking the Regional Skills Audit for other projects under the Northern Cor-ridor Integration Projects (NCIP). The universities are: University of Juba, South Sudan; Makerere University, Uganda, and the Uni-versity of Rwanda.

The University will coordinate with the mentioned institutions in setting up a consortium to under-take the audit. According to a res-olution made during the Regional

NEWS

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Participants during the IBM Training

JKUAT Designated Regional Centre of Excellence for ICT Training

JKUAT has been appointed as a Regional Centre of Excellence for training

ICT and related skills areas for the Northern Corridor Integration projects.

The 5th Northern Corridor In-tegration Projects Summit Meet-ing held on May 1, 2014 gave the directive owing to the key role the University has been playing in the Human Resource Capacity Build-ing for the region. The directive was officially communicated to the University early August this year.

The summit further called upon the host partners to offer the nec-essary support to the designated centres with partner states urged to commit to sponsor students as part of their contribution.

As a Regional Centre of Excel-lence, JKUAT is expected to make provisions for training opportuni-ties for the partner States in the Northern Corridor Integration Projects initiative in her training programmes.

The University will further be expected to ensure that informa-tion on academic programmes offered, existing awards and num-ber of credits covered, conditions for admission and application procedures, training calendar, fees charged and capacity to admit students from partner States and other relevant information is com-municated to the partner States and on the University’s website.

In his message to the Universi-ty Management following the ap-pointment, the Cabinet Secretary,

By Hindzano NgonyoMinisterial Meeting on the Hu-man Resource Capacity Build-ing (HRCB) on the NCIP held in Kampala Uganda early August this year, JKUAT will lead the process which will cover and focus on eight sub-sectors, namely:

Power Generation, Transmis-sion and InterconnectivityGeothermal DevelopmentPetroleum (oil and gas): Upstream, Midstream and DownstreamLand and Hydrographic Sur-vey and MappingLand, Property valuation and Physical planningICTAirspace Management, and Maritime Transport and Ship-ping Logistics.

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JKUAT Scoops the Best University Trophy at Nairobi Trade Fair

Prof Kahangi(c) explains what the cassava diagnostic research project is all about to the Chancellor (l) as Vice Chancellor (r) listens keenly.

Continued next page

The University bagged four coveted prizes dur-ing the 2015 Nairobi In-

ternational Trade Fair (NITF) that was organized by the Agricultural Society of Kenya, from Monday, September 28 to Sunday, October 4. JKUAT defied stiff competition that is characteristic of NITF by repeating the 2014 winning for-mula to clinch: “The Best Univer-sity Trophy” for the second year running.

At the Trade Fair that attracted over 540 local and international exhibitors who showcased vari-ous products and services, JKUAT was also declared: “The Best Most Striking Display (Demon-stration of Locally Manufactured Products Stand,” “The Best Stand in Research Development,” and “The Best Innovation and Inven-tion Stand, ” bringing the total

number of trophies scooped by JKUAT to (4) four.

While awarding the top win-ners at the awards ceremony, Fri-day, October 2, President Uhuru Kenyatta congratulated JKUAT for exemplary performance when he presented, “The Best Innova-tion and Invention Stand Trophy” to the Deputy Vice Chancellor in Charge of Research, Production and Extension Prof. Esther Kah-angi, who received the trophy on behalf of the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Mabel Imbuga.

President Kenyatta acknowl-edged the role played by the ag-riculture sector in poverty reduc-tion, and outlined various strategic decisions undertaken by the Gov-ernment to support the agriculture sector such as reduction of the high cost of inputs, expansion of irriga-tion in Galana- Kulalu to enhance food security, financial support to the ailing sugar industry, as well

as the establishment of a fertil-izer blending plant in Uasin Gishu County.

As a prelude to the NITF two weeks earlier, JKUAT had fired the warning shots during the Cen-tral Kenya Agricultural Society of Kenya Show, which run from September 9 to 12, at Kabiru-ini grounds, Nyeri County by emerg-ing “The Best University,” bag-ging a total of six (6) top trophies. The University was declared: “The Best University Stand,” “The Best Engineering Base Institution of Higher Learning,” “The Best Stand Exhibiting Ag-ricultural and/or Earth Moving Equipment,” and “The Best Insti-tution of Higher Learning in De-veloping of Advanced Technolo-gy” in a ceremony presided by the Deputy President William Ruto, who presented the Vice Chancellor Prof. Mabel Imbuga with the Best University Trophy.

The Chancellor Prof Geof-frey Ole Maloiy paid tribute to all JKUAT exhibitors for their cutting edge innovations and products, and urged them to publish aca-demic research papers to safeguard their intellectual work.In 2014, the institution bagged 4 top trophies, whilst in 2013 it took home 3 trophies, signaling a con-sistent gradual improvement from 2012 and 2011 when the institution won 2 trophies and one trophy, re-spectively.

This impressive performance by the University affirms the institu-tion’s quest to deepen a culture of technological innovation that has, since its establishment two decades ago, defined JKUAT as a leader in Training, Research and Innovation, as demonstrated by stakeholder-interest in JKUAT at the Trade Fairs.

The institution’s initiatives to-wards the realization of Kenya Vision 2030 agenda, were visible through the numerous new tech-nologies and innovations that made their debut appearance in this

By Patrick Amunavi

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Mrs Ruto (L) sampling innovative food and beverage products during a guided tour when she visited the JKUAT stand at the Nairobi Show.

From previous page

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Westlands Campus Student Tops CAK’s Essay Competition

By Wangui Githui

Benjamin Sylvanus Ashuma, a MSc. Project Management student at

JKUAT Westlands Campus has won this year’s Competition Au-thority of Kenya’s (CAK) essay which sought to establish wheth-er “Coordinated price setting by competitors was justifiable in any sector of the Country’s economy.”

The essay writing competition held annually as part of CAK’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) was convened at the Uni-versity of Nairobi’s School of

Law, Parklands in Nairobi on June 30th this year. The initiative is meant to give back to the society, as well as seek to encourage intel-lectual discourse among University

Students on issues of competition law and policy.

The CAK Director General Mr. Wang’ombe Kariuki who honoured Mr. Ashuma with Kshs 80,000 for the victory, an amount that went towards the winner’s studies as fees, expressed his Au-thority’s gratitude for Mr. Shu-ma’s sterling performance.

In his congratulation message, the Campus Acting Principal Dr. Mike Iravo praised Mr. Ashuma for his well deserved achieve-ment. He encouraged other stu-dents to work hard and engage in diversified areas to put their skills to beneficial use.

Mr. Ashuma

year’s shows. They included the hydraulic ram pump; value added food and beverage products; agro-based technologies dedicated to enhancing food security such as the maize farming repository; cas-sava grater, macadamia dehusker, juice pulper; organic farming, as well as the African indigenous vegetable promotion and the cas-sava disease diagnostic project. This year the show was organized around the theme of: “Enhancing Technology in Industry for Food Security and National Growth.” Meanwhile, Mrs. Rachael Ruto has lauded the University for de-veloping various cutting edge in-novations and technologies that address critical national needs. Mrs. Ruto, wife of Kenya’s Deputy President, was impressed by the many technologies the University has developed to address critical challenges in the country such as food security, nutrition, value ad-dition and wealth creation.

She made the remarks when she visited the JKUAT Stand at the Jamuhuri Show Grounds, where

she interacted with staff and stu-dent exhibitors, Thursday October 1, 2015. She congratulated the University for posting impressive performance in this year’s trade fair. The Deputy Vice Chancellor in charge of Research, Production and Extension Prof. Esther Kah-angi who was at hand to welcome Mrs. Ruto, appreciated her for vis-iting the University Stand and for

encouraging JKUAT researchers and innovators.

Prof. Kahangi reiterated the University’s continued endeav-our to address the country’s so-cio- economic challenges through innovative technological inter-ventions in value addition, food security and ICT among others.


Prof. Imbuga listens keenly to Mr. Daisuke when he paid her a courtesy call.

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Nairobi +30 Conference on Gender

and Disability

By Olive Nelima

The Gender and Mentor-ing Centre participated in the Nairobi + 30 Con-

ference on 13th August 2015, at the Kenyatta International Con-vention Centre.

The conference was organized by the Ministry of Devolution and Planning to commemorate 30 years since the 3rd World Confer-ence on Women held in Nairobi in 1985.

JKUAT’s Deputy Director of the Directorate of Gender and Mentoring Centre, Prof. Hellen L. Kutima attended the confer-ence which was prompted by the fact that 2015 has been declared the year of Women’s Empower-ment and Development towards Africa’s Agenda 2063 by the Af-rican Union.

The conference theme was: “Making economic empowerment and entrepreneurship develop-ment a reality for women.”

At the convention, women em-powerment issues were discussed as well as reflections on the inter-vention initiatives so far under-taken by the Government to help women, youth and people with disabilities in achieving business goals and employment.

The UWEZO Fund is one such government intervention pro-gramme tailored towards achiev-ing Vision 2030 development goals.

JICA Official Commends JKUAT on Regional Training

By Cavince Adhere

The Director of Technical and Higher Education at the Japan International

Cooperation Agency (JICA), Mr. Daisuke Ueda, has commended JKUAT for its leading role in train-ing, research and innovation, both in the region and Africa at large. The Tokyo based official said by successfully hosting the Pan Af-rican University Institute of Basic Sciences, Technology and Innova-tion (PAUSTI), JKUAT had risen to the call to integrate the conti-nent through higher education.

Mr. Daisuke also applauded JKUAT for training Eritrean and Somalia nationals, which he add-ed had enabled JICA to support the countries despite the Agency not having offices in both Eritrea and Somalia. The move by JKUAT to train beyond Kenya, the Direc-tor opined, had created a model that could be adopted to reach and serve under capacitated areas in the continent. Some 23 Eritrean nationals have enrolled for mas-ters and PhD inFood Science and Technology, Biotechnology Re-search, Horticulture, Chemistry

and Statistics at JKUAT, with JICA funding. Daisuke was speaking Fri-day, October 30, 2015 when he paid Vice Chancellor, Prof. Mabel Imbu-ga a courtesy call. While receiving the official to JKUAT, Prof. Imbuga thanked JICA for its unwavering technical and funding support to the University since inception. The Vice Chancel-lor said the strong foundation had enabled JKUAT to excel in various fields like engineering, agriculture, architecture, technology, as evi-denced by hosting of PAUSTI and AICAD.

Prof. Imbuga added that the com-ing on board as thematic partner in the implementation of the African Union led PAUSTI by JICA was further pointer of the effort of the Agency to spur Africa’s higher edu-cation.

PAUSTI, Prof. Imbuga said, had graduated the first cohort of stu-dents with the second batch expect-ed to graduate in 2016.

Mr. Daisuke who was on a three day visit to Kenya also discussed with Prof. Imbuga academic and research collaboration between JKUAT and Egypt-Japan University of Science and Technology (E-JUST).


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Students and Staff Tipped on Nationalism

By Ogeke Araka

Kenya’s vexed cohe-sion and integration dilemma, that has been

largely acknowledged to be the single most important threat to the country’s survival was the theme of intense debate at a forum held recently at JKUAT that brought together university students, scholars from diverse disciplines and officials of the National Co-hesion and Integration Commis-sion (NCIC).

From the various viewpoints expressed by participants at the event dubbed, Cohesion Forum, it was apparent Kenya’s University students had a prominent role to play as change agents in the coun-try’s cohesion and integration process. University students it was acknowledged had immense influence particularly at the grass-roots, where they enjoyed im-mense esteem.

One of the speakers, Dr. Ludeki Chweya, Director General, Kenya School of Government, presented a political science standpoint, at-tributing Kenya’s beleaguered co-hesion and integration path to the colonial regime that he said, was responsible for establishing and strengthening of an arbitrary

Kenyan state that lacked any valuable aspects of nationalism. The situation the former Univer-sity of Nairobi don declared, was worsened by the fact that ‘ethnici-ty and nationalism’ complimented one another but antagonized the state. The colonial state, accord-ing to Dr. Chweya, was preoccu-pied in advancing the growth and empowerment of state institutions such as the military, judiciary, leg-islature and others ignoring the

NCIC Chairman Francis Ole Kaparo (right) interacts with students at JKUAT

development of the attributes of na-tionalisms. At independence, the post-colonial state preserved and continued to sustain the colonial status quo that neglected and over-looked the development of national-ism.

Dr. Chweya emphasized the need for Kenya to embark on a deliberate and purposeful approach to promote nationalism other than expecting its spontaneous rise. He said, the 2007 post-election violence marked for the first time, the start of a decisive prospect for Kenya to promote na-tionalism. This was attained through the African Union mandated Emi-nent African Personalities led by Kofi Annan that brokered a peace ac-cord under the Kenya National Dia-logue and Reconciliation.

The resulting National Accord paved the way for the establishment of a Coalition Government and a framework for far-reaching reforms to address the conflict’s root causes. Of particular interest according to Dr. Chweya was the recognition to address long-term issues and the root causes of the conflict by means of constitutional, legal and institutional reform.

