91�� - university students

Alumni targets 1000 students for scholarship

enekesa — Fri, 13 Mar 2020 09:33:18 +0000

It was a dream come true for some 52 bright and needy students from the 91�� as they received scholarships from the 91�� Alumni Association, (UONAA) on March 13, 2020 at the Vice Chancellors Parlour.

Speaking during the event, Alumni Association Chairman, Mr. Isaac Awuondo observed that about 4000 students have benefited from the yearly scholarships, since the Alumni Association was established in 2005. He said that the aim to support scholarship beneficiaries get internships, jobs, work study programs and mentorship from the Alumni. The scholarship opportunities are only open to first years, but overwhelming applications were received from continuing students, signaling the need to broaden the list of beneficiaries.

Mr. Awuondo, who doubles up as the Chairman, NCBA, decried the low number of ladies who applied for the scholarships. “There were only 23% of female applicants compared to 77% of male applicants. We need more sensitization to ensure that more female students benefit. We need a 50-50 representation of the beneficiaries,” he said.

52 beneficiaries of UONAA scholarship award 2020

“Today, 50 students get two million shillings, forty thousand shillings each, from six colleges and 16 schools. I want to thank the office of Dean of Students, who provided two scholarship opportunities bringing the number to 52,” he said. He observed that going forward, the Alumni Association would be organizing get together events where well established and prominent alumni, will get opportunity to network and support up to 1000 bright and needy students from their Alma matter.

The 91�� Vice Chancellor, Prof. Stephen Kiama, challenged the Alumni Association to play a leading role in branding the university, support public lectures, link up with career services and provide internships and mentorship to students. They were challenged to support student attachments, internships, work-study programs among others. The Alumni were also tasked to come up with data driven management system, that will enable the University to track and do trace studies of all the 250,000 plus alumni. “We need to know, how many of our alumni are CEOs, how many are in parastatals, government, industry, Parliament among others,” he said.

The 91�� congratulates all the awardees.

Scholarship, university students

Africa Mobility Initiative (AMI) Opens Call for Startups

enekesa — Tue, 10 Mar 2020 12:12:03 +0000

The Africa Mobility Initiative through its accelerator program, Africa Transformative Mobility Accelerator (ATMA) is calling startups in the mobility industry to apply to join the accelerator’s 2020 cohort. The open application is LIVE on africamobilityinitiative.com and will run till 31^st March 2020.

The Africa Mobility Initiative (AMI) is supported by Shell Foundation a UK charity, and the Transformative Urban Mobility Initiative (TUMI) and is looking for startups with operations in either Kenya or Uganda. Startups and innovations addressing access to sustainable mobility in the informal transport sector and working towards provision of transformative solutions to urban mobility challenges are invited to apply.

Upon application, 8 selected startups will get an opportunity to immerse themselves to the mobility ecosystems in Kenya and Uganda. They will also get linkages to partners who are interested in mobility startups like GIZ, Shell Foundation, UNHABITAT as well as Government agencies and officials in the participating countries.

Other benefits attached to the six- month’s acceleration period include:

1. Immersion trips into local ecosystems in Kenya and Uganda through four in-person exchanges

2. Coaching and mentorship from local and international mobility and enterprise development experts.

3. Networking with mobility stakeholders, practitioners and enthusiasts in four separate sessions that will be organized in Nairobi and Kampala between May and September 2020.

4. A series of planned seminars that will be facilitated by subject matter experts in relevant topics such as mobility, value proposition design & problem solution fit, business modeling & product/service market fit, customer acquisition, financial modeling and investor relations.

5. Pitching to a selected and curated pool of investors during the Africa Transformative Mobility Summit in October 2020 in Nairobi, Kenya

6. A grant of up to $25,000 for the top startups during the Mobility Summit in October 2020.

Interested applicants must have a demonstrable product or service (Minimum Viable Product), be able to present an innovative and scalable solution to a well-articulated challenge, be able to demonstrate ability to generate revenue, be for profit and have at least 2 team members. Early Stage and Seed Startups alongside those in pre-series A stage are highly encouraged to apply.

About Partners

Shell Foundation.

Shell Foundation (SF) is a UK-registered charity, founded by Shell in 2000, that creates and scales business solutions to enhance access to energy and affordable transport to serve the low-income communities most affected by these issues.

It does this by supporting innovators to test new technology and enterprise models that can contribute towards the SDGs, achieve financial independence and operate at scale.

Transformative Urban Mobility Initiative (TUMI)

The Transformative Urban Mobility Initiative (TUMI) is a leading global implementation initiative on sustainable mobility formed through the union of 11 prestigious partners. TUMI supports transport projects all around the world and enables policy makers to transform urban mobility. TUMI believes in sustainable mobility for a better future.

