The Office of Career Services (OCS) launched the Ajira Digital Training for the UoN Mombasa Campus students on October 7, 2019. The training was conducted by officers from the Ajira Digital Program for a week October 7-11, 2019.

Over 70 students underwent the training and acquired skills in account registration on platforms like Upwork, Guru, QA World Fiverr and Go transcribe among others.

It is hoped that the technical skills that the students acquired will go a long way in giving them a competitive edge over others in working and earning online. With the rapid technological changes in this 21^st Century, the work market has also changed. There is now a shift from the traditional old office set-up for work to online space.

This therefore calls for re-skilling of employees and potential employees to equip them with the necessary skills to survive in the 21^st century’s evolving job market.

The Ajira training introduces students/workers to online space by offering training, mentorship, awareness on the program and infrastructure for the youth to learn about online work.

Besides learning the technical skills, the importance of soft skills can also not be overemphasized. In order to be able to work with clients online, workers must possess soft skills such as communication skills, interpersonal skills, listening skills, negotiation skills, time management, research skills and organization skills. The Ajira Digital Team trained students on these soft skills that they require alongside the technical skills.

Additional skills that the students learnt include Content and Article Writing, Virtual Assistant, Transcription and Digital Marketing.

Naomi Nyaboga represented the Office of Career Services and gave a brief to the students about the Office of Career Services. The OCS has been cultivating the relationship with the Ministry of ICT through the Ajira Digital Program to equip students with the technical and soft skills they require to work and earn online.

Kenya is currently number two in Africa in the online work/job market and the aim of the training is to make Kenya a one-stop shop for online workers and freelancers and empower the youth to tap into the massive opportunities available online.

The Fourth years’ career guidance and mentorship program at the College of Bioogical and Physical Sciences (CBPS) was held at the Department of Chemistry, CBPS) on September 20^th 2019.

Dr. Solomon Derese spoke to the students about available scholarship opportunities. He emphasized that it is not only the exceptionally smart students who can get a scholarship but anyone willing to put in the work and prove their potential. He gave the students different examples of companies that offer sponsorships for post graduate students examples including the National Research Fund (NRF) that offers students sponsorships by supporting students that have eligible research proposals, Trecc Africa, Commonwealth sponsorships and Dream ACP among others.

Naomi Nyaboga, the Chief Information Officer spoke on behalf of the Office of Career Services. She gave a brief introduction of the Office of Career Services and explained the mandate of the office to the attending students. The secrets to getting a job in Kenya without connections was one of her main topics; she emphasized that it is not a must one to have connections to get a job. She gave the students key things to note in job hunting and told the students to believe in themselves. The students were urged to develop skills in their areas of discovery by reading widely, creating a library and attending seminars and conferences. She also encouraged the students to enroll in opportunities such as Ajira Digital program, Google Digital Marketing Skills Training and Huawei ICT Competition Kenya, in order to grow their skills and gave the students a list of very many job portals offering a wide range of jobs.

Nancy Mokua, CEO, My Jobs in Kenya gave a talk on 7 smart things every recent grad must do. The graduate must always think beyond the job, look after their health, what they eat and their lifestyle. She also advised the students to adequately prepare for their first job by having a good CV and cover letter, dressing appropriately for interviews and how to answer interview questions the right way. The students were asked to work on gaining additional skills outside of their degrees. She encouraged the students to plan for their money by telling them to have a budget, start saving and live within their means. Finding a place to live was also one of her points telling the students to find a convenient place close to work, secure and a healthy environment. The students were urged to keep building and maintaining their friendships and have the ability to let go of toxic relationships. Finally, she asked the students to figure out what they want in their career, and asked them to consider enrolling for further learning as soon as possible to further their skills ready for the evolving job market.

Mercy Mukami from Postbank also had a chance to talk to the students. The mandate of the bank is to inculcate a savings culture among Kenyans and this they do through the various savings products offered. She also spoke on the importance of a good CV and explained to the students that a professional CV is the first chance one gets to make a good impression on a potential employer. A top-quality CV will considerably boost one’s chance of getting a face-to-face interview. The students were advised that is very important to make a habit of saving. Alongside pursuing one’s goals, a savings culture should also be developed very early in life for one to have great financial management skills.