But for X.N. Iraki, lack of a home grown economic model to guide Kenya’s economic devel-opment is largely to blame for the slow cohesion and integration process witnessed in the Kenya. Dr. Iraki, a University of Nairobi economics don appeared to link economic development to cohe-sion and integration with coun-tries that had adopted homegrown economic models, responsible for their marked economic growth likely to show substantial lev-els of patriotism, and solidarity among citizens.

To achieve higher economic growth, Dr. Iraki advocated for increased investment in research and innovation that he said cur-rently stood at paltry 0.08 per-cent of Kenya’s Gross Domestic Product compared to an average 2.6 percent in industrialized coun-tries. Through intensified research and innovation, Dr. Iraki said, Kenya would be able to record increased number of patents that currently stood at 166 novelties annually compared for example to Japan that generates 5,000 new

Continued page 15



AFRICA –ai – JAPAN Project Gains Ground, One Year On

Prof. Imbuga (right) when the equipment was handed over by the Prof. Manabu Tsunoda, Chief JICA Advisor to the Project

By Cavince Adhere

AFRICA –ai –JAPAN Project, a five-year ini-tiative launched in 2014

to revitalize Africa’s higher educa-tion through promotion of science, technology and innovation, has reg-istered a number of achievements, a year into its implementation. The project which is supported by Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and implemented at JKUAT has funded 40 innovation research projects in engineering, agriculture, food security, technology, climate change, among others.

Key progress has also been made in the establishment of the Inno-vation and Prototyping Integrat-ed Centre (iPIC), one of the four centres being implemented within the Project’s research framework towards innovation. iPIC, whose foundation was laid by President Uhuru Kenyatta in March 2015, aims to employ fusion of modern and basic technologies in develop-ing African knowledge and wisdom into products or services.

Notable innovations that have been supported by the Project in-clude: Screw Briquetting Machine, Motorized Macadamia De-Husker, and Motorized & Manual Block Press. These outputs are based on the long term efforts by research ac-tivities sustained by JKUAT (RPE). Other initiatives include implemen-tation of a solar electricity genera-tion system for an eco-house, and development of sustainable con-struction materials and structures.

On the human capacity front, the Project has seen a number of tech-nical and teaching staff receive ad-vanced and targeted training in Ja-pan while professors from Japanese universities have visited JKUAT and PAUSTI; delivering public lec-tures in various fields.

In order to foster teaching and research facilities at JKUAT, a number of equipment have been deployed in various laboratories at a cost of Ksh. 15.8 million as the first step, besides refurbishment of existing machinery.

Speaking during the Project’s inaugural Joint Coordination Com-mittee meeting, Tuesday, Ms. Kei-ko Sano, Chief Representative of JICA Kenya Office, said the initia-tive’s end result would be to create indigenous technology that is ap-plicable and sustainable not only in Kenya, but Africa at large.

While tracing Japan’s develop-ment trajectory, Ms. Sano reiter-ated the commitment of Japan and JICA to support the Project, adding that it only through quality training and capacity building that Africa can foster its socio-economic, in-dustrial and technological develop-ment.

National Commission for Sci-ence Technology and Innovation Director General, Dr. Moses

Rugutt, informed the meeting that Kenya had placed emphasis on applied research and innovation and said the Africa –ai –JAPAN Project is a key plank in the big-ger strategy to strengthen the con-tinent with “ai” means African In-novation.

Vice Chancellor Prof. Mabel Imbuga thanked JICA and Japan for support spanning decades which had made JKUAT a key player in Kenya’s higher educa-tion and research sector. By host-ing Pan African University Insti-tute of Basic Sciences Technology and Innovation (PAUSTI), Prof. Imbuga said JKUAT had opened its doors for Africa hence the proj-ect would add immense value to both JKUAT and PAUSTI.

Low priority accorded to sci-ence and technology in African countries has been blamed for the continent’s sluggish economic development; a situation that Af-rica –ai –JAPAN Project aims to reverse.

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Marine Engineering Student Represents Kenya at World

Maritime Day

Ms. Fatma Shakur expressing her views on opportunities for Kenyan cadets during the Symposium

By Stephen Wakhu

Fatma Farukh Abdi, a 5th year Marine Engineering student represented Kenya

at the World Maritime Day, which took place at the International Mari-time Organization (IMO) headquar-ters in London, Thursday, Septem-ber 24, 2015. This was the first time IMO has involved students at their annual World Marine Day celebra-tions.

Fatma was selected by Kenya Maritime Authority and sponsored by IMO to participate in this year’s symposium dubbed “Shipping’s fu-ture needs people: Is global mari-time education and training on course?”

Marine Engineering being a new course in the country, Fatma noted, the symposium was a great platform to share her experience in Kenya, and learn about maritime education and training in other countries. The Vice Chancellor Prof Mabel Imbuga , congratulated Fatma on her selec-tion and acknowledged that it was a great opportunity for her to learn from peers drawn from other coun-tries.

“As a cadet marine engineer, the symposium was an eye opener which not only enabled me to

interact and engage cadets from across the globe, but also people from dif-ferent shipping management compa-nies,” said Fatma. During the sympo-sium Fatma drew attention to the acute shortage of merchant ships/training ships that can be used by the cadets in the East African region for their one year sea time course programme. Her concerns educed response from the Managing Director, Quality Health Safety Environment (QHSE) and Training, Anglo-Eastern Group, Cap-tain Pradeep Chawla, who showed interest in establishing training rela-tions with JKUAT to offer students placements for their sea time course programme on board their ships. His company has a fleet of over 450 ships.

This year’s IMO symposium delib-erated on whether the current educa-tion and training is meeting the needs of the maritime industry to ensure safe and secure operations, as well as a sustainable qualified and profession-ally competent workforce.

After the symposium, the student- participants are expected to serve as Maritime ambassadors in their respec-tive countries and serve as role models for secondary school students consid-ering a career at the sea.

GIS Student Maps His

Way to Esri Award

Muteti during the interview.

By Cavince Adhere

Thomas George Muteti, a third year Geospatial Information Science stu-

dent at JKUAT is the 2015 winner of Esri Eastern Africa StoryMaps contest. Thomas floored 16 other contestants drawn from Kenyan Universities with his navigation app which makes it easy to locate buildings and other essential facil-ities within JKUAT. The contest was part of the 3rd Esri Eastern Africa Education GIS Conference which took place mid-September at AICAD grounds, JKUAT.

Commenting on his victory, Muteti lauded the strong aca-demia industry liaison that the University has actualized which he said, had exposed students to industry practices, standards and expectations. JKUAT, he added, had also installed requisite learn-ing facilities, enabling students to do research and engage in practi-cals.

Following the win, the 23 year-old who aims to be a GIS special-ist earned a fully sponsored trip to attend the 2016 Esri Eastern Af-rica User Conference in Ethiopia. He will also benefit from a two- day training by Esri on Working with ArcGIS Online.


role played by JKUAT in starting the first B.Sc. in Physiotherapy programme in the country. The pro-gramme is in line with the Minis-try’s Strategic Plan towards capac-ity development of all health care workers to facilitate attainment of Vision 2030.

The Council is charged with the regulation of Physiotherapy train-ing in all Universities and Colleges, as well as registration and licensing of physiotherapists practice in the country.

JKUAT Scholars Appointed to Kenya’s First Physiotherapy Council

The Government has ap-pointed two JKUAT schol-ars from the College of

Health Sciences – Dr. Nassib Tawa, and Dr. Daniel Nyamongo, to the First Physiotherapy Council of Ke-nya.

Dr. Tawa, a lecturer in the School of Medicine, Department of Physio-therapy, becomes the pioneer Chair-man of the Physiotherapy Council of Kenya, while his counterpart Dr. Nyamongo who is also a lecturer in the same department, has been ap-pointed to the Council as a member. Dr. Nyamongo is also the Chairman of Kenya Society of Physiothera-pists. The two appointments which run for a period of three years, were made through the Kenya Ga-zette Notice No. 7244 of October 2, 2015, and signed by the Cabinet Secretary for Health, Mr. James

Macharia on September 18, 2015. In her congratulatory message following the two appointments, the Vice Chan-cellor Prof. Mabel Imbuga said it was a great honour for JKUAT, an Insti-tution whose desire has always been to seek solutions to society’s plight by introducing programmes that ad-dressed human challenges.

The appointment, Prof. Imbuga noted, was a clear indication that the Government, through the Ministry of Health, acknowledges the pioneer

Dr. Nyamongo

Dr. Tawa

NEW APPOINTMENTS

12

The College of Health Sciences has engaged the services of a promi-

nent Kenyan medical scholar to boost research and teaching at the School of Medicine. Joash Ron-ald Aluoch, a professor of medi-cine, brings to JKUAT, the best part of knowledge in the form of practice, spanning over 30 years, gained in various reputable medi-cal faculties in Africa, Europe, and North America.

A patient care oriented physi-cian, with extensive research re-cord in specific areas of medicine mainly in sickle cell diseases, ma-lignant hematology, and immune-hematology of tropical and

infectious diseases, Prof. Alouch has also made enormous contri-bution in the training of doctors in Kenya’s public university sec-tor, starting from the University of Nairobi, where he started his teaching career as a lecturer in 1985, rising through the ranks to the position of Associate Profes-sor in 1997.

In 2005, Aluoch, who has pub-lished widely with five books and over 100 scholarly papers to his credit, was engaged in 2005 as Professor and thereafter Head of Department of medicine at Moi University, before proceeding to Maseno University in 2009, where he served for two years as founding Dean, School of Medi-cine.

Prof. Aluoch who holds PhD degree in medicine of the Univer-sity of Amsterdam, Netherlands obtained in 1985, is a fellow of several professional bodies in-cluding; Royal College of Physi-cians of Edinburg, U.K, African Academy of Sciences, and the International Society of Hema-tology, and the Kenya National Academy of Sciences.

New Don to Boost Medical Research and Training

By Ogeke Araka

Prof. Aluoch


University Recruits Patent Drafting Officer

By Patrick Amunavi

Fredrick Omukubi Otswong’o has joined Jomo Kenyatta Universi-

ty of Agriculture and Technology as a Patent Drafting Officer under the Directorate of IP Management & University Industry Liaison (DIPUIL).

Mr. Otswong’o brings to the University a lot of experience and expertise in the field of Intellec-tual Property (IP), after working with the Kenya Industrial Prop-erty Institute (KIPI) for 13 years between 2000 and 2013.

Prior to taking up the above position, Mr. Otswong’o was the Technical Director at Random Forks Intellectual Property Group Ltd in Nairobi, a consulting firm that assists clients to enhance their capacity in technical intellectual property services, such as patent claim drafting, IP audit and filing

of patent and trademark applica-tions in Kenya and African Re-gion. Mr. Otswong’o holds BSc. and MSc. degrees in Biologi-cal Sciences from University of Delhi, India, and advanced cer-tificates in IP Law courses from the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Worldwide Academy, Switzerland special-izing in patent drafting, IP Man-agement, E-commerce and other related courses.

His main task at the University is to: give leadership and direction

on patent drafting to University staff; assist the Directorate of IP Management & University In-dustry Liaison on IP management matters; and assist in the integra-tion of IP into LLB programme at the Karen Campus.

Mr. Otswong’o says, “My main aim of joining JKUAT family is to contribute towards the actualiza-tion of her Vision as “A Univer-sity of global excellence in Train-ing, Research and Innovation for development” through effective IP Management”. He plans to do this through capacity building in patent drafting, awareness cre-ation and IP management at the University’s IP Office.

He has already conducted a se-ries of sensitization meetings with researchers and innovators in dif-ferent sections of the university such as the Nairobi Industrial and Technology Park, and the Engi-neering Workshops.

Mr Otswang’o

NEW APPOINTMENTS

13

The University handed over Paediatric Ambu bags to Murang’a Hospi-

tal donated through the School of Nursing by Ms. Janet Waithaka, a Kenyan nurse working in the Unit-ed Kingdom. The donations were received by the Hospital’s Nurs-ing Manager Mrs. Agatha Kariuki and her Deputy Nursing Manager. and her Deputy Nursing Manager. Similar donations were also made to Gatundu and Thika Level 5 hos-pitals as directed by Waithaka. The Dean, Nursing School Dr. Peter Mwaniki expressed gratitude to Ms. Waith¬¬aka for the kind gesture of giving back to the society.

JKUAT Nursing School staff and students currently undergoing their practi-cals in the same hospital handing over the Ambu bags donation to the hospital.

Nursing School Donates Paediatric Bags to Murang’a, Gatundu Hospitals


The National Disaster Management Unit, a Department under the

Inspector General of Police has advised institutions in the country to introduce biometric identifica-tion systems in the operations in order to arrest possible situations that could result in disasters.

While Kenya’s security person-nel are doing everything possible to enforce the much needed secu-rity to citizens in a bid to averting dangers caused by the many cases of heinous attacks, individuals too, need to learn defensive skills that could help them keep out of danger.

Addressing JKUAT’s top man-agement during a sensitization lecture at the Juja Main Campus, the Deputy Director of the Unit, Mr. Pius Masai Mwachi said crim-inals would easily be identified if identification systems were in in-troduced.