UN-HABITAT

UN-Habitat is a United Nations (UN) organ that works for a better urban future. It is based in over 90 countries. It promotes the development of socially and environmentally sustainable cities, towns & communities. UN-Habitat strives for adequate shelter with better living standards for all.

C4DLab

C4DLab is a prototyping and innovative startup incubation lab at the School of Computing and Informatics, 91��. It has previously housed the TUMI Accelerator, a Kenyan based mobility accelerator that provides technical support to startups that work towards provision of transformative solutions to urban mobility challenges. 8 startups graduated from its first cohort.

Innovation, startups, university students, call for startups

EABL senior women mentor female students

enekesa — Thu, 05 Mar 2020 06:14:07 +0000

91�� female students had a rare opportunity to engage senior women employees from East Africa Breweries Limited, EABL who encouraged them to chart their own path since life doesn’t have a manual.

Female students were being mentored by senior women from EABL as part of the spirited women international women’s day celebrations. The event happened on March 4, 2020.

Speaking during the event, Margaret Njue, Diageo Africa Technical Safety Manager, outlined in detail her journey from campus to the top of the Nairobi Securities Exchange listed manufacturing giant. She explained the ups and downs in her journey working for several companies before finally joining EABL. She encouraged students to take what comes their way and avoid choosing jobs. “In my first job, after my boss was promoted, I knew for sure that I would automatically fill his position. Shock on me, a gentleman was recruited and I was ignored. I took the opportunity to learn everything about safety at the work place. I read a lot. Everyday was a learning opportunity for me. One year later, I become so good and I replaced him since he couldn’t perform and he left the company, “she said.

Having a mentor is very important. “What helped me, earlier in life was having a mentor who guided me. We are here as your mentors, take the advantage,” she quipped. Margaret learnt quickly to turn challenges into opportunities. Due to her petite figure, she was frequently dismissed and hence she learnt to speak sense and get the company directors attention. “Learn to speak sense, people will begin to listen”, she observed.

With over 15 years’ experience working in several companies including Safaricom Limited, Margaret Njue cautioned students against having a bad online presence. “Avoid posting some pictures on the social media, especially LinkedIn, because people from the Human Resource department are on the prowl. Some pictures and somethings you post on social media may work against you, “ she said.

On self-confidence, Margaret opined that having a self-talk is key in improving ones self-confidence. She challenges female student to have a self-talk to remove self-doubt and improve their self-confidence. On getting opportunities, she urged women to apply for as many opportunities as possible, even if they don’t have all the qualifications. “You know what, guys will always apply for these jobs. Women rarely apply, if they don’t have all the required qualifications. Please, I urge you, apply anyway,” she said.

During the questions and answer session, students were told the importance of charting their own path. Life doesn’t have a manual. Chart your own path.

91��, university students, international women's day

Two wrongs don’t make it right!

enekesa — Mon, 02 Mar 2020 11:29:05 +0000

That was the key subject of discussion during the first ever dialogue event between the students and National Police Service held at Taifa Hall on Friday February 28, 2020.

The relationship between students and police historically has not been cordial but that is going to change due to the discourse that Amnesty International and 91�� began. The event provided an opportunity for students and the police to openly discuss matters conflict, insecurity and law enforcement within and outside university premises. The discourse presented a mutual understanding of security situations, fears and anxieties that exist from the viewpoints of law enforcement agencies and students.

Kenya Police Service Spokesman Charles Owino said that the Police are a very important unit of the society and that for it to function better, there was need for collaborations with all spheres of society.

“We want the best relationships possible with students so that we can effectively address safety and insecurity issues within the university.” Owino said.

“The 91��, is a very important institution for us and we are really interested in forging a harmonious working relationship through these dialogues, so that when we encounter difficult situations at one point- at least we are able to understand each other as humans even as we search for truth amidst suspicion, conflict and doubt.”

National Police Service Director of Reforms, Charles Ombati noted that Kenya Police Service had tremendously improved its operational capacity and preparedness in respect to all policing aspects.

“We have regulated the use of force and firearms, we are training our officers on human rights and conflict management as well as addressing their psychosocial welfare including mental health.” Ombati said.

“Although we have promoted the aspect of transformational leadership within the police service, we still need a closer working relationship with you because reforms take time to be fully effective.” He added.

In a lively comments, question and answers section, majority of the students commended Police service for initiating a dialogue with them. “We believe this is a new beginning in the relationship between police and students.” Mark Makori, a Political Science student remarked.

We can foresee a situation where students are trustable partners with law enforcement agencies in the fight against crime. A situation where students are treated with respect and in a humane way during demonstrations or other conflict situations.” He added.

Amnesty International Kenya executive director Houghton Irungu, in his speech enlightened students on their rights and at the same time called upon the police to be professional and accountable while discharging their duties.

