The meeting was chaired by the Vice Chancellor Prof. Solomon Shibairo who commended the team for achieving so much in a very short period. Speaking during the meeting, Prof. Shibairo thanked HEP for choosing MMUST among several competitive institutions of higher learning in the country. He confessed that the onset of COVID 19 compelled a keener look into digital learning, which eventually led to a further exploration of Open Distance e-Learning (ODeL). He noted that pandemic was a blessing in disguise.

“I urge HEP to follow due process and fulfill all requirements to the latter to avoid cases of stripping certificates off individuals, on grounds of lack of credibility,” said Prof. Shibairo.

The Vice Chancellor Prof. Solomon Shibairo, HEP team and officers of various dockets in MMUST

The Deputy Vice Chancellor, Academic and Student Affairs (DVC ASA) , welcomed HEP to MMUST. During his address, he noted that a lot of progress has been made since last year and now they are close to the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). “I congratulate HEP as well as Prof. Gordon Nguka and Mr. Victor Dinda who have jointly worked to see the progress of this project. It is important for us all to understand what this partnership will greatly impact on our students’ academics, experience and global visibility. It will also be a source of revenue generation for the University. Today we are here to deliberate on how we will do all these to ensure we get substantial output from HEP,” he stated.

The Ag. Registrar Academic Affairs Prof.  Thomas Sakwa shared his delight over the meeting saying that the partnership will open up on enrollment of more students into the University.  

Additionally, Prof. Sakwa briefed the members present of his prior engagement with Deans of different faculties in the University. He shared their opinions about the initiative, citing that they are eager to see MMUST’s scope of virtual learning expand, widen clientele and enhance the University’s visibility to improve the webometrics.  

The Director, Open Distance and Electronic Learning (ODEL) Prof. Gordon Nguka, informed the meeting of the several consultative meetings they had online prior to the physical engagement. He noted that the MOU had been discussed extensively during the online meetings and shared with the University’s legal officer and the chair for further analysis and establishment of the way forward.

“Building up towards this has been a good journey. Today we are moving towards the final step of putting our pens on paper and when the rubber meets the road, we will launch the programmes,” said Prof. Nguka.

Further, Prof. Nguka shared the journey and experiences the University has had with ODEL. He acknowledged that today, MMUST has reached a point where it has to go beyond Kenya, have its programmes taken up by the world and admit students from all over. He thanked HEP for the support all through the journey.

“We acknowledge and appreciate the engagements we have had in terms of stakeholder participation that is preparing us for the signing of the MOU. These engagements give us an opportunity to address any issues that may bring challenges in the future, agree on pertinent issues and develop specific areas of collaboration,” noted Dr. Catherine Aurah, Director of International Relations and Academic Linkages (DIAL).

She also pointed out that implementation is very crucial and there is need for both parties to understand and harmonize on their specific roles and the resulting benefits as they look forward to the penning of signatures.

The President HEP Mr. Jeff Webster, who joined the meeting virtually, expressed his anticipation ahead of the official partnership between MMUST and HEP saying he was eagerly waiting for the partnership.

The Senior Vice President of Business Development, ENEMA HEP Ms. Rone Robbetze, informed those in attendance that usually, such relationships take them twelve (12) to eighteen (18) months to conclude but the fact that they were having a sit-down with the team from MMUST in five (5) months is a record time which is another first for the University.

The meeting attracted informative presentations from HEP experts including the Director Marketing, Mr. Ed Harland-Lang who discussed ‘Marketing, Student Recruitment and Retention,’ Director Digital Transformation, Mr. Adam Watson who spoke on ‘The Partner support and Technology Services’ and the Director of Academic Services and Products, Mr. Nico Baird.

By: Caren Mutoro and Charity Idaya