He urged University manage-ments to bond with both students and staff in order to access vital information that was useful in preventing cases of insecurity.

“Let us not bury our heads in the sand. University students have

The current United Na-tions World Population Prospects (2015 Revi-

sion) summarizes economic, social and environmental data from UN member countries. The document provides member nations with a basis upon which to reflect on their past and future prospects in order to attain sustainable development.

The statistics are supposed to help member nations to develop suitable policies, optimally allocate their nation-al resources and build national systems and institutions that can propel them to prosperity.

The 2015 global demographic statis-tics by the UN give a snapshot of where nations, including Kenya, have come from and where they are headed. Ac-cording to the UN, by 2050 the world population is expected to rise from the current 7.35billion to 9.72 billion

people, hitting a high of 11.23billion people by the year 2100. Most of this growth will be powered by Africa. Indeed, Nigeria is poised to over-take the US to become the 3rd most populous nation in the world after India and China by the year 2050 with a population of 399 million people. Nigeria’s population will top 752million people by the year 2100. It is noteworthy that more than half of all global population growth

become soft targets for radicaliza-tion because they can easily be lured into terrorism by promises of huge amounts of cash they may not be get-ting from their families”, noted Mr. Mwachi, adding, “This is why we need to bond with the students as well as staff so that they can avail insecurity information to us for speedy action.”

He proposed to University man-agements countrywide to establish emergency operation centres to be headed by the chief security officers that would from time to time review the security situation in such institu-tions.

Earlier, Vice Chancellor Prof. Mabel Imbuga urged all participants to take the training seriously as insecurity had become everyone’s concern. Her University, she said, would continu-ously ensure that all staff and students were protected in the best way pos-sible.

The two-week sensitization train-ing which included practical de-fensive drills, covers among others, safety, terror response and awareness, basic tactics and incident command system cum preparedness. It is being carried out in all the University’s 14 centres and Campuses countrywide.

Varsity Managers Tipped on Security

Is Kenya Ready for the Year 2030?

By Hindzano Ngonyo

By Fred Mugambi Mwirigi

Mr. Masai demonstates how to correctly use a fire extiguisher.

Continued page16

NEWS

14

Setting Trends in Higher Education, Research & Innovation | 15

Ms. Dicho (R) signs the visitors book when she visited the ALISO Director’s office. Looking on is the Director, Prof. Wariara.

Sudanese Education Attaché to Kenya Tips Foreign Students

By Stephen Wakhu

Students face a myriad of challenges while undertak-ing their studies in a foreign

country, the South Sudan Education Attaché to Kenya, Ms Elizabeth Di-cho Clement has observed.

Ms. Dicho said this was so because of multifaceted culture, language bar-riers, climatic changes and inadequate information. She encouraged the first year students “I encourage you to at least make it a point visiting your em-bassy for information. However you should keep in mind that these em-bassies operate within the laws of the host country,” said Ms Dicho.

She made the remarks during the first year international student ori-entation organized by Alumni and International Students Office (AL-ISO), September 11, 2015. This co-hort of students undertaking various programmes is drawn from Eritrea, Rwanda, Congo, South Sudan, Nige-ria and Germany.

Ms. Dicho also urged the students to guard against negative peer influ-ence and familiarize themselves with the institution stressing that they should always respect the law of the host country.

The Education Attaché lauded Jomo Kenyatta University of Agri-culture and Technology for the active role the University has undertaken in aiding the students get their proper documentation especially

the acquiring of the Pupil’s pass. The Director ALISO, Prof Wariara Kariuki, urged the students to em-brace and respect the diversity of culture and strive to live in harmo-ny and unity. Echoing the words of Ms. Dicho, she encouraged stu-dents to be in constant communi-cation with both their embassies and ALISO for vital information and assistance.

National Integration and Cohesion Continued from page 9

patents yearly. This was central in the formation of new industrial en-terprises critical in wealth creation, citing Japan’s Toyota Company with a workforce more than all teachers in Kenya. Dr. Iraki says access of edu-cation to more citizens at all levels should be accelerated since educated people were likely to support nation-alism.

Francis Ole Kaparo, NCIC Chair-man on his part placed blame on the country’s sluggish progression to nationalism on the political elite who accomplished their political mobi-lization guided by their own ethnic identities. He castigated the country’s political elite who ‘simply traded us-ing their fellow communities as mer-chandise offered on the political table’ and ‘the more numbers one

brought to the table, the more politi-cal worth one enjoyed’.

Ole Kaparo, the former National Assembly speaker agreed with Dr. Chweya, saying post-colonial Kenya was a construct continuation of the colonial regime citing the promo-tion of green capitalism practiced by the colonial state and yet perpetuat-ed in independent Kenya. The vice, Ole Kaparo contended, deliberately denied development funding to over 70 percent arid and semi-arid lands of the country. The policy, he added, had been responsible for the current unequal national development that had thus alienated large populations who hardly felt Kenyan.

The former Speaker of the Na-tional Assembly said, Kenya had squandered two rare occasions to

foster nationalism presented at inde-pendence in 1963 and again in 2002 when the National Rainbow Coali-tion assumed power, but in both historic instances, the political elite quickly curved back to embrace eth-nic nationalism.

He reminded University students and the entire youth in Kenya to avoid the route taken by their fathers in the last 50 years, responsible for the misery that had bedeviled Kenya. He instead appealed for the Univer-sity youth to join him in the noble mission of building a new cohesive society. ‘As youth you have the power to transform Kenya to a nation since you are the majority, most energetic, uncorrupted segment of the popula-tion with the capacity to change the way you live,’ he concluded.

NEWS


will be powered by nine countries out of which, five will be from Afri-ca. These countries are USA, Nige-ria, Indonesia, Pakistan, India, Tan-zania, Uganda, Ethiopia and The Democratic Republic of Congo.

Between 2015 and 2030, Africa’s population is set to rise from the current 1.19billion to 1.68 billion people. This population will rise further to 2.48 billion and 4.39 bil-lion people in the years 2050 and 2100, respectively. In East Africa, Uganda’s population growth is set to overtake Kenya’s before the year 2050. By this time, Uganda’s popu-lation is projected to reach 102 mil-lion people against Kenya’s popula-tion of 96 million people. Of course Ethiopia and Tanzania will lead the region with populations of 188mil-lion and 137million people respec-tively.

With a median age of 15.9 years, Uganda currently has the youngest population in the region with Ke-nya, at a median age of 18.9 years, having the oldest population among the three East African giants. The life expectancy in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania has risen over the last three decades to 60.6, 57.2 and 64 years respectively. By 2030 life ex-pectancy in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania is projected to be 66, 63 and 69 years respectively. Although the region has made great strides in raising its life expectancy no coun-try has been able to achieve the feat achieved by Rwanda whose life ex-pectancy, has risen from a dismal 23.1 years during the genocide era to the current 63 years. Rwanda is expected to overtake Uganda and Kenya before the year 2030, and Tanzania before 2050 to post an impressive life expectancy of 74.6 years against Tanzania’s 74.2, Ke-nya’s 71.7 and Uganda’s 69.1 years respectively. Perhaps the most un-settling statistic is that 41% of Af-rica’s population is under 15 years, with another 19% being between ages 15-24. This means that Africa’s

unproductive population could be in the range of 50% or more! In other words, 50% of Africa’s population is being fed and sustained by the other 50%, with over 30% of the breadwin-ning population being jobless!

So what do these statistics portend for Kenya and the region? In the next 15 years, Kenya’s population will grow by over 50% and by the year 2050 our population will more than double. In essence, pressure on resources and in-frastructure will rise by 50% or more in 15 short years. This means, must grow our national income, expand our national budget and grow the economy by 50% in order to maintain the current average quality of life for our citizens, notwithstanding the fact that we are not enjoying a favorable quality of life in the first place.

For Kenya to maintain the cur-rent socio-economic status, it must grow its GDP from the current about $70billion to over $130billion in 15 years, and increase our exports threefold. Currently, we are import-ing almost three times more than we are exporting. We must expand our hospitals, schools, universities stadia, shopping malls and markets by at least 50% by the year 2030. This means, we must build at least two Kasarani - size stadia in Nairobi and its environs, em-ploy another 25,000 police officers, 15,000 officers in the Kenya Defense Forces (KDF) and up to140, 000 more teachers. We are currently experi-encing unprecedented rural-urban migration by jobless youths in search of opportunities in cities leading to mushrooming of informal dwellings. We must therefore expand housing both in big cities and smaller towns by at least 50%. In this regard, access to-construction financing and other ypes of mortgages must be eased as a mat-ter of urgency.

On the tourism front we are cur-rently attracting a partly 1.2million tourists per year, no wonder our tour-ism sector is on its knees. Zimbabwe is actually doing better than us when it comes to attracting visitors.

Our main foreign exchange earner- exports are dwindling because we are not processing or manufactur-ing as we should. And whenever we export, we send our products over-seas as raw as they come from the earth below.

We are currently injecting onto our roads between 11,000 and 14,000 vehicles per month. By the year 2030 this number will most likely double. If we don’t expand our road network, Nairobi, Mombasa, Kisumu and other cities will grind to a halt and we will celebrate the golden year of the Vision 2030 in huge traffic gridlocks. Between now and the year 2030 we must, there-fore, expand our road network by at least 100,000 kilometers. We must also grow our airports, seaports and public transport systems by at least 50%.

The urban population is increas-ing dangerously and in line with the population growth we must expand job opportunities by more than 50% in the next 15 years. To main-tain the status quo, we must create more than 10million jobs for our youth during this period. Remem-ber, growing all these spheres of our economy by 50% in the next 15 years will only maintain the current status. This means, even after doing all this, unemployment may still re-main at the current rate of over 40%!

Our current socio-economic sta-tus as demonstrated by the current average quality of life in Kenya is wanting and we cannot live through it for another 15 years. If this hap-pens I frankly cannot rule out a popular uprising by the citizens be-fore then.

Kenyans don’t want to maintain the status quo, they want jobs, health care, education and access to other services. They want a secure coun-try which tourists can visit freely and leave behind good dollars. They want their country to grow by 10% and more by the year 2030.

Continued from page 14

Continued page 18

16

Kenya’s Readiness for the Year 2030


students’ skills and experiences in the field of health sciences.

Speaking during the sign-ing ceremony at the County of-fices, County Executive Member of Health Services, Dr. Bernard Muia said he was convinced the collaboration will help improve services at the hospital and have a significant and lasting impact on the lives of the people of Nai-robi County. “It is my hope that this partnership will play a criti-cal role in enhancing the services rendered at Mama Lucy Kibaki County Hospital, as well as aid Nairobi County become a leader

Varsity Partners with Nairobi County Government

in Health Services

(From L-R) Prof. Kahangi, Dr. Musa, Dr. Muia, Prof. Imbuga, Prof. Mengech discuss the details of the MoU

The University has part-nered with the Nairobi County Government to

use Mama Lucy Kibaki County Hospital for teaching, research and training of students in clinical and public health practice.

The Memorandum of Under-standing signed, November 2, allows JKUAT to attach her Col-lege of Health Sciences (CoHES) students at Mama Lucy Kibaki County Hospital in diverse clini-cal exposure and build the

in the health sector nationally,” said, Dr. Muia.

The CEC said he was confident that the two institutions will de-liver on the scope of the MoU and expected the students attached at the hospital would carry out their responsibility with dedication, pas-sion and integrity.

On her part, Vice Chancellor, Prof. Mabel Imbuga, thanked the County Government for her com-mitment in the collaboration. She assured the CEC that JKUAT stu-dents were governed by ethical standards and that they would carry out their responsibility with integri-ty, accountability and highest stan-dards of professionalism.

The collaboration, she pointed out, will not only be instrumen-tal for the students but also for the teaching staff who are required to undertake a three month practical attachment as required by a recent directive by the Government.

Prof. Imbuga encouraged both parties to jointly venture into doc-umented medicine research that could help improve the health sec-tor not only in the County but also in the country.

Those present during the occa-sion were: Chief Health Officer, Nairobi County Dr. Robert Ayisi, Deputy Vice Chancellor (Research, Production and Extension), Prof. Esther Kahangi; Principal Co-HES, Prof. Harun Mengech; Dean, School of Medicine, Reuben Thuo; Dean, School of Pharmacy, Dr. Joc-elyn Kamau; Dean, School of Nurs-ing, Dr. Peter Mwaniki and Chief Corporate Communications Offi-cer, Dr. Michael Ngonyo.

By Stephen Wakhu

PARTNERSHIPS & COLLABORATIONS

17

Westlands Campus Partners with Kiambu and Nairobi Counties

Westlands Campus hosted ward ad-ministrators from

Kiambu and Nairobi counties

with a view of collaborating with residents in the two counties.

The aim of the meeting between the Westlands Campus and the Ward Administrators was to create awareness of the presence of JKUAT

in the area as well JKUAT technolo-gies and innovations and enhance a working relationship.

