In the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, most organizations have sought different ways of business continuity. The University of Nairobi has been on the forefront in research in different capacities and online teaching and learning.

In his address to staff and students on May 8, 2020, the Vice Chancellor stated that, “I note with appreciation that our faculty, guided by our philosophy for community service, have developed more than 80 concept proposals and more than 60 interventions for covid-19 response since February 2020. These include vaccine Development, community outreach, food security, ventilator fabrication, Sustainable urban mobility, Humanitarian and development interventions, Education and rapid response, rapid response to Fiscal and Economic implications, Poverty, psychosocial support, victims and conflicts among others. “

On online teaching and learning, the Vice Chancellor announced that over 5500 virtual classes have taken place and are still going on. Prof. Kiama mentioned the efforts of staff, students and partnership with network service providers that has made this possible.

Prof. Kiama revealed that the senate has approved online examination and procedure noting that students with special needs and disadvantaged groups will be dealt with on a case to case basis within the department level.

He said, “As a World Class university all our examination guidelines and procedures have been benchmarked against the global best practice and we shall continue to ensure that they are reliable, consistent and of integrity.

We have also made consultations with the stakeholders including Professional bodies and regulators. I would wish to applaud the Council for legal Education and Commission for University Education who in recognition of the prevailing circumstances and formidable effects of Covid-19, acknowledge the need to continue teaching and learning using technology and maintaining standards and quality.”

The VC also highlighted that the the Office of Career Services will in collaboration with partners hold a virtual career fair 2020 soon. He noted that the office continues to facilitate students with opportunities for internship and employment using online platforms.

The Vice Chancellor concluded by assuring the university stakeholders of the management’s commitment to its core mandate of teaching and learning and ensuring that the University produces  holistic individuals.

The petroleum industry is broadly divided into three segments namely: upstream (exploration and production), mid-stream (storage, refining and transportation) and downstream (supply and distribution).

The oil and gas industry offers very exciting career opportunities for graduates from a wide range of disciplines. Working in this sector is associated with hard working conditions and highly intense shifts but it is also popular for high salaries and use of cutting-edge technologies.

Some of the top careers in the oil and gas industry include:

1. Petroleum Engineer –  involved in almost all stages of oil and gas field assessment, development and production.
2. Energy Engineer – involved in the production of energy through natural resources, such as the extraction of oil and gas, or from renewable sources of energy, such as biofuels, hydro, wind and solar power.
3. A geoscientist (geophysicist, geologist, geochemist, hydrogeologist or sedimentologist) is employed for interpreting geophysical, geochemical and geological data to develop models for discovering commercially viable reserves of natural resources, such as oil, gas, minerals and water.
4. Engineering geologist – Assesses natural conditions, such as geological risks and deals with factors that could affect engineering works.
5. Hydrographic surveyor –  usually work onboard survey ships and platforms for measuring and mapping underwater surfaces and studying the morphology of the seabed.
6. Mining engineer – ensures the efficient development of mines and other surface and underground operations. Mining engineers are involved at all stages of a project
7. Mudlogger – monitors drilling activity, recording information about the well status during the extraction of oil or gas.

Additional careers in the oil and gas industry include: Offshore Technicians, Barge Masters, Superintendents, Deck Crew, Engineers, Riggers, Safety Officers, Rig Managers, Offshore Installation Managers, Senior Subsea Supervisors, Deepwater Drillers, Assistant Drillers, Drilling Engineers, Dynamic Positioning Operators, Electronic Technicians, Electricians, Mechanics, Civil Engineer, Project Managers, Process Engineers, Construction Managers, Reservoir Engineers, Facility Engineers, Lead Pipeline Engineers, Lead Piping Engineer, Piping Designer, Inspectors, Procurement Officers, Field Engineers, Project Engineers, Cost Estimator, Logistic Engineer and Lead Electrical Engineers among others.

More career options for students in all Colleges will be posted on the Office of Career Services website.

The University of Nairobi multidisciplinary team of engineers and doctors have developed a home grown portable ventilator that will reduce the cost of the current ventilators by nearly  90% .

Speaking during a demonstration session by the lead engineers and doctors, Prof. Stephen Kiama, the University of Nairobi Vice Chancellor, congratulated the team for the hardwork put in place to ensure that the low cost portable ventilator comes to life. “This demonstrates our value of care. We care for Kenyans”, he said. He added that once the machine is deployed, it will go along way in helping Kenyans with many respiratory problems long after the COVID19 is gone.

Built using an open source software from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and having secured Food and Drugs Association approvals, the locally manufactured ventilator should have an easy time getting KEBS approvals and being deployed to help patients with breathing difficulties. The ventilator which is to use and with digital inputs and LCD display has reconfigurable pressure for adults and children. It is adaptable to multiple power sources, including solar power and hence can be used in remote locations without electricity.

