“Embrace a Culture of Research and Innovation” says the Chancellor

MMUST Chancellor Dr. Peter Muthoka has challenged staff and students to strengthen the culture of research and innovation as the key drivers to Africa’s development. This was during a pre-graduation meeting with the University Council at the Karen Country Club in Nairobi on 16th November 2018. Dr. Muthoka, who was among the key founders of Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT), expressed his joy being a leader in this institution of higher learning. “Back in the early 1970s, when the then President of the Republic of Kenya the Late Mzee Jomo Kenyatta came up with the idea of setting up JKUAT at Juja, we all had a vision of having a research and innovation-driven economy.

MMUST Receives a Technological Boost in a Modern 3D Printer and CNC Milling Machine

MMUST has enhanced its innovative capacity through collaborative research and training program with Brandenburg University of Applied Sciences and the University of Applied Sciences Magdeburg-Stendal, Germany. MMUST received donations of a 3-Dimensional Printer and Computer Numerically Controlled (CNC) Milling Machine from the two German institutions, following successful staff trainings on techniques in 3-D modelling, programming and printing. The trained MMUST staff included Dr. Mario Kollenberg and Dr. Patrick Okoth from the Department of Biological Sciences, Dr. Bernadette Sabuni and Emmanuel Osore from the Department of Mechanical Engineering, under the tutorage of Prof. Dr. Martin Kraska and Mrs. Lisa Jakobi, both from Brandenburg University of Applied Sciences. These trainings and donations came under the ongoing Practice-Oriented University Education in Western Kenya (ProUniEdu-WeK), a joint program with Brandenburg University of Applied Sciences that aims at enhancing studies in Western Kenya universities with practical learning experience through provision of modern equipment

MMUST Gears for Africa’s Agenda 2063 in the 6th RUFORUM Conference

MMUST researchers took part in the 6th African Higher Education Week and RUFORUM Biennial Conference held in Nairobi from 22nd to 26th October 2018. RUFORUM brings together leading agricultural universities from across the African continent to share ideas on research, innovation and development.

NEW BOOK: MMUST Professors give In-depth Focus on Peace, Security and Development in Africa

MMUST Academia is warming up to a new book that features a wide range of aspects related to global peace, security and development in the context of the African content.

MMUST and DeustcheWelle Akademie Set Stage on Slaying the Monster of Corruption in Media

MMUST Journalism and Mass Communication students and DeustcheWelle Akademie (DW) representatives from Germany had an opportunity to share their experiences on issues facing journalists in Kenya, on 18th October 2018. This was during an open forum organized by the Department of Journalism and Mass Communication (JMC-MMUST).

MMUST Gets First Ever Post-Doctoral Fellow through BRECcIA Consortium

MMUST is proud to announce its first ever Post-Doctoral Research Fellow, Dr. Namenya Daniel Naburi, who will work under the international BRECcIA Project (Building Research Capacity for Sustainable Water and Food Security in Sub-Saharan Africa). BRECcIA brings together a multi-disciplinary team of researchers from the United Kingdom and Africa, led by the University of Southampton in partnership with Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology, University of Malawi, University of Ghana, Kenyatta University, University of Nairobi and Technical University of Kenya. 

Dr. Namenya, who has completed his PhD studies at the MMUST School of Disaster Management and Humanitarian Assistance (SDMHA), will be in-charge of conducting research and analysis for the BRECcIA Project activities in Kenya. He has research and consultancy experience in the fields of environment and social development, public participation and administration. He is a product of the mentorship of the MMUST Director of Postgraduate Studies, Prof. John Obiri, the Co-Investigator in the BRECcIA Project. BRECcIA is a four-year RCUK Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) program which aims to develop research capacity across institutions that is self-sustaining and focused on improving food and water security for the poorest of society (http://www.gcrf-breccia.com). Regional research centers involved in the project include ICPAC (IGAD Climate Prediction and Application Centre), WATERNET, AGRHYMET, SARIMA (Southern African Research and Innovation Management Association) among other collaborators.

By Shiundu Wilberforce 
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MMUST Norman Borlaug Fellow Wins Most Promising Food Security Innovation Award

MMUST has again asserted its ever-growing performance as a global research hotspot, and a key player in matters concerning Agriculture and Food Security. Our young researcher, Mr. Bonphace Collins Mangeni, won the Most Promising Innovation Award in tackling food insecurity in Africa, during the recent UK-Africa Food Security Symposium that was held at the Sainsbury Laboratory, University of Cambridge, on 11th September 2018. 

Featuring the theme ‘Developing Effective and Equitable Research Partnerships to address Food Insecurity in Africa’, Mangeni won a prize of £500 for his ‘One Village One Poultry Vet’ project. This project is a socio-economic intensification framework, aimed at increasing indigenous poultry production by smallholder rural farmers for economic and dietary benefits in Kenya.
The symposium brought together participants of diverse backgrounds with research interests in Food Security. The International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) Regional Director for Africa, Dr Debisi Araba, gave an excellent keynote address that focused on the challenges of Food Security in the continent. Discussions featured research partnerships and food security in Africa, as well as capacity building in African tertiary education institutions.
Mangeni, a PhD student in Crop Protection in the MMUST Department of Biological Sciences, was an awardee of the Norman E. Borlaug Leadership Enhancement in Agriculture Program (Borlaug LEAP) in the year 2014, while pursuing MSc Crop Protection in the same department. This fellowship was through a mentorship partnership between CIAT-Uganda and Michigan State University, USA. Borlaug LEAP fellowship is part of initiatives of Dr. Norman E. Borlaug, a champion of the Green Revolution, who in 1970 was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for a lifetime of work to feed a hungry world.
As various institutions in Kenya are in the process of implementing the Presidential Big Four Agenda, Mangeni’s ‘One Village One Poultry Vet’ project will be among the most transformative Food Security initiatives that MMUST shall implement. MMUST wishes to see Mangeni grow from a champion of Food Security to a Hero who saves Africa from malnutrition, hunger and starvation, as we remember our National Heroes including the Late Henry Pius Masinde Muliro, during Mashujaa Day celebrations presided by His Exellency President Uhuru Kenyatta, on 20th October 2018, at Bukhungu Stadium in Kakamega.

Bonphace-Right (Kenya) with Dedeou 2nd right (Benin), Carlos-Left (Benin) and Carol-2nd left (UK) Winners of the Bioinnovation for Africa Pitching competition winners at the UK-Africa Food Security Symposium

By Shiundu Wilberforce 
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ATHLETICS: MMUST Tops the Western Region KUSA Games

MMUST Athletics team emerged best in both men and women categories of the Kenya Universities Sports Association (KUSA) Western Region games held at Jaramogi Oginga Odinga University of Science and Technology (JOOUST), on 30th September, 2018. MMUST managed to edge out their long time rivals, University of Kabianga, among other contestants that included JOOUST, Kaimosi, Kibabii, Kisii, Maseno and Rongo. This win grants the team a ticket to the National KUSA games to be held in Moi University Eldoret on 4th November, 2018. The team received a number of trophies and medals from various guests at the tournament amidst accolades. During the event, MMUST women Badminton and men Chess teams also excelled by emerging position 2 and 3 respectively. The teams expressed gratitude to the University Management for the support that has enabled them perform highly in sports.