The administrators expressed in-terest to work with JKUAT to

By Agritech News Reporter

Continued page 21


AU Selects JKUAT to Participatein Applied Geology Curricula Project

Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technol-ogy has been selected by the

African Union, the Association of African Universities and other Af-rican experts to participate in the development of a competence based curricula in the field of applied geol-ogy – effective exploration of min-erals and energy resources. The first meeting was held in Cairo, Egypt, between 12th – 14th October.

The forum provided a vibrant platform for JKUAT which trains geologists and geophysicists, to play a significant role alongside other institutions of higher learning in Africa, in developing competence based curricula, build capacity in teaching and learning and quality enhancement, define common study credits and assessment tools, devel-op partnerships between universi-ties across Africa and beyond in the

field of Geology. Furthermore, JKUAT will, going forward, play a significant role in “contribut-ing towards the goals of the Afri-can Strategy for Harmonization in Higher Education and the realiza-tion of the objectives of the revised ARUSHA declaration.”

The Director of Tuning Africa Academy, Pablo Beneitone, said, “Phase II of the Tuning Africa Proj-ect is set to scale up from 5 subject areas to 8 and from 60 universities to 120 across Africa. Universities will be reviewing their degree

programs and will also implement them within their universities and with each other,” he explained.

JKUAT Vice Chancellor Prof Ma-bel Imbuga nominated Dr. Bernard Kipsang Rop, a former Commis-sioner of Mines and Geology, in the Ministry of Environment and Min-eral Resources who is the current Chairperson of the Mining, Mate-rials and Petroleum Engineering Department at JKUAT to spearhead the applied geology deliberations at the meeting on behalf of the institu-tion.

Speaking on behalf of the Manag-ing Committee of the Tuning Africa Project, Pablo Beneitone observed that the committee received a large number of high quality applications from universities to participate in the initiative and spent considerable time reviewing applications with the advice of the African Union, Asso-ciation of African Universities and other African experts.

By Patrick Amunavi

Dr Rop: JKUAT representative

- Dr. Mugambi is the Director of JKUAT Mombasa Campus and a consultant in Management and Governance. Email: [email protected]

If we are to give Kenyans an im-proved quality of life we must grow the economy beyond the rate of the projected population growth, which means we must double the size of the economy in the next 15 years. Effectively, we must create 20mil-lion more and not 10million jobs for our youth. We must expand our economy to at least $180bil-lion and not $130billion. We must build 200,000km of roads and not 100,000km. We must build 4 new Kasarani-type stadia in Nairobi and its environs and not 2. We must build 4 to 6 new hospitals the size of Kenyatta Hospital in Nairobi alone. We must employ another 280,000 teachers and not 140,000. We must employ another 50,000 police offi-cers and 30,000 KDF officers.

We must build two more interna-tional airports the size of JKIA or increase its capacity three-fold. We must double the current capaci-ties of our sea ports, traffic systems, schools and universities. If we are to improve the quality of life of the average Kenyan we must double al-most everything in the next 15 years.

Time has come for Kenya to as-sess her readiness to face the next 15 years especially in light of the scarydemographic statistics released by the UN. If we don’t do this we will wake up on Tuesday 31st December 2030 and wonder what went wrong.

We must all join hands and ques-tion current reality. We must ques-tion our education systems, our par-liamentary processes, our judicial processes, our faiths, our economic

and foreign policies, our capability to secure the country- we mustquestion everything and refocus our agencies and the nation towards the path of real growth. It is only by questioning current reality that we are going to be able to rid our systems of unnecessary bureaucra-cies and inefficiencies. For starters, I propose that the cabinet and other top government officers take retreats and go through these statistics with a tooth-pick. To achieve sustainable growth, future planning must be based on these numbers and not on socio-political whims and pressure. We must turn the corner before it is too late.

18

PARTNERSHIPS & COLLABORATIONS

Continued from page 16 Readiness for the Year 2030


Academia-Industry Collaboration Key to Industrialization

An International patent at-torney and scholar has given hints to what could

be holding developing economies, including Kenya, from realizing their full industrialization potential. Prof. Yashitoshi Tanaka of Tokyo Institute of Technology, Japan, be-lieves that industrialization is an-chored on the ability of universities and research institutions to work collaboratively with the industry to meet human needs.

Acknowledging that applied re-search took place in university laboratories, Tanaka decreed the prevalent mismatch between the ex-pectations of universities and indus-tries; leading to low levels of com-mercialization of research outputs.

“Collaborative research enables universities to understand end user needs. This makes it possible to develop corresponding themes and research projects with utilitarian value,” Prof. Tanaka explained.

Prof. Tanaka was speaking Thurs-day November 12, at Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture at Tech-nology when he presided over the opening of the University’s 10th Scientific Technological and Indus-trialization Conference and Exhibi-tion.

He however emphasized that knowledge or intellectual property arising from research should be patented. This, he explained, has a threefold benefit. It gives exclusive rights to use the innovation in own products; allows innovator to earn royalties by licencing to others; or enables the creator to sell the inno-vation.

Tanaka who is a professor at To-kyo Institute of Technology’s

Graduate School of Innovation Management, gave an example of his institution which he said main-tains collaborative research ven-tures with global technology firms like Canon Inc., Mitsubishi Electric Corporation, Panasonic Corporation and Hitachi, Ltd through incubation centres.

The attorney said that his Univer-sity alone currently files 250 patents annually against Kenya’s 241 filings in 2013. The earnings from intel-lectual property had substantially funded institution’s budget over the years, reducing dependency on state funding.

Statistics from the World Intellec-tual Property Organization (WIPO) indicate that of the 2.6 million patent applications in 2013, Africa’s best performer, South Africa filed only 7,295 followed by Egypt at 2,057. China filed 825, 136 patents while United States of America (USA) and Japan, filed 571, 612 and 328, 436 patents respectively, taking top three slots. The other countries that took top slots include Republic of Korea, Germany, Russia, India and Brazil.

To strengthen technology transfer in Africa, Prof. Tanaka called for in-creased research funding, foster hu-man capacity, patent protection and licensing, and a business sense of technology transfer.

Addressing the conference, Vice Chancellor Prof. Mabel Imbuga highlighted a number of thematic areas where JKUAT has intensified applied research. She noted that JKUAT had in this financial year committed Ksh. 90 million on re-search and innovations from internal sources with a further Ksh. 250 mil-lion coming from external funding.

Prof. Imbuga further singled out the rollout of Taifa Laptop which was conceived and designed by JKUAT as a demonstration of the University’s technological versatil-ity to engineer solutions locally.

The conference attracted partici-pation from USA, Japan, South Af-rica, Nigeria, South Korea and Ke-nya. Over 100 papers on areas such as water, energy, entrepreneurship, built environment governance and engineering technologies are set to be presented during two-day event.

Prof. Imbuga (left) welcomes Prof. Tanaka to address the conference

By Cavince Adhere

TRAINING / RESEARCH / INNOVATION


Varsity Hosts 4th IFLA Africa Symposium

A three-day symposium aimed at promoting pro-fessional excellence and

integrity in both built and natural environments concluded Friday, October 16, 2015. The symposium sought to demystify landscape ar-chitecture and the role it plays in solving challenges encountered through flooding, loss of habi-tat, changing ecology and global warming.

The symposium which attract-ed over 200 participants from the United State of America, United Kingdom, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Ke-nya, Netherlands and Italy, was jointly organized by JKUAT and Architectural Association of Ke-nya, affiliated to the International Federation of Landscape Archi-tect (IFLA). In observance of this year’s theme: “Resilience: Role of Landscape Architecture in Urban Areas of Emerging Economies,” the participants learned from the work of landscape architects in Af-rica and around the world.

Speaking during the opening of the symposium, Nairobi County Governor, Dr. Evans Kidero ac-knowledged that landscape archi-tecture plays an important role in adapting the build environment to the present and future, especially when it comes to confronting the growing social, political and eco-nomic concern over the use of natural resources and the develop-ment of sustainable communities.

Dr. Kidero challenged the par-ticipants to engage with each other and delve into the intricacies of landscape architecture as a tool for urban renewal, conservation and restoration of biodiversity, realiza-tion of green infrastructure as well as improvement of public health and sanitation.

Echoing the words of the Gov-ernor, the President of the Inter-national Federation of Landscape Architect (IFLA) Prof. Kathryn Moore said, it was a high time that countries used Landscape Architec-ture to improve the faces and struc-tures of their cities. “For landscape architecture to achieve its desired effect,” she emphasized, “the actors needed to employ a multi-disciplin-ary approach that would involve policy makers, manufacturers, real estate developers, financial institu-tions and government official.”

In his remarks, the President of the Architectural Association of Kenya, Architect Waweru Gache-cha acknowledged that landscape architecture in the country had grown in magnitude and stature and hoped the on-going symposium would provide a perfect platform to begin the conversation as to what the true role of landscape architec-ture is within the continent and Ke-nya in particular.

Others who addressed the gath-ering were President IFLA-Africa, Prof. Tunji Adejumo, Chair of Landscape Architecture (JKUAT), Dr. Esther Katile, and Dean School Architecture and Building Sciences (JKUAT), Dr. Susan Kibue. Also present was the Kiambu Deputy Governor, Mr. Gerald Githinji.

By Stephen Wakhu

Dr. Kidero confers with Chair of Landscape Architecture, Dr. Katile

20

LibrarySpecial

Collection and Research

Section Relocated

The Special Collec-tion (Postgraduate and Research Section)

of the University Library has been re-located to the New Sci-ence Complex Library exten-sion second floor. Post Graduate students and researchers are ad-viced to visit the New Science Complex Library extension sec-ond floor, and check the status of their compliance in regard to thesis guidelines as approved by JKUAT Board of Postgraduate Studies.

All special materials like print thesis and dissertation are also available at the same location. The Library is enhancing an ac-cessible and conducive reading environment to all users in at-tempt to avoid discrimination.



Renewable energy tech-nologies researcher in the Department of

Physics, Churchill Saoke is under-taking a one month particle image visualization experiment in Japan for the unique inverse blades that have demonstrated exemplary performance in capturing wind power.

The experiment, set to use a high speed camera, smoke par-ticles and PIV analysis software to visualize the airflow around the airfoil of the blades in order to un-derstand the cause of the optimum performance of the turbines, will be conducted at the wind tunnel of the fluid laboratory of Ashikaga Institute of Technology.

Saoke, a PhD student and a Mandela-Washington Fellow who recently returned from the YALI program in the United States, is a member of the wind turbine re-search group under the JICA

Bright Project. He said, “As a fur-ther researcher, I will be interested in how this newly developed tur-bine technology could be useful for large wind turbines and in the aircraft technology.

By Patrick Amunavi

Mr. Saoke (R) carrying out renewable energy experiments at the Ashikaga Institute of Technology.

21

Saoke to Carry out Wind Power Tests in Japan

Participants who attended the meeting.

improve the standards of living in their respective wards. During the meeting, several areas of partnership were high-lighted including Agriculture, Building Technology, Energy and Environment, and Organizational Development.

The county teams were intro-duced to various JKUAT products such as yoghurt, juices and the Shujaa tractor, interlocking sta-bilized soil blocks press, and the multipurpose portable biogas.

The products of JKUAT were found handy in real-time bearing in mind that livelihood entrepre-neurial empowerment is pivotal for community development. The parties agreed to engage further to enhance the already existing part-nership.

The ward administrators plead-ed to support the campus in mar-keting JKUAT courses in their ar-eas of jurisdiction.

The university is working out modalities to formalize a partner-ship between JKUAT Westlands Campus Centre for Governance and Integrated Trade (CeGIT) and specific Wards in terms of Leadership, Training and Com-munity Empowerment.

Westlands Campus Ropes in Kiambu, Nairobi CountiesContinued from page 17


| Agritech News October – December 2015 || Agritech News October – December 2015 |

Why JKUAT Leads the Pack in Digital Learning Program

By Hindzano Ngonyo

“Many are called but few are cho-sen,” is a popular biblical line that epitomizes JKUAT’s position as a technological powerhouse with a solution to the Jubilee Government’s Laptop per Child programme that has attracted several players.

Long before the laptop pro-nouncement was made, JKUAT was already pursuing the line for the good of the country. It had been churning out professional IT gradu-ates whom it trained in both hard-ware and software development.

The premier University’s expe-rience with what people are now embracing - the digital revolution (computers) dates back to 1994 when JKUAT made several contro-versial decisions which were later embraced by the same critics in the education sector – regularizing the haphazard mushrooming of tertiary colleges purporting to train people in IT by coming up with a struc-tured curriculum in IT through the setting up of the JKUAT MMS – IT Centre at its main campus in Juja. It immediately became a beacon for IT professionals in the region.

Today, more of the cyber cafes in cit-ies are either run or managed by the graduates.

After a very long spell of research and innovative prowess by its stu-dents, JKUAT having realized ‘the world was going digital while com-munication was going online’ long before it became a reality to many, the University started assembling desktop computers in 2006, the E-MADO brand, in partnership with the Ministry of Industrialization and other public/private partners, a Ke-nya Vision 2030 flagship project un-der JKUAT.