According to Prof. Jackson Mbuthia,  Dean, School of Engineering, the main advantage of the UoN ventilator over the existing commercial ventilators is the biometric and data communication component with an external data storage. “The data collected can be used for further research in both engineering and medical fields. This will enable data analytics and big data modelling of patient records to be used for further research,” he said. The machine incorporates smart intelligence and hence can be operated by health professionals while far from their patients. Prof. Mbuthis is foreseeing a day when Kenyans with breathing difficulties will be able to use the ventilators in their households as they wait for the arrival of ambulances and health professionals.

Prof. Fredrick Were, former Dean, School of Medicine and former Principal, College of Health Sciences, opined that such a machine will go a long way in helping health professionals save lives. Many patients die in Ambulance while on their way to hospitals due to the manual resuscitation by health professionals. “This ventilator will go a long way in saving many lives as it gets used in ambulances”, he said.

The production team is seeking financing to enable them to move to the production model.

The production team include: Dr. Peter Akuon (EIE) Team Leader, Prof. J. M. Mbuthia, Co-Lead, IoT Laboratory, University of Nairobi, Prof. Fredrick Were, Medical Doctor, Respirator Expert, UoN Medical School, Dr. Ernest Odhiambo, from Mechanical Engineering, Davies Segera, from Electronic Engineering, Benson Onyango, from Electrical Engineering, Kinyua Wachira and Faris Abdulrahman from Electronic Engineering.

CPS International, an international research firm in a report titled ‘State of Graduate Employability in Kenya’ has ranked the University of Nairobi as the top institution of higher learning preferred by employers. This study was carried out within a period of three months from November 2019. The research also reveals that UoN releases the largest number of graduates annually to the Kenyan job market.

The report reveals that 26.8 per cent of UoN continuing students are employed nationally. Kenyatta University follows closely with 21.3 per cent index score, Moi University 18.1 per cent, Mt. Kenya University 16.5 per cent and Jomo Kenyatta University at 15.2 per cent.

Maseno University at 13.6 per cent, Egerton University 13.5 per cent, Technical University of Kenya 8.4 per cent, Masinde Muliro University 7.1 per cent and USIU with 6 per cent.

Working students index score

The University of Nairobi also topped with most students employed while still enrolled in their studies with 26.8 per cent of the students in self-employment or formal employment. Kenyatta University follows closely with 21.3 per cent, Moi University with 18.1 per cent, JKUAT with 15.2 per cent and Maseno University with 13.6 per cent

Employable graduates

The study findings revealed that UoN graduates are the most employable with an employability index of 38.6 per cent, followed by KU at 30 per cent, Moi University at 25.1 per cent, JKUAT at 19.8 per cent, Egerton 18.3 per cent, Maseno 18.1 per cent, Mt. Kenya University at 17.1 per cent, Technical University of Kenya at 10.2 per cent, Masinde Muliro University at 6.9 per cent and USIU with 6.2 per cent.

Ranking of Skills and Competencies

Communication skills were ranked top on the list of vital skills at 71.6 per cent by Universities. Other top ten skills include by basic skills (68.66 per cent), decision-making skills (67.16 per cent), sector-specific skills (67.66 per cent), and team-work skills (44.78). in addition, analytical and problem-solving skills (73.28 per cent), right work-life attitude (38.81 per cent), ability to adapt and act in new situations (32.84 per cent), planning and organisation skills (28.36 per cent) and foreign language skills as the tenth at (4.48 per cent).

The reputation and ranking of a university affects the graduates’ employability as indicated by 75 per cent of Universities that took part in this study. However, 30 per cent of administrators in surveyed universities disagree with this.

In response to the negative effects of Covid-19 on teaching and learning, the University of Nairobi Senate approved guidelines and procedures for online examinations on 8^th May 2020. The Special Senate was chaired by the Vice Chancellor, Prof.S.G.Kiama. The Senate relied on the provisions of Statutes- xxv that gives senate the mandate over all academic matters in the University.

The University had adopted e-learning in March following the government’s ban on meetings and congregations to check the spread of the virus.

During his online address to all staff and students, Prof. Kiama lauded the success of online teaching and learning at UoN. He observed that 5,564 online class sessions had so far been held from the time that the implementation commenced. The Vice-Chancellor thanked staff and students for their cooperation in adopting e-learning.

The Vice Chancellor reiterated that the guidelines and procedures for online exams had been benchmarked against global best practices and that the quality and integrity will not be compromised. The VC acknowledged that students with special needs and other disadvantaged groups may face difficulties in undertaking online exams but their issues shall be addressed individually as they arise.

