Varsity Focus (Dec, 2011)

Abstract

You are Welcome to the last edition of the 2011 Varsity Focus which also coincides with many end year activities.

With our scale of operations, we had a fairly busy last part of the year which began with the 1st graduation held last September comprising four colleges in which 4600 students graduated with different awards. The University also admitted over 6,000 first years during the same period to join various courses in different modules pushing the admission throughout the year to more than 12,000 students in both undergraduate and postgraduate programmes. The current student population now stands at over 58,000.

The University was also engaged in other academic activities among them, hosting various dignitaries and workshops involving key stakeholders from the private sector and the international community. The Indian High Commission for instance donated books worth Kshs 300,000 to the University Library as part of activities to observe India’s Independence Day which was held in October. On the other hand, over 72 donors congregated at the Main Campus last month to honour top performing students in the last two academic years – five more donors came on board while three others increased the value of their prizes – an indicator of the faith they have in our products.

Of important mention in this edition is the book by Prof. Francis Gichaga’s, a former Vice-Chancellor of UoN and currently Chancellor Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and a Professor of Civil Engineering in the School of Engineering. The book titled “Surviving the Academic Arena: My Complex Journey to the Apex”, is about the life and times of the author during his life and most critically while at the helm of leadership at the University of Nairobi at the time when the country was transitioning into a multiparty democracy.

Student activities have also been vibrant during this period. A few months ago, AIESEC, organized an international gathering of different chapters at KICC. The fete brought together representatives from leading universities worldwide to share their experiences, mentorship and map the way forward in their intellectual lives.

Not to be left behind is the vintage Women Organization of Student Welfare (WOSWA) which has been involved in mentorship activities that climaxed in a high profile event at the Main campus that involved leading professionals from both the private and public sectors. The umbrella student union SONU was also busy with its schedule of networking activities with key players in the country, to help it improve its corporate image and find opportunities for students.

During this period, the performance of the University in outreach activities has been exemplary. This year, the University of Nairobi emerged the best institution in higher learning and research related activities at the Nairobi International Trade Fair beating many renowned research and higher learning institutions. In sports, Mean Machine, the University rugby team, won a Gold medal in the National cup and silver in the universities category, which affirmed the team’s resurgence with a series of high profile performances that it was once known for. Varsity Focus, congratulates the team for this good achievement.

The University has increased linkages with leading universities and organizations. Private companies have offered scholarships while others have donated books and given indications for engaging in collaborative research.

Our human interest angle is focused on first years as we bring you up todate with the life of the yesteryear first year. Enjoy reading.

- Charles E. Sikulu -