At a time many had no idea that assembling could be done locally, the University made a statement: it assembled 1200 desktop computers at a time the taxation regime favored imported computers than those as-sembled locally. Unfortunately, it could not sustain the project due to expenses. Although the institution halted the assembling in 2010 due to the stated challenges, it did not shelve the idea. Instead, it re-cali-brated and began pursuing the one laptop per child (OLPC) model of Massachusetts Institute of Technol-ogy (MIT) in the USA.

In collaboration with public and private industry partners, JKUAT set out to conceptualize six pillars towards an end to end solution for ICT integration in education;

• Policy and strategy• Hardware, software and applications• Curriculum, e-content and e-books• Training and capacity building• Technical support and connectivity• e-waste management

The new focus received a major boost from the laptops for schools project in 2013. Having installed an assembly plant and trained man-power for the production of laptops the University pioneered by intro-ducing a course - based customized laptop for every first year student admitted to JKUAT in 2013, a move that was later adopted by other Uni-versities.

The assembly plant is designed to produce 300 units per day, accord-ing to the director of the project; Dr. Suleman Okech. With total cer-tainty, technological and hands-on experience in the digital platform, the University has continued to bid since 2013 so as to prove her tech-nological prowess and expertise in response to Jubilee Government’s OLPC quest to fulfill one of its man-ifesto promises.

00As the institution awaits for a final whistle to embark on the proj-ect, JKUAT continues to produce for her students and staff needs in higher education as well as support-ing the ICT integration in education project, which is why in addition to launching her laptops for students project in October 2013, it rolled out to the Kenyan market, the Taifa Laptop, conceived and designed under the TAIFA Brand, a maiden product of the Nairobi Industrial Park, a subsidiary of JKUAT on June12, 2015.

The Taifa Laptop assembly line.

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By Patrick Amunavi

The existing strong col-laborative initiative be-tween the University of

Okayama and JKUAT has enhanced JKUAT’s profile and global charac-ter.

“JKUAT is a University of global excellence in Training, Research and Innovation for Development and our global character is best il-lustrated in terms of research ex-change programs, research publica-tions, collaborations, students and staff exchange such as the one that exists between JKUAT and Okaya-ma University,” said Prof Romanus Odhiambo, Deputy Vice Chancel-lor in charge of Academic Affairs, who is also the Project Director of Africa-ai-Japan Project, when he officially opened, “The Innovations for Harnessing Bio-Resources Sem-inar,” Monday, October 19 at Juja Main Campus.

The seminar, jointly organized by the Pan African University, JICA and JKUAT among others, brought together leading researchers from Okayama University of Japan, and their Kenyan counterparts from JKUAT who shared research find-ings and experiences with academic staff and students.

While affirming the strong work-ing relationship between Okayama University and JKUAT, the Japa-nese team leader Prof. Wataru Saka-moto, gave a historical background to the Asia-African Scientific Pro-gram (AASP), noting, “Between 1999 and 2014, about 14 Kenyan researchers and students had ben-efited under the program.”Deputy Vice Chancellor (Research, Produc-tion and Extension) Prof. Esther Kahangi underscored the essence

of innovation and challenged all the researchers engaged in the enterprise of knowledge produc-tion and dissemination, to re-main awake and faithful to their research endeavours by working toward finding solutions that will bring real change to the country’s agricultural value chain. “There are so many problems in the entire value chain, and if you are com-mitted, you will help in address-ing these challenges,” she noted.

Prof. Kahangi underscored the significance of the JKUAT/Okayama University collabora-tion and challenged JKUAT re-searchers to tap into the opportu-nities provided by the institutional synergy and aspire to publish in high impact research dissemina-tion journals that would add value to our societies, she added.

The one day seminar saw a to-tal of eight research presentations from Kenyan and Japanese re-searchers. Prof. KUBO Yasukata shared his research on regulation of fruit ripening, while Prof. T. Losenge made a strong case for bio-pesticide as the future for pest management in horticulture, as

did Dr. J. M. Maina who showed the significance of probiotic in hu-man health and nutrition.

Other facilitators were Prof SU-ZUKI Nobuhiro (A new virus life style challenging the virus rules and concepts); Prof. GALIS Ivan (Molecular mechanisms of rice defense against herbivores: per-ception, hormonal signaling and metabolites); Dr. Lucy Murungi (Spider mite-host interactions: morphological and chemical de-fense in African nightshade); Prof SAKAMOTO Wataru (Dissect-ing important QTL traits for mo-lecular breeding in sorghum) and Prof. KANZAKI Hiroshi (Power of microbes – From Sake brewing to production of bioactive com-pounds).

Among those present during the seminar were – Africa-ai-Japan Project team comprising of Prof. Tsunoda Manabu; Prof. Shinjiro Shiomi; Mr. Noriaki Tanaka, Dr. Daniel Sila, Prof. Martin Oban-da; Chair Horticulture Dr. Fridah Wanzala; Dean Faculty of Ag-riculture Dr. Mburu; as well as postgraduate students and teach-ing staff from the Faculty.

Seminar participants following presentation proceedings.

JKUAT – Okayama University Research Ties Hailed

23



19 Awarded Chinese Academy Scholarships

Library Establishes Section for Special Needs

By Mercy Mugereki

By Patrick Amunavi

Nineteen (19) Kenyan graduate students drawn from Jomo Kenyatta

University of Agriculture and Tech-nology and the National Museums of Kenya were on September 2, 2015 awarded scholarships to undertake Masters training in life sciences at the International Studies College of Uni-versity of Chinese Academy of Sci-ences (UCAS), China.

The beneficiaries are the third batch. Twenty five (25) Kenyan stu-dents consisting the first and second cohorts are already in China under-taking graduate research in various research institutes of UCAS. The scholarships are coordinated by the Directorate of Sino Africa Joint Re-search Centre (SAJOREC) in JKUAT and the China-Africa Centre for Re-search and Education (CACRE) in Wuhan, China. While presenting scholarship documents and air tick-ets to the beneficiaries, SAJOREC

In its bid to fulfill its mandate of catering for the learning needs of all students with-

out discriminating against students with special needs, and in compli-ance with the Commission for Uni-versity Education (CUE) Universi-ty Standards and Guidelines 2014, JKUAT Management has through the Library established a section for persons with special needs particularly persons with visual impairment, persons with hearing impairment and persons with phys-ical disabilities in addition to other library services.

The Library is now ready and equipped to offer basic assistance to special needs groups of learners,

a move that is underpinned by the fact that the whole community of learners have the right to access education and learning opportuni-ties irrespective of their physical disabilities in order to realize their full potential.

Currently the University has sponsored three (3) library staff to train in Special needs Education at the Kenya Institute for Special Ed-ucation (KISE). One (1) staff has been trained in Kenya Sign Lan-guage for the hearing impaired, and two (2) on Braille Machine opera-tions for the visually impaired. In addition, the same staff have been equipped with the skills to handle any kind of special user. For per-sons with physical disabilities, there is a provision for a ramp at

the entrance of the Library, a lift, a special lavatory, a special bed for reading and we have also reserved computers in the Library computer labs for special students and seats strategically placed in the library reading area.

The University Librarian (Ser-vices) Dr Roselyne Mangira told Ag-ritech News that “All persons with special needs should feel free to visit the Library for any information with-out any fear of stigmatization. She further observed that JKUAT is an all inclusive institution of learning and by extension, the staff at the Library provide the same services to all their clients without discrimination, and urged the university staff and students to sensitize others to utilize the ser-vices provided at the JKUAT Library.

Director Prof. Robert W. Gituru who represented the Deputy Vice Chancel-lor in Charge of Academic Affairs urged them to work hard in their studies and to be good ambassadors while in Chi-na. CACRE Deputy Director Prof. Yan Xue urged the students to make the best use of the study opportunities accorded to them. He further noted that construc-tion of the Sino-Africa Joint Research Centre and the 40-acre botanical gar-den at JKUAT is currently underway. “The facility will promote biodiversity research and conservation,” he noted.

On behalf of the students, Stephen Aluoch who is proceeding to the Centre for Agricultural Resources Research of the Institute of Genet-ics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, thanked the Chinese Academy of Sciences for the award. He said, the beneficiaries were focused to attain the best skills in their fields of study by working hard while in China. The 19 beneficiaries are ex-pected to depart for China on Sep-tember 7, 2015.

Prof. Robert W. Gituru presents scholarship documents to Ms Ann Ndung’u

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Participants pose for a group photo after the last meeting.

25

Canada’s Western University Exchange Program

By Mercy Makena Munyua

The University in col-laboration with Western University Canada are

engaged in a joint learning pro-gram known as Community En-gagement Learning (CEL) aimed at improving the students’ knowl-edge and usefulness in the society.

CEL is an experimental learn-ing for students at Western Uni-versity, a program that compares with the industrial attachments in Kenyan universities although the knowledge acquired under these two systems of learning cannot be compared. Ms. Ann-Marie, a leader in the Faculty of CEL at Western University, said, CEL en-sures all students have participat-ed in experimental learning. The Faculty also helps in marching the students with the best community

partners who will help to nurture their knowledge in relation to their courses and also in develop-ing their careers.

She said the program was a strategic plan to achieve academic excellence for students in Western University of Canada. The stu-dents are involved in experimen-tal learning as part of university program. Unlike the industrial attachments in Kenya where stu-dents are attached to industries not necessarily based on their ca-reer specializations, they also get involved in clerical jobs like ar-ranging files and typing.

The Western University CEL faculty is aimed at sending the students back to the communities where they can identify problems facing a community of learning and come up with the solutions.

According to Marie, this form

of learning encourages students active involvement especially in knowledge mobilization, and ex-change of resources to address critical society issues both locally and internationally. The students, she noted, were involved in the activities throughout the year as part of their studies. This not only gave them a wide range of knowl-edge but also a sense of civic en-gagement, personal development, and mostly, prepared them for post-graduate employment. The students involved in community based learning also got an oppor-tunity to utilize their innovative teaching strategies to serve a pub-lic good.Further, the students also learnt various languages which helped them broaden their areas of in-volvement.


| Agritech News October – December 2015 || Agritech News October – December 2015 |26

Don’s Research Tips ReceiveInternational Response

Prof. Henry Bwisa no-ticed a pattern among his graduate students: most

of them had difficulty crafting a cogent statement of the problem for their research projects. As a result, the professor of entrepre-neurship at the College of Human Resource Development devel-oped a four-step guideline on how to write a statement of problem and posted it on his website.

What followed was sweet sur-prise to the don. Soon after the post went live, comments started

streaming in from as far as United States, Sri Lanka, Ethiopia and South Africa. What he thought was a Kenyan phenomenon manifested a global characterization at the touch of a button. “I have tried to do my problem statement several times but it does not seem to win,’ a respon-dent wrote.

“I came across your explanation through internet. I can now arrange my work both systematically and logically,” quipped another.

“Hello Prof. Henry, I just read your review about how to write the statement of problem in a research. It was perfect, just what I have been

searching. Thanks sir,” added a third respondent. While majority of the respondents thanked Prof. Bwisa for sharing his insights, a few requested him to supervise them; either at masters or PhD level.

Susan Morin, a senior Instruc-tional Designer at Capella Univer-sity, United States of America even requested to make the material electronically available to learners on their online course.

Prof. Bwisa uses an narrative format to guide students towards coming up with a proper statement of the problem and identifies four key characteristics: Address a gap; be significant enough to contribute to the existing body of research; be one that will lead to more research; render itself to be investigated via collection of data; be interesting to the researcher and suit his/her skills, time and resources and be ethical.

But wait, there is more. The don explains what sets apart his ap-proach for the rest. Since it does not target one level of study or even a given profession, it is universally understood and carrying commen-surate utility.

“Whether you are a student, aca-demician or a policy maker, this ap-proach will fit your purpose, hence its widespread adoption,” concludes Prof. Bwisa.

By Cavince Adhere

Richard Wekesa, a PhD research student examines the in vitrio regenerated sugarcane seedlings in the JKUAT greenhouse.

CoHES Conducts CLTS Program Evaluation By Ogeke Araka

The Departments of Clinical Medicine and Public Health recently

concluded an evaluation of the Community Lead Total Sanitation (CLTS) program for Kilifi County aimed at boosting the residents’ public health status through im-proved hygiene and sanitation awareness.

Initiated in 2007, the County Government of Kilifi had been

however unable to implement the evaluation project due to logistical and professional limitations, a gap JKUAT was invited to fill.

Commenting on the initiative, Dr. Lawrence Karanja, the lead researcher and Chairman, Department of Clini-cal Medicine lauded the project which he said came in handy to offer JKUAT medical students with the much needed field experience in hygiene and sanitation. Dr. Karanja noted, up to 64 year two students benefited from the programme;

participating in data collection car-ried in 20 identified Kilifi County villages.

Dr. Karanja together with his counterpart, Prof. Simon Karanja, Chairman, Department of Public Health, had been mandated to carry out a comprehensive evaluation re-port, a task that has since been suc-cessfully accomplished and submit-ted to Kilifi County Government. The report is expected to assist the County Government to enhance its CLTS program.