The online examination guidelines were developed in consultation with stakeholders including professional bodies and regulatory authorities.

With online teaching and learning streamlined, the University will now embark on preparations for the September graduation. ‘ I want to share a message of hope with our final year students that their graduation will be held as scheduled on 25^th September 2020’- Said Prof. Kiama.

Dr. Loice Achieng Ombajo, a senior lecturer in the Department of Medicine, at the University of Nairobi, talks about the state of COVID-19 in Kenya in an interview with the Daily Nation.

What’s your assessment of Kenya’s levels of infections, recoveries and mortalities? Is the curve progressing as per the initial models?

The initial models were of a worst case scenario, and on assumption of nothing being done to curb the spread. If nothing had been done, we would probably have several thousand confirmed cases by now. However, we took some measures, such as closing schools, churches and banning gatherings. With these measures, we made significant gains in the fight against Covid-19. In one country, the first two cases were in a church. One of them went to a family gathering. One of the people in that gathering went to another church and that just set off outbreaks. Contact tracing was another step, because we’ve seen that when one case interacts with five people, two of them may get the infection. These two go on to interact with 10 other people and before long, the infections snowball.

So the stringent measures put in place in the first instance have helped us to be where we are now. Going forward we probably will see more cases. It will get a little worse before it finally gets better.

According to a study conducted by CPS International, the University of Nairobi is the most preferred source of human resource for most Kenyan Employers at an employability rate of 38 per cent.

Other Universities ranked in the study which follow suit in the employability rate include Kenyatta University at 30 per cent, JKUAT at 19 per cent, Egerton at 18 per cent, Maseno University at 18 per cent and Technical University of Kenya at 10 per cent.

Kenyatta University follows at 30 per cent, Moi (25), Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture Technology (JKUAT) 19, Egerton (18), Maseno (18) and Technical University at 10 per cent.

On the private Universities sphere, Mt. Kenya University takes the lead on the employability index with 18 per cent, USIU at 6 per cent, KCA at 6 per cent, Strathmore at 5.8 per cent and Aga Khan University at 4.8 per cent.

The report further indicates that for every 10 jobs available in the country, 8 of the slots are likely to be filed in by candidates from Public universities with UoN at the top while the remaining two are likely to be taken up by graduates from private universities.

This study was conducted between November 2019 and January 2020 in the form of a survey on 50 organizations and 67 universities. CPS International is a marketing and social research company.

The Ministry of Education through the State Department for post Training and Skills Development, whose part of the mandate is to provide Career Guidance and Counselling to students in all learning institutions, out of school, youth and Kenyan workforce; is collaborating with the industry and stakeholders to roll out digital support on career guidance and counselling with effect from 5^th May, 2020.

Taking cognizant of the Covid-19 pandemic, this initiative will be done online through a WhatsApp platform. The support service will provide information on:

1. New and emerging careers, future of work, and skills required by the job market.
2. Choices of courses that align with requirements of the job market for high school students
3. How to blend and re-invent careers through upskilling to align with the job market for TVET and university graduates, unemployed, retrenched workers and underemployed
4. Interviewing, curriculum vitae, cover letter writing, psychometric tests, professional development courses and personal branding as part of job preparedness for the job market
5. Addressing skills gap to meet the realities and requirements of a post Covid-19 job market for the Kenyan workforce
6. Knowledge and awareness required by young people in order to pursue new opportunities and succeed in chosen careers
7. Labour market that will encourage young people to develop a robust outlook, alongside the motivation and resilience to succeed.

The career support services will be provided by career coaches from the Industry digitally through WhatsApp number 0714501569. To participate in the initiative, one is required to add this number to their contacts and send the word ‘Career’ in a WhatsApp message to start receiving immediate career support through live interactions with experienced career experts from the Industry.

Students are invited to take advantage of this opportunity that will take place digitally commencing 5^th May 2020. More information can be obtained from www.nationwidecareermonth.com.

Make your application on application.uonbi.ac.ke

Applications are invited for a fully paid scholarship to study a fellowship program in Medical Oncology at the University of Nairobi’s September 2020 intake.

This is a two-year full time fellowship program open to Internal Medicine specialists from the entire African continent, who would like to specialize in cancer treatment and research.

Successful applicants will receive sponsorship covering fees, accommodation and upkeep.

Successful applicants will be contacted by the first week of August 2020 and should be ready to report on Monday  28th September 2020.

For those living outside Kenya, transport arrangements will be made to ensure seamless movement to Nairobi.

Applications can be made at: application.uonbi.ac.ke