Faculty Wins Partnership Supported by the Royal Academy of Engineering, UK

Prof. Japheth Ogalo Onyando

As a Faculty we are proud of our graduates because they are preferred in the job market. This is because our teaching incorporates an extensive practical component comprising three industrial attachments that sharpen the skills  of  our  students. Annually  the Faculty declares an undergraduate capacity of 150 places. Currently, the total student population is 879. At the postgraduate level we attract students locally and internationally, mainly from Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda, and South Sudan.

A number of activities are going on in the departments. For example, in the Department of Agricultural Engineering, staff are actively engaged in research in a number of projects. The projects include Adaptation of Water

Harvesting Technologies for Increased Food Production in ASALs, targeting Baringo, Kajiado, Machakos and Taita Taveta Counties; and Validation of Improved Biomass Cook Stoves in Baringo and West Pokot Counties, both sponsored by the Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organisation (KALRO). The Department is also collaborating with Virginia Tech in USA on the Global Opportunities Initiative   project   with   focus   on building partnerships, leadership skills, and creating opportunities globally for staff and students. Another project sponsored by the Orange Knowledge Programme focuses on capacity building in Technologies for Water Smart and Climate Smart in nexus with agriculture, which targets TVET institutions.

The Department of Industrial and Energy Engineering (IEEN) successfully wrote a proposal that won a partnership for collaboration between Egerton University and Moi University supported by the Royal Academy of Engineering (UK). This was an open call under the framework of the Higher Education Partnership for Sub-Saharan Africa   (HEPSSA)   Phase III Programme which is intended to enhance Industry - Academia collaboration as well as to develop innovative methods in Engineering Education. This initiative is supported by the University of Highlands and Islands, UK; University of Leeds, UK; Konza Technopolis Development Authority (KoTDA); the Institution of Engineers  of  Kenya  (IEK);  Rivatex E a s t   Africa   Limited   (REAL) ; Engineers  Board  of  Kenya  (EBK);

Busitema University, Uganda; Murang'a  University  of Technology; Egerton University; and Technical University of Mombasa (TUM). The kick-off meeting for the programme was held on 4 – 5 February 2021 in Nakuru with discussions focusing on “Delivery of Engineering Academic Programmes in the Wake of the Covid-

19 pandemic”. The Faculty will use this opportunity to strengthen its linkage with the industry and also establish bilateral collaborations with institutions in the consortium.

The Department of Electrical and Control Engineering (ECEN) has been exploring opportunities for collaboration with the Kenya Space Agency (KSA) to host a Research Chair  on  Microsatellite  Technology Development, “Nanosatellite Development”. The Department made a  presentation  on  the  same on 28 September 2020 where both staff and students participated. In addition, the Department participated in the space sector stakeholder workshop organised by KSA held in Nairobi on 24 – 25

February 2021. The workshop focused on earth observation and Applications, and Space Engineering, Space Science and Space Law and identified challenges hampering space development in Kenya. These will be used to inform the development of programmes in the Department so as to respond to market needs. Other areas of collaboration being explored by the Departments are through the Industry Academia Platform (IAP), the Geothermal Development Company (GDC), KenGen, and Scode.

The   Department   of   Civil   and Environmental Engineering has a standing collaboration with the Kenya Meteorological Department which has ensured sustenance of recording of metrological data from the weather station in the Faculty. The station is one of the best nationally and has records of metrologicaldata since 1955, especially rainfall data. The data is being used in research and practice in collaboration with the Kenya Meteorological Department, Nakuru County, in detection of climate change occurrence and downscaling weather data for early warning at local level. Postgraduate students from the Faculty and others are also using the data to calibrate near real time livestream meteosat data from GEONETCAST for land use change studies and watershed management, among others.

Dean, Faculty of Engineering and Technology.