91�� Director of Corporate Affairs, John Orindi appreciated students for expressing their concerns with the police while also providing suggestions on what could be improved. “The Police Service should continue dialoguing with students so that we can have better working relationships and safe environment for studies and work." He said.

Discourse at 91��, 91��, university students

AICAT 2020/2021 COHORT INTERVIEWS

enekesa — Fri, 28 Feb 2020 12:52:51 +0000

The Office of Career Services will hold interviews for students applicants interested in enrolling for the Arava International Centre for Agricultural Training (AICAT) 11-months agricultural diploma training on March 11^th and 12^th, 2020 at the 91�� Towers, 4^th floor. The 2020/2021 cohort will be the 4^th group of students to be admitted to the program.

The 91�� through the Career Office has been partnering with AICAT to offer hands on agricultural training to the College of Agriculture and Veterinary Sciences students since 2017. This is in line with the Big 4 agenda on agriculture and food security.

Based on the five year Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Government of Kenya and the State of Israel, 91�� is expected to send two more cohorts of students to Israel in 2020 and 2021. The 2020 selection will be the fourth cohort of students to be sent to Israel in July 2020.

http://careerservices.uonbi.ac.ke/2020/02/28/aicat-2020-2021-cohort-interviews/

91�� partners, university students

Going Green: Inter-university Engineering Students Symposium

enekesa — Wed, 26 Feb 2020 08:50:15 +0000

Engineering students have been challenged to come up with solutions to climate change and exchange ideas with leading innovators in the world, Israel.

Speaking during the event, Israel Deputy Ambassador to Kenya, H. E. Eyal David, opined that they are ready to help students with innovation. As a country, they are very strong on innovation. “We are ready to share our technology, our experiences and our expertise with you, " he said.

Israel has been a strong partner in supporting the 91�� innovation ecosystem, dubbed, Nairobi Innovation Week, since its inception in 2014. During its launch, the Israel Embassy brought in Saul Singer, the author of Start Up Nation, who gave a keynote address on Israel's technology innovation and start up ecosystem. Saul Singer, spoke of the challenges, the success stories they have had in the past. He opined that the revenue from technology innovation has since surpassed revenue from agriculture.

Engineering students who held a two-day symposium with the theme: Going Green, were a encouraged to embrace farming and come up with technologies that will help in improving farming yields and dealing with climate change. They were urged to visit Israel under the program ‘Mashav’ based in Arava in Telaviv.

university students follow proceedings at the IESA conference 2020 on February 20-21

Over the last five years, Israel has been taking over 100 Kenyan students to Israel on 11 months internship program. During this period, students learn agribusiness techniques that have enabled Israel to be the bloom in the desert. The aim is to help students get experiential learning and gain skills that they can practice once they are back into the country. The Ambassador challenged more students to enroll for the yearly program after the completion of their studies. They will not only have a chance to learn high tech agriculture, but will also have a chance to visit the Holy Land and see some of the historical places as captured in the Bible. “You will walk in the footsteps of Jesus. You will see the places Jesus visited. The Bible will come real to you", said the Deputy Ambassador.

Making the desert bloom is about water management. The Ambassador remembered with nostalgia, how they were told as little children to 'save every drop of water'. Israel as a country uses 90% of recycled water for agricultural purposes. They use drip irrigation to conserve water. Water source is 50% from natural water and 20% from desalination.

The Ambassador invited Arava Alumni to an event in May, where all alumni have been challenged to bring their business plans and get funding from Israel financial institutions.

The 91�� Vice Chancellor, Prof. Stephen Kiama took the opportunity to challenge students to be active participants in affordable housing and manufacturing, the two key pillars in the Big Four Agenda of the government. "We need secure habitable houses," he said. In the recent past, Kenyans have witnessed with shock buildings collapsing, this is partly attributed to poor workmanship and engineering.

"Manufacturing can be a game changer for our country. We need your creativity to grow the economy. Microsoft, Apple were all started by young people like you", he said. The Vice Chancellor was represented by Prof. Enos Njeru, the Principal, College of Humanities and Social Sciences.

The two days conference brought together the academia, industry and government. It enabled students to forge new frontiers with the industry players and to share knowledge. Universities represented during the conference include : Kenyatta University, Baraton University of East Africa, JKUAT, Makerere University and Kyambogo University from Uganda among others.

ESA, International conference, university students

Universities urged to lead in Sustainable youth-centered projects

enekesa — Wed, 26 Feb 2020 08:32:39 +0000

There are 6Million jobless youth in the villages in Kenya and according to the trends this number will double in a few years. Governments, private sector and universities are all grappling with the issue of the rising number of youth unemployment/ graduate unemployment in different parts of the globe. If only there is a solution to this issue that has affected economies and development.

