Vice-Chancellor speech during International Summer School 2023
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Vice-Chancellor speech during International Summer School 2023
Opening Remarks by Professor Deogratius Jaganyi at the opening ceremony of the ACCESS International Summer School Kenya-2023
Prof. Dickson Andala, The Chief Executive Officer, National Research Fund, who is our Chief Guest
Madam Miranda Pendo, TVET Programme Coordinator, Kenya Association of Manufacturers, who is our guest speaker
MEMBERS OF PANEL SESSION:
Mr. Stephen Ogenga (MIEEE, FIET-K)-Director General, National Industrial Training Authority, Kenya
Mr. Douglas Kuria, CEO & Managing Director, NeoKenya Mpya Ltd, Kenya
Prof. Collins Miruka, Director, School of Business and Management Science, Technical University of Kenya.
ACCESS Board Members, Coordinators, and Participants from Benin, Tunisia, Nigeria, Ghana, Rwanda and Germany.
Our Local Sponsors and Partners, Members of Industry, Members of Academia, Invited Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen.
It is my honour and privilege to welcome you all to the 3rd ACCESS International Summer School 2023 at Mount Kenya University.
I am aware that ACCESS is a strong network initiated by the University of Leipzig and the six African partner universities in 2020 to identify and develop new approaches to the labor market needs in Africa. As stated by ACCESS Director, “The number of African university graduates will continue to rise in the coming years and as partners, we must work together by bringing our different diversities to work, so that we can offer our young talents a professional future of their own. I am aware that, ACCESS has put in place significant structural and methodological contribution in ACCESS-Africa so as to roll-out the network’s ideas to other 30 universities by 2024.”
In view, of this, I wish to inform ACCESS that Mount Kenya University has approved through the University Council the establishment of Graduate Centre for Career Enhancement and Skill Support to foster the Service-Learning strategy with the industries you will meet today. This is an offshoot unit of the Kenya ACCESS Team, led by the ACCESS Coordinator, Dr. Yatich. We are hopeful that by leveraging the problems faced by industry, our postgraduate students will provide “service” to the industry by solving their challenges as part of their research projects, while utilizing the same study to fulfil their “research” academic requirement.
Mount Kenya University is also actively following-up on the Industry engagements to ensure a robust synergy that can lead to progressive improvement in our curriculum offering and quality of our graduates. Some of the initiatives that Mount Kenya University has launched in the recent past is the MKU Innovation and Incubation Centre, which has seen the identification and selection of 7 innovative ideas ready for acceleration and commercialization with support from innovation hubs and start-ups. This in addition to MKU being the trainer for nursing opportunities in Germany. I am informed that the His Excellency, the German Ambassador has promised to visit MKU to explore among other opportunities the nursing training programme and the ACCESS project.
I believe that ACCESS will go beyond its scope and identify new teaching methods by infusing innovation into its mandate to strengthen the employability of African students.
Today and in the next 4 days, it is my hope that the robust engagement you will have among the partners, guest speakers and the industry-academia session on Thursday, will result in the next strategic steps for ACCESS and its agenda. I challenge you to explore and examine the sustainability of ACCESS even beyond its funding period, so as to promote sustained opportunities among African Student in the global labour market.
Ladies and Gentlemen, it gives great pleasure to announce the 3rd International Summer School Kenya, 2023-OPEN.