The Office of Career Services in partnership with Workmate, the Peer Mentors Association and RADA organized the Career guidance and mentorship session at the College of Architecture and Engineering (CAE) on Friday 20^th September 2019 at the University of Nairobi Towers.

The Principal, CAE set the session in motion by thanking the Office of Career Services and the career partners present to give presentations to the students and mold their career paths. He encouraged the students by telling them there were many more programs to help the students as they progressed through their studies at the University of Nairobi. The principal touched on the Office of Career Offices mission which is, to produce employable graduates through development of Technical, Leadership and Soft Skills of students, linking students to Industry partners for job and internship opportunities, mentorship, counselling services, graduate tracking services, high school recruitments, students exchange, apprenticeship services and alumni networking among others and emphasized that they make sure they acquired all the necessary skills before leaving the university.

The Office of Career Services was represented by Naomi Nyaboga, the Chief Information Officer who briefly spoke on the mandate of the Office of Career Services and told the students they they were in university for a reason. She went through all the services offered by the office and encouraged the students to come by the office for any enquiries as they go through their various academic programs. She went through the activities the Office of Career services has been involved in to build the skills of students. Some of the programs are Huawei ICT competition, Exchange programs with various universities globally, Google Digital Skills for Africa and also Coding for employment. The students were given the key points to note in Job hunting and encouraged to be very keen in discovering their purpose and potential and working towards achieving their dreams.

John Mwangi from Workmate, an online job portal began his presentation by giving a brief summary of Workmate. He further explained that workmate is an online job portal that provides exclusive remote jobs, creating millions of job opportunities. He engaged the students by asking “What is the most valuable thing a man can have?” various answers were given by the students. Time is by far the most valuable thing a man can spend on. He spoke on the internet portraying it as a double-edged sword asking the students to be careful the internet can arm or harm the user. The Office of Career Services was congratulated for ensuring that students are work ready through the various programs they offer to the students. He also gave a list of transferable skills that modern employers are looking for in an all-round candidate and spoke on the effects of robotic workers are having on the job market urging the students to acquire skills that will ensure their job security.

The Peer Mentors Association of Kenya (PMAK) was also represented by Mr. Humphrey Andanyi who briefly spoke on the mandate of their organization. He talked about the core activities performed by the organization mainly been mentorship, guidance and counselling and talent building. Students were also informed that PMA-K seeks sponsorship opportunities for needy students and youths qualified to receive such assistance. PMA-K also encourages building and nurturing youth talent by organizing events that celebrate talent and empower the youth to embrace and enrich their talents. He expounded on the mentorship programs offered to anyone interested through training programs. Since student have a lot of freedom while in university, they were advised to take it upon themselves to behave and dress appropriately. He advised everyone to set goals and targets and ensure they are able to fulfill them. Lastly, he concluded on the importance of connections while still in campus and warned on many fake jobs out in the market that calls for students to be very careful when applying for jobs.

Finally, UoN students were given an opportunity to make a presentation on the RADA app that they developed to tackle issues on youth sexuality in campus. The students developed the app with support from UNESCO seeking to provide the youth with information and real time help on wide ranging issues including HIV and AIDS, career advice, finance, alcohol, drug abuse and mental health. The Rada team walked the students through the mobile application, showing the students how the application works and all the solutions it offers.

The Office of Career Services will continuously strive to mold students and prepare them well for the job market.

The Office of Career Services was happy to host a group of 48 students from Kiru Boys at the University of Nairobi (UoN) Main Campus on Tuesday 17^th September 2019. The visit was intended to encourage the students to work hard and boost their performance to enable them secure a placement in University. This is part of the OCS office’s mandate on engaging in the recruitment of prospective high school students to consider joining the institution The admissions officers gave a brief talk on career guidance to the students motivating them to work harder and strive to reach higher levels of learning (post-secondary). The students were then given a tour of the University of Nairobi.