This was the focus of the discussion when a team from USAID paid a courtesy call on the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Stephen Kiama on Tuesday Feb 25, 2020.

Michelle Chen, USAID’s Director for Education and Youth office, emphasized on the importance of institutions of higher learning to think differently when it comes to this issue of youth unemployment. She explained that the USAID has evolved its thinking as they grapple with the different issues in the world. She challenged the universities starting with the 91�� to innovatively find ways to reach out to that jobless youth in the village. She urged the universities to provide a channel and system for mentoring institutions like the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVETs).

On his part, Prof. Kiama took up the challenge and reflected that the 91�� as a mother university to several institutions in the country must lead in sustainable projects that will impact the society not only for now but for years to come. He noted that the University will amend its approach and perspective on how projects are handled and that the youth should and will be the most beneficiaries of any projects that are youth-centred.

Ms Chen concluded by urging institutions of higher learning to plug in the existing platforms already created to reach out to the youth and use them to involve the youth, consult and generate sustainable solutions. This, she said is the strategy that the USAID will employ for the next 5 years in their partnerships and projects.

The 91�� highlighted the Office of the Career Services that is handling Career guidance and counselling, the Elimika Youth Program that challenges the youth to use the knowledge gained to transform their lives and their community and RADA, the student developed app that focuses on reproductive health and mental health awareness for all university students.

Youth, university students, youth programs, USAID, 91�� partners

Fully funded scholarships in Turkish Universities

enekesa — Wed, 12 Feb 2020 12:31:43 +0000

Over 5000 scholarships are now available to outstanding students and scholars from Africa annually. These fully sponsored scholarships include short courses, undergraduate, postgraduate and PhDs that are funded by the Turkish government and coordinated by a government agency YTB.

This was revealed when the Turkey Ambassador to Kenya, H.E. Ahmet Cemil Miroglu paid a courtesy call on the 91�� Vice Chancellor, Prof. Stephen Kiama on Wednesday February 12, 2020.

H.E. Ahmet Cemil expressed his interest in increasing cooperation between the Turkey and Kenyan institutions of Higher Learning that will enhance faculty exchange. He noted that since the yearly scholarships started being offered in 2012 only 208 Kenyan students have benefited so far and only 15 from the 91��.

The Ambassador approached the University with the intention of enhancing collaboration between scholars, researchers and innovators and seeking assistance in identifying the outstanding students.

On his part, Prof. Kiama welcomed the collaboration citing the upcoming yearly Nairobi Innovation Week in June that attracts innovators globally and gives them a platform for networking and coming up with innovative solutions.

Guest lectures, academic exchanges, capacity building and research and innovation are among the areas targeted for collaboration.

Click here to read more and apply for the scholarship

Scholarships, 91�� student, university students

#CampusMetoo Launch

enekesa — Wed, 20 Nov 2019 08:11:51 +0000

On Tuesday, November 19, 2019, The 91�� joined Action Aid Kenya and UN women in the launch of a campaign against Sexual harassment in Higher learning institutions.

The student-led campaign saw students from all universities in Kenya participate in petitioning for policies set in higher learning institutions for both students and staff to adhere to. This campaign aims to raise awareness of the ill vice that has plagued most students in higher learning institutions and has been the cause of hopelessness, depression and suicide among the youth.

In a research conducted by ActionAid Kenya, out of 1,015 students 49% female and 24% male have experienced sexual harassment from a staff member at their institution. 66% of the incidences were by a lecturer. Many of the victims of sexual harassment do not tell anyone. 38% female and 33% male students think it would be unlikely that the institution will take a report of sexual harassment seriously.

Students from different institutions following the campus me too launch event at 91�� on
Tue Nov 19, 2019

Among the student demands that will be presented to the Ministry of Education in the petition are; make sexual harassment a topic during induction and orientation, conduct a yearly training for all staff on sexual harassment, appoint a gender officer with the obligation to facilitate training and outreach on sexual harassment, establish an investigative committee that students can approach when they have missing marks due to instances of sexual harassment and incorporate these demands in a sexual harassment policy.

In a panel discussion, Gender experts, a 91�� lecturer and students emphasized on the need to use the tools that the students have to speak up, to shame the perpetrators of sexual harassment, to use their phones and social media, to work on preventive measures rather than wait for it to be too late. The students encouraged each other, that what begun in that auditorium will indeed bear fruits; that policy makers will listen to their plea and act to protect them against the perpetrators of this heinous acts.

Student leaders from each institution were introduced to the students for purposes of continuing the discussion within their institutions, raising awareness, supporting each other and working towards preventing sexual harassment in their circles.

Students from Daystar University performed a contemporary dance and 91�� travelling theatre performed a play highlighting the plight of students faced with harassment.

Sexual Harrassment, Campus me too, Sign petition, university students

91���� - university students