Agribusiness Symposium and Expo Concludes

By Stephen Wakhu

The 2015 Agribusiness Symposium and Expo and the 6th JKUAT Open

Day was held from Thursday, September 3- 4, 2015. The forum organised by JKUAT in partner-ship with the Eastern Africa Grain Council (EAGC), run under the theme: “Promoting and Adapting Technologies for Agribusiness; production, post-harvest and pro-cessing.”

The Governor Kiambu County William Kabogo in a message de-livered on his behalf by his Deputy Gerald Githinji, thanked JKUAT and EAGC for organizing the symposium and Expo, saying, the forum will enable players in Agri-business sector to make business linkages and explore business op-portunities for their products and services.

Principal Secretary, Ministry of Industrialization, Dr. Wilson Songa in a speech read by Director, Vision 2030 Hezekiah Okeyo said the im-portance of agriculture, which con-tributes 35% of the gross domestic product (GDP), in our economy, cannot be over emphasized.

“I am optimistic that this forum will address the systematic bottle-necks that affect our agricultural sector and the farmers present will be able to use the knowledge gained to foster for a competitive and modern agricultural sectors,” said Dr. Songa.

Vice Chancellor Prof. Mabel Im-buga acknowledged the commit-ment of both parties in abiding to the Memorandum of Understand-ing signed early this year and

hoped the symposium and expo will aid in improving post harvest technologies and reduce the over 30% of the agricultural product wasted after harvest.

“The Symposium is being held against a backdrop of vari-ous challenges facing farmers in the region. However, I am glad to note that the farmers will be sensitized on the need to store their harvest in collection centres and forward them to pre-certified warehouses,” said Prof. Imbuga

EAGC Executive Director, Mr. Gerald Masila said that for the agricultural sector to have a great impact, there is need to build via-ble linkages between the industry and academia.

“It is a high time that the re-searchers in our universities to vigorously interact with both the farmers and industries for tangible results in the agricultural sector,” said Mr. Masila.

Mr. Masila noted, EAGC seeks to further partner with the uni-versity to host scholarships to students who will showcase and want to research on issues related to providing solutions to the grain sector thus enhancing private - public partnership.

Deputy Vice Chancellor (Re-search, Production and Extension) Prof. Esther Kahangi said the fo-rum will immensely strengthen the linkage between the industry and academia, adding, the grain

sector needs a lot of research and innovation to improve the value chain of grain products.

The symposium and Expo 2015 endeavored to address production related issues, processing of ag-ricultural produce and value ad-dition, postharvest issues, use of new technologies and innovations in agriculture among others.

From L to R: Mr. Kamau, Prof. Ngumi , Mr. Okeyo, Prof. Imbuga, Mr. Masila and Mr. Githinji at the Biotechnology E xhibition Stand.




28

E - JUST and JKUAT Partnership Launched

By Eric G. Njuguna

Egypt-Japan University of Science and Technology (E-JUST) team visited Ke-

nya to enhance academic exchange activities between JKUAT and E-JUST following a memorandum of Understanding (MoU and MoA) be-tween E-JUST and JKUAT signed in December 2014.

During the visit, a series of discus-sions regarding the E-JUST Scholar-ship programs for Ph.D. and M.Sc. supported by JICA and private com-panies were earmarked to commence in 2016.

E-JUST is a state university in Egypt offering opportunities of ad-vanced study and academic research to graduate students in various sci-ence and technology fields. E-JUST

More information about the scholarships is readily available at E-JUST official website (www.ejust.edu.eg), or visit the AFRICA-ai-JAPAN Project offices located at ELB-213 within JKUAT- Juja Main Campus.

enjoys collaboration and support from reputable Egyptian and Japa-nese governmental academic and in-dustrial institutions, which enhance students’ exposure to the best aca-demic and research experiences.

A delegation of three staff from E-JUST visited JKUAT from Oc-tober 5- 6, this year and held dis-cussions with the JKUAT Vice Chancellor and AFRICA-ai-JAPAN Project Office. More meetings were held with senior staff from COE-TEC and JKUAT staff interested in the program. The PHD Scholar-ships are available in the following departments: Electronics and Com-munications Engineering (ECE), Computer Science and Engineering (CSE) , Mechatronics and Robotics Engineering (MTR), Industrial En-gineering and Systems Management (IEM), Energy Resources Engineer-ing (ERE), Environmental Engi-neering (ENV), Materials Science and Engineering (MSE) & Chemi-cals and Petrochemicals Engineer-ing (CPE)

The general admission require-ments for the PhD Scholarships are as shown in the table(Left).

PhD Scholarships at E-JUST

JKUAT staff during a learning session of the E-JUST Scholarship program

No. Condition Requirements

1 Eligibility requirements for scholarship

Applicant must be a holder of nationality of a country in African continent except Egypt

Applicant must have home address and current address in Kenya Applicant must be recommended by the Vice Chancellor of

JKUAT

2 Educational Background and Records

PhD applicant should have M.Sc. (thesis-based) degrees, related to his proposed research topic, with a distinguished academic record in the related undergraduate program’s major.

3 Language (English) Proficiency

Admission Requirement: TOEFL iBT 79 or Academic IELTS: 6.5. Applicants whose native language are English are not required to submit official evidence of English Language Proficiency.

4 E-JUST Interview

Applicants must pass successfully the interview; the applicant minimum acceptance percentage of is 60% at the interview. Interview (Personal and Academic Interview) includes research proposal presentation and discussion and must measure professional skills, specialization knowledge and IT skills, and teamwork skills.



29

By Stephen Wakhu

Economic independence, technology advance-ment and industrial de-

velopment cannot be achieved without carrying out in-depth re-search, President of Lanzhou Uni-versity, China, Prof. Wang Cheng, said.

He said, research played a cru-cial role in building a knowledge based economy as an integral part of creating long term eco-nomic prosperity in any country.Prof. Wang was speaking during the signing of a Memorandum of Agreement for a student exchange programme between Jomo Ke-nyatta University of Agriculture and Technology and Lanzhou University, Friday, September 25, 2015.

The student exchange program, an offshoot of the collaboration between the two institutions, will see both JKUAT and Lanzhou University exchange up to two undergraduate or graduate stu-dents per academic year. The stu-dents are expected to engage in research especially in the field of dry land agriculture.

“We have received several students from JKUAT and they have been remarkable. This MoA seeks to enhance the exchange program. I believe this will give both institutions a platform to collaborate in other areas such as technology and health sciences,” said Prof Wang. The then Acting Vice Chancellor Prof. Romanus Odhiambo thanked Lanzhou Uni-versity for their commitment to the collaboration and their efforts in helping JKUAT spearhead dry land agricultural research.

The Inkua donkey cart design competition cur-tain came down Wednes-

day, November 18, 2015 with the winning team taking home Kshs. 100,000. The winners of the com-petition, Maelo Sabasaba and Maina Muiruri, 5th year students, Mechanical Engineering, thanked all parties responsible in making the competition possible and guar-anteed them that it has enabled them put into practice the skills and knowledge learnt in class.

“I am glad that we were part of this noble competition. It has not only enabled us put in practice what we learnt but has also en-abled us play a part in solving a real life problem facing our soci-ety,” said Sabasaba.

The competition that com-menced July, 28, 2015 was orga-nized by the College of Engineer-ing and Technology (COETEC) in collaboration with Africaqua and Water.org.

“The installation of a modern weather station at JKUAT provided by Lanzhou has made tremendous efforts in agri-cultural research especially in collec-tion and analysis of targeted climatic data aspects,” said Prof. Odhiambo.

During the ceremony, the two in-stitutions unveiled a Joint Research Centre plaque. The Centre aims at en-hancing dry land agriculture research and help transform the way agriculture is practiced in the arid and semi-arid parts of the country.

The function was attended by Prof. Xiong Youcai of Lanzhou University; Director of Interna-tional Office, Lanzhou Univer-sity, Prof. Wang Yuhua; Director Institute of Biotechnology Re-search, Prof. Bernard Nyende; Dean, Faculty of Agriculture, Dr. David Mburu; Chair Horticulture Department, Dr. Fridah Wanzala and Prof. Mwangi Githiri.

Prof. Odhiambo (L) and Prof. Wang (R) unveil the Joint Research Centre Plaque. Looking on is Prof. Nyende.

JKUAT/Lanzhou Seal Student Exchange Program

Donkey Cart Contest Ends

Continued on page 39


The 3rd ESRI Eastern African Education GIS Conference

By Stephen Wakhu

By Irene Kirung’e

A two-day conference de-signed to boost partici-pant’s Geographic Infor-

mation Systems (GIS) professional experience and application in diverse disciplines with the aim of creating new learning opportunities, and de-velopments in GIS technology con-cluded Friday September 11, 2015 at the JKUAT.

The conference which attracted

over 400 students and faculty from colleges and universities in Tanzania, Uganda, Ethiopia and South Sudan was organized jointly by the Univer-sity and the ESRI Eastern Africa Edu-cation GIS.

Themed: “GIS: Creating the Fu-ture,” the conference aimed at enhanc-ing participants’ capacity to gather, in-terpret and utilize geo-information in the wake of the central role GIS was gaining in its application in diverse in-dustries globally. Esri Eastern Africa Managing Director, Willy Simons, said

The mention of campus to many high school students in Kenya arouses their am-

bitions to become great profession-als in different fields. Almost every motivational speaker wants to bring a strong point home on the need to work smart in order to acquire a

ticket to the university. Such speak-ers need a hand clap for their posi-tive efforts. However, their work is currently going in vain once the students have passed their Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE).

With flying colors, majority pass their KCSE examinations, their am-bitions rise to another level.

Due to the fact that a large percent-age of Kenyans rate good parent-hood based on the success of their children becoming doctors, lawyers, pilots among other “high ranked ca-reers”, great minds of the Kenyan high school students are demoral-ized by unwanted motivation from their closest motivators: parents who turn into dictators.

GIS provided a locational context that allowed a profound perceptive of many challenges by bringing to light relationships and dependen-cies so that practical action could be taken.“To deliver working GIS solutions that solve real world problems, there is need for people to share knowl-edge and experiences that will create a prosperous and better society im-pacted by the use of geospatial tech-nologies,” said Simons.

Vice Chancellor, Prof. Mabel Im-buga in a speech read by Deputy Vice Chancellor (Administration) Prof. Victoria Ngumi, thanked Esri East Africa for sponsoring the con-ference and reported that JKUAT had mainstreamed GIS in education across all its academic disciplines especially the ICT Centre of Excel-lence and Open Data (iCEOD), the Department of Geomatic Engineer-ing and Geospatial Information Sys-tems (GEGIS) and the School of Computing and Information Tech-nology,” said Prof. Imbuga.

The Vice Chancellor also stated that JKUAT was currently the re-gional Centre of Excellence (CoE) in ICT for the Northern Corridor In-tegration Project (NCIP) and invited Esri East Africa to partner in finding and providing GIS solutions needed skills for the success of NCIP in the region.

Prof Wafula (L) interacts with Mr. Simons (Center) and Prof. Ngumi after the official opening of the conference.


30

Kenyan Students Could do Without the Unwanted Motivation


Taking time to walk along the many streets of our universities gives a clear picture of how Kenya has a great number of hardworking youths. As they walk with great fo-cus holding their bow and arrow to hit the bull’s eye called degree, mas-ters or diploma. A number of bill boards will show a vivid direction to the different schools of engineer-ing, law, medicine, health sciences, agriculture and less about human resource and development. Taking more little time to interact with

STUDENTS’ FORUM

31

these great Kenyans leaves your mind blown up with some discover-ies: Out of ten university students, eight are after a career they hardly have passion for. Two are lucky enough to follow their passion. The eight have a mission to complete their recent course, take the certifi-cate to their “dictators” and start a fresh to search for their way back to their very first love and passion.

Parents will brag about the success of their children who have degrees in law, medicine, and engineering,

among other “right careers”. Are such experiences helping the coun-try in any practical way? The young are learning under unwanted moti-vation, as parents spend lots of mon-ey on their children for their own (parents’) fulfillment, which on the other hand, turns out to be a waste of a bunch of years on the students.

-The writer is a Second Year stu-dent pursuing Bachelor of Mass Communication.

(Email:[email protected])

JKUSNA Elects New Officials

The Jomo Kenyatta Uni-versity Student Nurses Association (JKUSNA)

has elected new office bearers. The Association members went to the polls on 8th October 2015 that saw the following new officials elected: Maosa Cliff Kebaso (Chairman), Alunga Kevin (Vice Chairman), Lucy Kamunya (Secretary), Cam-mila Gisemba (Treasurer) and the Orodo Getrude Atieno (Organiz-ing Secretary). Other officials from the Nursing School are : Paul Mi-digo (Ex-Official Member), Athur Gichuki(Ex-Official Member), Phyllis Nzoka(Nursing Depart-ment Rep.), Charity Okemwa(1st Year Class Rep.) and Lawrence Baraza(3rd Year Class Rep.)

While officially declaring the re-sults, JKUSNA Elections Commit-tee Secretary Mr. Barasa Lawrence commended the electorate for voting peacefully, while the Dean, School of Nursing Dr. Peter Mwan-iki who met and congratulated the newly elected leaders and advised them to demonstrate high stan-dards of servant leadership without compromising their academic per-formance, but strive to strike a

delicate balance. On his part, JKUSNA Patron Mr.