The students visited the Library and Information Services Department and saw the vast amount of academic material available to the students at the University. They also visited the Faculty of Arts (Performing Arts), where they were given a brief history of the faculty and saw how they strive for excellence in the teaching, research, creativity and publications in literature, taking into account the links between the Kenyan and African heritage and the universal values of world literature.

The students were also able to visit the School of Engineering (SOE) during their visit. The University of Nairobi, School of Engineering showed the students how it has grown over the years producing graduates who pursue programs accredited by the professional bodies in five departments leading to the award of Bachelor of Science degrees in Civil Engineering, Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Biosystems Engineering and Geospatial Engineering. They also share with the students their core values and how they implement them.

The University of Nairobi School of Computing and Informatics (SCI) was what really intrigued the students. As they were taken through the research and student projects, one could see the excitement and wonder on their faces. The SCI computer lab assistant stated their vision which is to be a leading center of excellence in Research and Development (R&D) and advanced education in computing; addressing national and regional needs for Information and Communications Technology and product development and walked through how they plan on achieving the vision.

The Kiru Boys students were excited by this tour and from their feedback, it is evident that the tour opened their eyes to University life and more so the course the University of Nairobi offers. It is hoped that these students will select UoN as their first choice when they do their university selection and work hard to achieve their dream.

The Vice Chancellor, Academic Affairs officiated the ceremony of Students’ benches donation from Qwetu Student Residences on Thursday September 19, 2019.

As a way of improving students’ life in campus, the Office of Career Services has partnered with “QWETU Student Residences” to develop benches for students to relax in between their classes. The benches will also help the students to work online through the Ajira Digital Program, read and revise for their coursework, have group discussions, relax and meditate and interact with nature.

Qwetu hosts close to 200 students from University of Nairobi. As a way of giving back, Qwetu agreed to support the University of Nairobi in developing 10 high-quality student benches as a pilot project for students to sit and relax in-between their classes.

The Deputy Vice Chancellor (AA), Prof. Julius Ogeng’o in his remarks thanked the Qwetu team for contributing to the students’ social welfare through the benches donation and requested Qwetu to replicate the same in all the other UoN colleges.

In their remarks, the Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Edward Kirathe and Chief Operations Officer, Mr. Peter Njenga made a commitment to replicate the same to all Colleges and to explore more areas of partnership with the University.

The University looks forward to a great partnership for the benefit of the students.

The Vice Chancellor officially flagged off 22 students going to France as French Teaching Assistants for a 7 months’ student exchange programme on Wednesday September 18, 2019 in his Boardroom.

During the visit by France President Emmanuel Macron to Kenya and UoN on March 14, 2019, the Government of Kenya signed a partnership agreement with the Government of France for promotion and exchange of skills and talents.

This exchange program aims at exposing the students globally on culture and education. The program is managed by Office of Career Services and Department of French. Out of more than 150 applications from all over Kenya, only 60 students were selected to participate in the program with 22 being from the University of Nairobi.

The students will be attached to French Government Elementary, Primary and High schools for 7 months, renewable for another 7 months to teach English and will be paid a monthly stipend of Euro 794 which translates to about Kshs 100,000.00.

As part of the exchange program, the University of Nairobi will receive 2 French Language Assistants in October 2020 to teach French in the Department of French at the University of Nairobi.

Prof. Isaac Mbeche, the Vice Chancellor applauded the students for securing the lifetime opportunity to sharpen their skills in the French language and appealed to the students to be great ambassadors of the University of Nairobi, to take the opportunity to learn new things and be great time keepers in their teaching experience.

Dr. Mwenesi the Chair of the French, Sub-Department in her remarks indicated that the interest in French is massive and UoN should consider incorporating French teaching as a basic language in all departments. She further requested for the French Department to be a fully-fledged department, an appeal that the Vice Chancellor welcomed. The French Sub-Department was requested to table a proposal to the VC in three months to pave well for the implementation of the MoU with the Government of France.

Also present at the meeting were the Director Career Services, Johnson Kinyua Director, Corporate Affairs, John Orindi, Personal Advisor to the VC, Dr. Michira, Information Officer, Career Office Naomi Nyaboga, Caroline Mutai and Michael Nginye from the French Sub-Department.

The Office of Career Services appreciates the gesture by the Vice Chancellor to flag off the 22 students to France. The students assured to be good UoN brand Ambassadors and promised to come back home and give back to their country at the end of the program. Félicitations to the 22 French Teaching Assistants.

The Office of Career Services in partnership with Post Bank, the Peer Mentors Association and the University Health Services Counseling Department organized the Career guidance and mentorship session at the College of Agriculture and Veterinary (CAVS) on Monday 16th September 2019.

The Office of Career services was represented by Johnson Kinyua, the Director, Career Services who advised the students on the goals of the Career Office. Emphasis was made on working online while still in Campus and the students were offered many viable options of job portals. The Director also highlighted the accomplishments of the Office of Career services, some of which include sending students to Israel, China and France on different skills development programs and also partnerships with companies such as Huawei, Google and Ajira to create more opportunities for the University of Nairobi students in digital skills. The Director also emphasized on the importance of partnering with the Career Services office as a ‘Student Career Ambassador’ to embody the identity, demeanor, values and appearance of the Career service office.

Mr. Humphrey Andanyi from The Peer Mentors Association of Kenya (PMAK) encouraged students to settle in the University as people who want to succeed in life. Discipline was one of the main topics in the very informative talk. Since University offers freedom to the students, the one must take it upon themselves to behave and dress appropriately. He also touched on the changing of courses once one gets to campus, students were advised to decide on one course and stick to it. Mr. Andanyi advised the first year students to set goals and targets and ensure they are able to fulfill them. Lastly, he concluded on the importance of networking to explore career opportunities early enough.

The Post Bank representative, Ms. Mercy Mukami began by giving the banks mandate which is to encourage all people to save. She proceeded to explain that a lot of people are tarmacking, and if they start saving early, by the time the students are done with their respective courses, they will be able to open a business with their savings. Ms. Mukami highlighted the 21^st century soft skills employers are looking for which include effective communication, teamwork and time management. Finally, she emphasized on volunteering to get experience and showing your skills to potential employers as a very important avenue to land one a job. Emphasis was also given on giving back to the community and finding solutions to community problems.

The University Health Services was represented by Dr. Catherine Musyoka who advised the students that using of drugs and alcohol can affect a young person’s general health, physical growth and emotional and social development. She clearly outlined the effects of drug and alcohol abuse on the body and mind, and may result also in risky behavior like unprotected sex, which can lead to unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases. She concluded by advising all students to be smart, avoid bad company and to avoid all drugs and alcohol and be informed on the subject.

UoN students developed a mobile application to tackle issues on youth sexuality in campus. They worked in conjunction with UNESCO seeking to provide the youth with information and real time help on wide ranging issues including HIV and AIDS, career advice, finance, alcohol, drug abuse and mental health. The Rada team walked the students through the mobile application, showing the students how the application works and all the solutions.

The Office of Career Services is proud to have hosted this career week across the three colleges namely CAVS, CEES and CAE and believes the information imparted in the First year students will go a long way in making a change in their Career and Social life choices.

The Office of Career Services gave a brief induction on the Career Office to First year students at the College of Agriculture and Veterinary Sciences (CAVs) and the College of Biological and Physical Sciences (CBPS) during the Principal’s Address on September 10, 2019.

The Office of Career Services was represented by Naomi Nyaboga, the Chief Information Officer who emphasised on the mandate of the office which is to link graduates for the job market and enhancing the value of graduates through skills and competencies development.

The first year students got an opportunity to meet representatives from different Departments within the University such as the Dean of Students, Security, Student Welfare Association, University Health Services, Library, Sports, ICT and Agriculture and Veterinary Sciences Faculty.

The Assistant Dean of Student and Student Counsellor emphasised to the students the need to air out the issues and challenges they face when in campus and gave sensitization on drug abuse. All the other departments gave a brief induction about the services they offer to the students and their location.

Prof. Rose Nyikal and Prof. Bernard Aduda, the Principals for CAVS and CBPS respectively welcomed the students to the University of Nairobi and emphasised on the need for the students to know their way around campus and have a balance in their campus life.