Peter Monda applauded the elected officials and the JKUSNA member-ship for holding peacefulelections, and told them that JKUS-NA was the best forum to spear-head Community Engaged Learn-ing (CEL). This, he noted, would in turn help in addressing community needs as well as preparing them as transformative agents of change.

In line with the vision of JKUS-NA to be recognized as progressive nursing students who demonstrate

and deliver care, respect and dignity to other students and community at large, the Chairman Mr. Cliff Kebaso underscored the need for the elected officials to build a strong formidable team spirit in order to deliver on their noble mandate of making a dif-ference in a person’s life.

JKUSNA is a students’ nurses’ as-sociation registered early this year by the Dean of Students’ Office to enhance community outreach ser-vices through medical camps, health talks, among other objectives.

Cliff Kebaso (Chairman)

Gisemba Cammilla (Treasurer)

Alunga Kelvin(Vice Chair)

Getrude Orodo(Organizing Secretary)

Wanjiku Kamunya (Secretary)

Winnie Mbugua(Ex Official Member)

By Patrick Amunavi


How About Standing Your Ground for What is Right?

By Moses Hihu Mahugu

Quiet sessions of pon-dering and wondering over this issue may not

have yielded maximum fruit but at least, I figured out something. Whatever was once right is no longer alright because, it devi-ated, and this deviation is headed right to the grave.

This is an era of confusion where evil acts receive unimagi-nable celebration, while good deeds go unnoticed. Perhaps, this is the main reason whatever was good deviated to gain attention, recognition and celebration. And when good deviates, then it’s no more.

What is the ingredient in evil deeds that attracts many people? The media has to be the ingredi-ent. It has played a major role in redefining wrong deeds by mak-ing them look good. Evil deeds such as drug abuse and sexual im-morality, have been portrayed by different forms of media such as, social and mainstream media to look cool.

Advertisements, lyrical content in songs and photos or videos up-loaded by social media users are the elements of media that have changed the impression of wrong things. Most people, especially the youth would go to any length to claim that descriptive term ‘cool’ and thus indulge in these vices.

Back to reality. Evil is evil and wrong is wrong no matter how much wrong deeds are redefined by people to justify their low posi-tions on the ‘morality index’.

One’s individual understanding of wrong might vary over time, but consequences stand in the path of wrong doing.

You have seen them, scamper from the right path but come back in tears, it’s because they met head-on with consequences. Deviating from the right path is detrimental because it might perhaps cost you, your des-tiny. If you questioned why one has to deviate, justifications are the re-sponses to expect. Justification has given men false courage to claim to be okay while wallowing in wrong-doing. “You only live once, life is short, so have fun,” so they say.

At one point in life, we decide to test the waters. Some will test using their toes or fingers. Wise are they for they shall instantly confirm the waters are indeed deep. Some will progressively immerse their feet and finally their whole bodies to test the waters, and shall only realize when the waters have taken a heavy toll on them. It’s wise if one real-ized early enough that the adventure astray was not a worthy risk.

Putting this into perception, most youths have ditched their good ways and taken up bad ways simply be-cause, there is external pressure for them to change and they can’t resist. Youths intentionally lose their mor-als because they lack confidence in their identity in presence of their peers.

It is a high time for any soul concerned with children to take up seriously the role of building up self-confidence in a child especially during the developmental stages. Trying to be different by not devi-ating from the right path would be difficult for an individual if such an honorable course is not supported.

Apart from the external pres-sure upon one to change, one’s self is really crucial when making a decision. For one to stand his/her ground calls for one to have a strong inner- self. High self-esteem, self-confidence and dis cernment are values characteristic of a strong inner self.

Self-esteem implies confidence in one’s own worth or abilities: self-respect .This starts with ap-preciating one’s great importance, value and purpose in life. High self-esteem helps one to stick to his identity but not to change soas to please members of a peer group. Self-confidence is also rel-ative to high self-esteem because both revolve around believing in one’s self.

Discernment is a value that re-fers to the ability to make smart judgement about something. De-veloping this value is crucial es-pecially when making decisions. Such a mind analyzes the merits and demerits of all options at hand before settling on one as a final decision.

Life is about a series of interac-tions, when meandering through the uncertainties of our interac-tions, be certain to take what will have a positive impact in your life. This is a challenge to all, to uphold what is actually right not what that was formerly wrong but redefined to okay. This is a noble course, nobility comes with a price, but it is worth it…

-Moses Mahugu is a First Year student pursuing Agribusiness Economics and Food Industry Management. (Email:[email protected])

STUDENTS’ FORUM

32


Fundilima Housing Co-operative Society

Mwakita Fun Trip in Nanyuki

By Agritech News Reporter

By Lydia Kimundu

The call time was 7 O’clock sharp but due to Kenyans’ “peculiar

habits” the buses left “JKUAT Airport” past 7 am. By 10.15am however, thanks to the compe-tent drivers, we had arrived our destination which was a sight for tired eyes. The well-kept lawns welcomed us to Bantu Mountain lodge which is 15 kilometres from Nanyuki town. The fresh air and nice breeze was a welcome change

from the Juja weather. After a cup of tea and deli-

cious snacks, the fun began. One member who doubled up as our instructor took us through a se-ries of exercises. The day’s saying was: “wazee wako nyumbani”, as everyone irrespective of age took part in the fun and games. Child-hood songs and games were re-played and it was fun travelling down memory lane so many years ago…! A tug of war left members sweating and with aching arms but wow! It was so much fun!.

Members actualized their dreams of riding horses which turned out to be an exhilarating experience as the horse trot along the assigned routes.

Members also enjoyed boat rid-ing as they viewed sights of the expansive grounds. However, the most exciting experience for mem-bers was the hanging bridge where members went sky walking with the bridge swaying from side to side as members walked on it; a scary but definitely exciting experience for those who had the guts to take part.

Lunch was delicious after all the exercise and we can only say shukran to our welfare officials for the good planning and the Univer-sity Management for making it pos-sible for the trip to take place.

Mwakita is an acronym for “Muungano wa Watumishi wa Ki-ungo cha Taaluma” that was formed in 2007 as a welfare for the academ-ic division. Currently, it boasts of a membership of 180. Members are not limited to the initial academic division but are drawn from diverse university departments such as Academic Affairs, Catering, Halls, COPAS, Agriculture, SoDeL and Sports and Games.

In a bid to enhance the wel-fare of its members, Fundil-ima Housing Co-operative

Society has acquired 100 acres of prime land at Kantafu, off Kan-gundo Road, located along the proposed Greater Eastern by-pass. The land subdivided in 50x100ft is currently on sale with members

encouraged to purchase. According to the Society Ad-

ministrator, Dorothy Kathuku, the society boasts of over 800 mem-bers and has since 2010 been in-strumental in aiding them acquire land in prime areas at affordable prices. In keeping with its objec-tive of allowing every member to own a plot of land, the society has in the last 3 years procured land

for the members in Kitengela Phase 1 and 2, Thika Phase 1 and 2, Taita Taveta and Kamulu.

The Society, formed in 2010, is registered under the Ministry of Industrialization and Enterprise Development. It is an investment venture which was established with the mandate of identifying, buying, sub-dividing and selling land to its members at subsidized rates.

Mwakita members enjoying boat riding

– The writer works at the College of Pure and Applied Sciences.

STAFF WELFARE

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Legal Requirements Governing Occupational Safety and Health in Kenya (Part 1)

In this first installment of the two part series of this article, Daniel Omondi looks at a few regulations and subsidiary laws that deal with OSH issues.

By Daniel Omondi

The Constitution of Kenya’s Bill of Rights Chapter pro-vides for the rights and

fundamental freedoms of all citizens. Although this Constitution does not specifically address Occupational Safety and Health, it provides for the rights of every person to fair labour practices, reasonable working condi-tions, and a clean and healthy envi-ronment.

The Occupational Safety and Health services in Kenya are gov-erned by the Occupational Safety and Health Act, 2007 (OSHA 2007), and the Work Injury Benefits Act, 2007 (WIBA, 2007). The purpose of OSHA 2007, is to secure the safety, health and welfare of people at work, and to protect those not at work from risks to their safety and health arising from, or in connec-tion with, the activities of people at work. The purpose of WIBA 2007, is to provide compensation to em-ployees for work-related injuries and diseases contracted in the course of their employment, and for connected purposes.

There are also several regulations and subsidiary laws that deal with OSH issues. The regulations for-mulated by the Directorate of Oc-cupational Safety and Health Ser-vices (DOSHS) through tripartite collaborations include , “The Occu-pational Safety and Health (Wood-working Machinery) Rules, L.N. No. 431/1959.” The rules apply to workplaces in which any circular saw, pendulum saw, plain bandsaw, band mill, and band re-saw, planning machine, vertical spindle moulding machine, routing machine or chain-mortising machine operating on

wood are in use. The occupier is required to maintain the floors sur-rounding woodworking machines, and fence all dangerous parts of saws, mills and planning machines used for thicknessing, moulding, matching or tenoning, and all other machines.

The occupier is also required to encourage the use of push sticks with circular saws. Employees are expected to use the guards of the woodworking machines, keep them correctly adjusted, and use the spikes or push-sticks and holder.

The Occupational Safety and Health (Examination of Plant) Or-der:

This Order specifies procedure for preparation of steam boilers for examination; other plants requiring regular inspection, and prescribed format in which reports of examina-tion of plants should be prepared.

The Occupational Safety and Health (Docks) Rules, L.N. No. 306/1962:

These rules apply to the processes of loading, unloading, moving and handling goods in, on or at any dock, wharf or quay in any port or harbour in Kenya, and to the processes of loading and unloading any ship in any such port or harbour.

The rules ensure the provision of facilities on shore, including light-ing, first-aid boxes, stretchers, am-bulances, drinking water, sanitary conveniences and washing facili-ties, and means of access to the ship. They also provide for general safety provisions on board ship, including access from the ship, access to holds and lifting machinery, marking of hatch coverings, hand grips,

precautions where dangerous fumes and dust are liable to be present, and protective clothing.

The Occupational Safety and Health (Cellulose and Other In-flammable Solutions) Rules, L.N. No. 231/1957:

These rules apply to workplaces in which cellulose solutions are used or stored. “Cellulose solu-tion” means any solution in inflam-mable liquid of cellulose nitrate, cellulose acetate or other cellulose compound, or of celluloid, or any other substance containing cel-lulose nitrate, cellulose acetate or other cellulose compound, with or without the admixture of other sub-stances. The rules require the oc-cupier to give notice to the Director of Occupational Safety and Health Services of his or her intention to use or store cellulose solutions; to construct cellulose cabinets, cellu-lose spaces and ventilating ducts; to take precautions against the ignition of cellulose solutions, flammable liquids and solid residues; and to provide fire exits, metal containers for disposal of waste material, and fixed storage facilities. The rules prohibit smoking, open flames or naked lights in the workplace, and require persons using cellulose so-lutions to make use of ventilating and other appliances.

-The writer is a Ph.D. student pursu-ing Occupational Safety and Health at the Institute of Energy and Envi-ronmental Technology (JKUAT).

– The second and final part to be continued in the next Agritech News Issue of January - March

2016

WORK PLACE & SAFETY

34


In this first part of the two part series of this article, Simon Njagi discusses causes, types and diagnosis of high blood pressure.

Understanding High Blood Pressure (Part 1)

By Simon Kimaru NjagiFactors associated with hypertension are poorly understood by public:

(The European societies of hypertension and cardiology guidelines)

Hypertension is defined as elevated blood pressure (tension) in our arteries

making it hard for the heart to pump blood. The blood pressure readings are given as two numbers: Systolic –upper reading, (pressure in the arter-ies as heart contracts) and Diastolic – lower reading, (pressure in the ar-teries as heart relaxes).

Hypertension is usually diagnosed if the blood pressure is above 140/90 mmHg on at least two separate oc-casions. (World Health Organization /International society of hyperten-sion criteria) Hypertension is among the leading causes of death world-wide and the most chronic problem prompting visits to primary health care.

According to WHO, high blood pressure is estimated to cause 7.5 million, about 12.8% of all total death. About 1/3 of all adults in most communities in developed and devel-oping world have hypertension. As of the year 2000, approximately 26% of the world adult population had hy-pertension. In Africa, the prevalence is on the rise reaching 29% as of the year 2010 and in the year 2013, over 76 million adults were affected.

A recent survey conducted in Nairobi by Astrazeneca, estimated that nearly half Kenyan adults have raised blood pressure and most are unaware of their hypertensive state. Prevalence of high blood pressure increases with age, obesity, alcohol intake and smoking.Hypertension is a major contributor to a number of diseases including heart attack, kid-ney failure or stroke.What are the causes of hyperten-sion?

The majority (80-90%) of adults

with high blood pressure have pri-mary hypertension (sometimes called essential hypertension). The cause of primary hypertension is not known, however, some of the factors which can contribute to high blood pressure include:

(i) Genetic factors- blood pres-sure tends to run in families. Chil-dren of hypertensive parents are likely to have higher blood pressure than their peers.