The Office of Career Services welcomes all the ‘Freshers’ to the University of Nairobi and commits to work with the students closely to mold them and impart in them relevant skills and competencies for the job market.

The exercise was undertaken in light of the emerging paradigm in which academia and practitioners proactively inform policy, and in line with UoN’s mission of “…seeking to embody the aspirations of the Kenyan people and the global community through creation, preservation, integration, transmission and utilization of knowledge”. The extensive research involved the participation of diverse stakeholders and the report captures the social-economic impact of the SGR on Mombasa as well as strategies to mitigate negative outcomes.

Acknowledging the need for evidence based decision making, UoN lauds the County Government of Mombasa for commissioning the University of Nairobi to carry out this timely and important research.  UoN also appreciates the continued partnership with the County Government of Mombasa.

“As the premier University in Kenya, the University of Nairobi should be known for specific academic programmes. Relook at the programmes on offer and drop those which are easily found in the smaller universities; focus on postgraduate programmes that are competitive,” said Prof. Magoha.

The Cabinet Secretary was speaking at the 61^st University of Nairobi ceremony that was held on September 6, 2019.

At the colourful ceremony, the Chancellor, Dr. Vijoo Rattansi conferred degrees and awarded diplomas to 4,107 graduands. The graduands consisted 20 PhDs, 429 Master Degrees, 3,082 Bachelor Degrees, 1 Postgrduate Diploma and 575 Diplomas.

In her speech, Dr. Rattansi congratulated and wished the graduands well in life.

“I wish you well in your next phase of life. Just as the University strives for perfection, I pray that you will leverage the stage that the world offers to you today and in the days to come to continue perfecting your knowledge, skills and competence.”

The Chancellor also had a word for the UoN community.

“We have some way to go in making our graduates the gold quality of university education. Evidence across the globe suggests that, but for very specialized areas, more and more employers are recruiting graduates for jobs outside their specialty.  It is therefore incumbent upon us to create graduates who are more agile; graduates that have a solid understanding of the hows of the workplace and how their skills fit into,” she shared. “We need to raise graduates who will continually improve their skills and acquire new ones that make them indispensable. Finally, we need to raise graduates with infinite capacity to think outside the box.”

Prof. Julia Ojiambo, the Chair of Council also congratulated the graduands. Prof. Ojiambo noted that September 6 marked the Council’s one-year anniversary.

“On behalf of the entire Council, I convey our sincere gratitude to all members of the University fraternity for the unqualified support accorded to us. As Council, we are grateful for the opportunity to serve this University. This is a duty that we do not take lightly and are always conscious of the weight of the University’s hopes and dreams placed upon our shoulders. We have spent the last 12 months understanding, in great detail, the depth and breadth of the University.”

The acting Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Isaac Mbeche challenged the graduands to have a positive and lasting impact on the society that they will be serving. He called on them to join the alumni association and seek to make significant contributions to their alma mater. In his speech, the Vice-Chancellor added his voice to the ongoing debate on the quality of graduates from local universities.

“I wish to affirm to our stakeholders and particularly potential employers that our graduates have been properly trained, educated and examined as per University regulations and procedures,” he said. “Our graduates have remained competitive even when they venture for further studies in international universities or secure employment with top organizations both locally and abroad. In this University, examinations and research work undergo rigorous vetting procedures by internal and external examiners, hence ensuring those students who meet the set requirements are allowed to graduate. We shall continue to uphold our procedures and standards to ensure the integrity of our academic processes and outcomes.”

Speaking on behalf of the University of Nairobi Alumni Association, the Chairman of the Journalism Alumni Chapter, Bernard Otieno, called on the graduands to join the Association.

“The Association eagerly looks forward to your return to your alma mater in order to give-back,” said Bernard. “Please remember the decorum, sense of commitment and patriotism that makes the graduate of the University of Nairobi to be the most desirable graduate in the country, region and the globe. There is no doubt that you will be great ambassadors of our alma mater and a blessing to many wherever you go from here.”

Congratulations Class of 2019