(ii) Obesity- increased body weight is a worldwide problem and is as a result of excessive food intake against reduced physical activity. Obesity is also associated with dia-betes mellitus and high cholesterol levels.

(iii) Salt intake-high salt (sodi-um) intakes have been shown to be a major factor in elevation of blood pressure, while restriction of salt in-take has shown beneficial effects.

(iv) Cigarette smoking-Tobacco use is a worldwide problem associ-ated with hypertension, lung cancer, coronary heart diseases, and peptic ulcer diseases among others.Secondary hypertension- is where blood pressure elevation is the result of a specific and potentially treatable cause. The causes include chronic kidney diseases, thyroid diseases, oral contraceptives, pregnancy, ste-roids, diabetes and excessive aldo-steron secretion. How do you make diagnosis of hy-pertension?

Blood pressure can be measured

using an instrument called sphyg-momanometer and a stethoscope; alternatively automated electronic devices are available. An inflatable pressure bag is wrapper around the upper arm. Cuffs that fit the finger or wrist are often inaccurate and should be discouraged. The patient’s arm being used for the measure-ment should be at the same level as the heart, with the arm resting com-fortably on a table. It is preferable to take 2 readings, 1-2 minutes apart. Hypertension usually does not pro-duce any symptoms and is therefore referred to as a “silent killer”. It is typically detected during a routine health check-up or during an evalu-ation of another clinical problem. However some patients develop dizziness, headache with visual dis-turbance, epistaxis (nose bleeding), fatigue and nervousness. To make a diagnosis of hypertension depends on higher than normal systolic/dia-stolic blood pressure on at least two measurements. Other diagnostic measures are:(i) History, i.e. family history, medical history ,(ii) Physical ex-amination which includes-weight, height, body mass index (BMI), waist circumference, signs of heart failure and complication of hyper-tension, (iii) Test-full haemogram, urinalysis, lipid profile, and ECG.

– The final part will be published in the next Agritech News Issue of

January - March 2016

HEALTH MATTERS

35


How to Ease Home to School Transition for Kids

The Value of Play in Child Growth and Development

By Mercy Gachuhi

By Anne Mwangi

Crying, screaming, clinch-ing to family member who just dropped a child

to school, parents hugging and kiss-ing the child goodbye, again and again ( I guess this acts as an assur-ance to each party that all is going to be alright). Here are a few things that you as a parent could do to en-hance smooth home to school tran-sition for your child:

Play is the universal lan-guage of childhood. It is through play that children

understand each other and make sense of the world around them. Children learn so much from play; it teaches them social skills such as

sharing, turn taking, self-discipline and tolerance of others. Anna Freud (1962) defined play as an acceptable behavior which a child expresses his/ her emotions and impulses. Evidence from observational, institutional and intervention studies all suggest that children’s early cognitive growth de-pends on the availability sharing,

Visit the school with your child, ask many questions as you please in order to have as much infor-mation as possible, shopping for the best school for your child may be hectic but I think it pays off eventually.While at school, allow the child to manipulate the play equipment and to mingle with other chil-dren.Take the child away from home and immediate family mem-bers from time to time, e.g. at a friend’s place, with an extended member of the family, etc. for at least thirty to six minutes. This loosens them up progressively. Shop together for the items they will require for school.

Life skills like toileting, cleaning their nose, washing hands, han-dling eating equipment like cups, spoons, their lunchboxes should be trained beforehand.Upon the first day at school, have ample time so as to allow smooth parting. It is okay, if they resent a little. Get them into the class and have them settle. Depending on how you weigh the situation, you may just say goodbye or sneak out.Be at peace even as you leave, let your child know that he/she is in good hands that you have left them. Give the care giver (teacher) and every information you may deem relevant.

It is of great importance that the child is picked on time as delay brings about anxiety and makes the child dislike/hate school. They re-ally enjoy being picked at the time their peers are being picked.Parents/guardians should under-stand that this is just a milestone and their children will manage and crossover to the point of indepen-dence. Proper cooperation and prompt communication are a must between the care giver (teacher) and the parents during these first days.

-The writer teaches at JKUAT Nursery School.(Email:[email protected])

EARLY CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT

36

JKUAT Nursery School Graduads during their graduation ceremony on November 6th, 2015

Continued on the next page


Value of Play in Child Developmentturn taking, self-discipline and tolerance of others. Anna Freud (1962) defined play as an ac-ceptable behavior which a child expresses his/ her emotions and impulses. Evidence from obser-vational, institutional and inter-vention studies all suggest that children’s early cognitive growth depends on the availability of stimulating objects.

Young children’s mental abili-ties are stimulated when they play with a variety of interesting ma-terials, when they are allowed to explore their surrounding and when they receive encouragement from the caregivers.Although objects/materials cannot provide children with the wide range of spontaneous social interactions that another per-son can provide, some objects do re-act as they are acted on by the chil-dren like boxes pop open, squeeze toys squeak and rocking horses can rock.

Play materials NOT only affects children’s intellectual development but they also have immediate ef-fect on their activities. Children seem to develop best when the ob-jects available for play are matched to their level of development. Out-door, playground equipment help in the development of large motor skills like running, climbing, skip-ping, jumping, dancing, racing and swinging. Through these activities children are able to realize both their physical accomplishments and limi-tations and other rules of the game. As they play they develop positive attitudes in sharing and turn taking.

They also derive pleasure as they exercise their muscles during out-door play. Apart from satisfaction and pleasure, these activitieshelp the children to strengthen their large muscles, develop vocabulary while at the same time having fun -Anne is a teacher at JKUAT Nursery School.

(Email:[email protected])

EARLY CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT

37

and amusements, thereby learning to socialize, build self - confidence, self-esteem and actualization.

Children like playing and there-fore the caregivers need to provide adequate and appropriate materials, guidance, stimulation and care. The outdoor play equipment should be safe for children’s use as well as maintain-able. They should always be checked by the caregiver before the children are allowed to use.

When children play outdoors, they are less aggressive, more mature and co-operative. Their games can be long and complex. Indoor play materials en-courage more talkative and elaborate social interactions. Building materials promote rich and complex play. Sand, soil, clay, buttons, bottle tops and other materials for “messing around” encourage creative, experimental but somewhat less complex play.

Small toys like seeds and beads encourage still less complex play as children do what the materials sug-gest. Some materials hold children’s attention longer than others depending on their interests and cognitive growth. When materials are scarce or fixed and inflexible children do less playing than watching, waiting or cruising/ moving around. Their play is neither complex nor intellectually challenging (Clarke – Stewart 1982).

Limiting the number of available toys and limited space makes the chil-dren act more physically and aggres-sively with others and more destruc-tively with the materials. They also seem to spend more time doing nothing and less time running, jumping, chas-ing one another and interacting. When the classrooms are crowded the amount of hitting, laughing, anxious behaviour (finger sucking, hand holding) and physical contact increases, large body movements decrease and there are feel-ings of tension and anxiety.

Humour

Quarrels

A Woman’s Age is the Deepest

Secret

By Donna Onserio

Lazarus: Hey, you know what? There will be NO women in heav-en!Leonard: Why not?Lazarus: I was just reading Rev-elation 8:1 that for half an hour, there was SILENCE in heaven.All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy and Jill a wealthy widow

Two men were talking about their wives:Ngure: We had a tough quarrel yesterday, but finally she came crawling to me on her hands and knees.Kisato: What did she say? Was she asking for forgiveness?Ngure: She said, ‘Ngure, come out from under that bed and fight like a man.’

Four women got into a terrible argument. After much yelling, screaming and pulling of hair, one of them called out, “I am going to report this to the Chief!”The other three wanted to get there first and what resulted was all four rushed into the Chief’s office each trying to be the first to relate her complaints. Charges and countercharges filled the air.The Chief called for order. When quiet had been restored, he de-cided to show some of Solomon’s wisdom by announcing, “Alright ladies, I will hear one at a time. The OLDEST can speak first.”A deafening silence fell…That closed the case! -Unknown


Deputy Vice Chancelor Prof. Romanus Odhiambo(2nd Left) receives the hosting rights for the Eastern Africa University Games from the President of

EAUSF Mr Cyriaco Kabagambe . Looking on (L) is the Dean of students Mrs Emma Omulokoli and EAUSF Sec Gen Dr Si

The JKUAT Karate Team (Morwins) display the trophy they clinched after winning the Inter-clubs Karate championship in Mombasa during the National Clubs Championship that was held on 14th & 15th November 2015. The men scooped position two in Kata while the ladies took position three. In KUMITE,

the ladies were position four as the men emerged winners, making history since JKUAT Morwins became the first University to ever claim position one in

KUMITE.

38

JKUAT to Host the 10th Edition of the Eastern Africa University Games in 2016

By Hellen Ngethe

Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) will host the 10th

Edition of the Eastern African Uni-versity Games in December 2016 with the Main games village based at the Juja Main Campus and other accredited hostels near the campus.

Through the Sports and Games Department, JKUAT expressed interest and applied for the host-ing rights, which was granted by the East Africa University Sports Federation (EAUSF). More so, the university has successfully hosted nine editions of Annual JKUAT Sports Day and two editions of the National Women’s Sports day and therefore has the capacity to hold an event of this magnitude.

This event will bring together participating teams from amongst the universities in the region.

These universities were initially from Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Bu-rundi and Rwanda, but the member-ship has expanded to include South-ern Sudan and the Horn of Africa nations.

The games aim at promoting unity amongst the East Afri-can countries through sports as a universal language, and are modelled on the Olympic Games with competition in all major disciplines, such as Football, Handball, Basketball, Athlet-ics, Badminton, Swimming and many more.

We expect to host over 3,500 athletes, over 500 Sports Tutors and over 500 Technical Officials.

JKUAT is ready to host this event which, with the support of sponsors, may require addition-al sporting facilities e.g. soccer and hockey pitches.

Prior to the commencement of the games, there will be a two-day sports workshop for all sports tutors and administrators from the participating universi-ties.

Plans are underway and com-mittees have been set up in or-der to start planning for the games which will be officially launched early next year.

SPORTS NEWS


The challenge attracted 18 teams drawn from various Engineering programmes in JKUAT. The teams were tasked to come up with func-tional, durable, cost effective and genders sensitive donkey carts de-signs.Africaqua Chief Executive Of-ficer, David Kuria, said in order to effectively and holistically solve so-cietal problems, there is need for the academia to link up with industries and engage in collaborative research and initiatives.

Mr. Kuria lauded the students for taking time out of their normal stud-ies to engage with the local commu-nities for the success of the competi-tion and said he was confident that the prototype that will emanate from the designs presented would be ef-ficient and effective for water trans-portation especially in the rural area. Acting Vice Chancellor, Prof. Rom-anus Odhiambo thanked Africaqua and Water.org for their effort in

ensuring that the competition ran smoothly and was pleased by the number of female students who took up the challenge.

“I want to commend Africaqua for the work they do with the local com-munities and encourage them to keep up the excellent work of enhancing people’s livelihood especially those in rural areas,” said Prof. Odhiambo.

Principal COETEC, Prof. Bernard Ikua was impressed by the determi-nation and teamwork shown

by the teams and challenged Africaqua and other organisations to bring more challenges like this one, assuring them that JKUAT has a great pool of innovative and cre-ative students who will always rise up to the occasion.

The jury of the competition com-prised of Eng. Reuben Mutevu, Dr. K. Njoroge and Mr. David Kweri. The prototype of the donkey cart design will be out by the end of February, 2016.

Cricket Kenya Boosts Varsity’s Cricket Team

Donkey Cart Competition Winners

By Stephen Wakhu

The University’s Crick-et team has received a cricket kit donation boost

worth Kshs. 200,000 from Cricket Kenya.

The donation is a significant boost as the team prepared for the first ever University Cricket League which commenced in September, this year.

While delivering the Kit, Tues-day, September 22, 2015, Cricket Kenya General Manager, Josphat

Murithi said, Cricket Kenya is car-rying out a cricket awareness pro-gramme and hopes that it could cascade cricket from secondary school level to university level. The Dean of Students, Emma Omulo-koli, commended Cricket Kenya for their support and acknowledged that the kit will go a long way in enhancing the cricket team’s com-petitiveness in the up- coming league that comprises eight teams namely; JKUAT, Kenyatta Uni-versity, Mount Kenya University, United States International Univer-sity, St. Paul’s University, African Nazareen University, Multi-Media University and Co-operative Uni-versity College. Mr. Murithi was accompanied by Tom Tikolo and Pauline Njeru. Also present during the ceremony was the Sports Direc-tor, Moses Ondeng’.

Dean of Students, Omulokoli (2nd left) receives the cricket kit from Mr. Murithi. Lookin on is Mr. Ondeng (left), Pauline Njeru (2nd right) and

Tom Tikolo (right)

Mr. Kuria (Left)and Prof. Odhiambo(2nd Right) present the cheque to Mr. Sabasaba (2nd Left) and Mr. Muiruri(Center). Looking on is Prof. Ikua

Continued from page 29

SPORTS NEWS


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