The University of Nairobi had the privilege of hosting the 2nd Youth Leadership Transformation Summit on the 25th and 26th of April, 2019 at the UoN Auditorium, 6th floor, UoN Towers. The event was organized by the Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI) and is an initiative of the former president of the United States of America, Barack Obama back in 2010 in an effort to invest in the next generation of African leaders. The theme for the event was #Leading4impact which was chosen to encourage young leaders to speak in collaboration to create impact. In attendance were the newly elected UNSA student leaders and professional body student leaders from UoN.

Their event incorporated a panel session to discuss tackling the challenge of youth participation in law/policy making and the governance process. The panel consisted of the Nominated MP of Parliament representing Youth, Hon. Gideon Keter, CEO National Youth Council, Roy Sasaka, YALI Alumni, Caroline Chege, Head of Secretariat UNSA, Advisor on Youth Affairs at the Ministry of Public Service, Youth and Gender Affairs, Ms. Lydia Mathia and CEO of the Kenya Young Parliamentarians Association (KYPA) Antony Buluma. Some of the takeaway points from the panel session were that the youth need to be intelligent and take initiative in their quest to fight for their space, the youth need to impact change as a unit and to form a united front. The youth were also encouraged to get involved in public participation.

Career Fair 2018

The Chancellor and the entire University of Nairobi fraternity is seeking to forge strong symbiotic collaborations with Government and Industry that will in the future guide and nurture students and graduates towards a better and more fulfilling future thus positively impacting the socio-economic growth of our country. Areas of potential collaborations include: Industrial research, Commercialization of Intellectual Property, Infrastructural Development and Human Resource Training and Transfer (retooling industry employees, adjunct lecturers and students/ alumni recruitment).

To realize this vision, a biannual Chancellor’s Career Fair has been established.

Other recent related events that the University has had are:

1. The Industry, Academia partnership to promote ethical and legal business practices
2. The launching of Ajira Digital Program

THE EVENT

The Chancellor’s Career Fair is scheduled for 13th-14th August at the University of Nairobi Main Campus.  It has been structured to include:- Recruitment Drive, Industry Showcase (Exhibitions throughout the day)

Morning sessions:- Panel Discussions, Roundtable Discussions, Keynote Presentations

Afternoon sessions:-Breakaway Sessions

For more information, please Click to find  CONCEPT NOTE and EVENT PROGRAM

 ACTIVITY

On 13th and 14th we shall have Panel discussions in the auditorium from 10.30 am to 12.30pm and 9.00 am to 1.00 pm respectively and we need students to fill up the auditorium hence the need for raising awareness and mobilization.

The Theme for 13th August (Day 1) is Academia-Industry Partnership for the future

The theme for 14th August (Day 2) is Entrepreneurship

The expected Guest for the auditorium panel session for Day 1 (13th August) is CS Education, Amb. (Dr.) Amina Mohammed and for Day 2(14th August) is CS PS, Youth and Gender Affairs Prof. Margaret Kobia

The  Training sessions for the two days include:

13th August 

1. Branding for Employment – 00 -3.00pm- Seminar Room 401
2. Cyber Security – 00 -3.00pm- Seminar Room 402
3. Talent and Image Management – 00 -3.00pm- Seminar Room 403
4. Technology Trends – 00 – 4.00pm- Seminar Room 404
5. Skills for tomorrow-  00 – 4.00pm – Seminar Room 401
6. CV writing and interview etiquette –  00 – 4.00pm- Seminar Room 405
7. Award of outstanding student innovations – 00 – 4.30 pm- Great Court

14th August

1. Startups management – 00 -3.00pm- Seminar Room 401
2. Negotiations –  00 -3.00pm- Seminar Room 402
3. Creativity and innovation – 00 – 4.00pm  – Seminar Room 403
4. Business Models –  00 – 4.00pm – Seminar Room 404
5. Award of outstanding student innovations – 00 – 4.30 pm-  Great Court

HASHTAG TO USE:  #UoNCareerfair

“Attendance is free of charge.”

Johnson Ireri Kinyua was appointed as the Director, Office of Career Services from January 14, 2019, to oversee the operationalization of the University of Nairobi Office of Career Services (UoNOCS) and ensure targets outlined in the OCS Handbook are achieved. The Director of Career Services will work with existing establishments such as Students Affairs, Special Students and work on a strategy on how to decentralize UNOCS to campuses and colleges through the support of Assistant Dean of Students based in colleges and campuses.

The Director’s first assignment in the office is to automate the students’ career services through user-friendly and customized Career Information Management System (CIMS) and Students Career Passport. This will enable students to register online, upload their CVs and access job opportunities where employers will upload online job opportunities. By use of Artificial Intelligence, the system will be able to match students’ skills and available opportunities and send alerts to either students or employers after matchmaking.

The University top management led by Chancellor Dr. Vijoo Rattansi (2^nd Right) and Vice Chancellor Prof. Peter Mbithi (Left) receives Jack Ma (middle with white shirt) Chairman of Ali Baba Group together with Cabinet Secretary of ICT Kenya, Joe Mucheru (right).

The UoN Skills Centre has been established on the 11^th floor of the UoN Towers and will be offering ongoing training to students and staff in a wide range of skills development programs. Some of the already ongoing training includes the Ajira Digital Training that seeks to impart knowledge and skills on how to tap into online jobs and the Huawei Certification Training programs that seek to build skills and knowledge that networking professionals require.

The Skills Centre aims to upgrade the graduates’ skills, competencies and attitude to enhance their graduates’ employability and entrepreneurship capacity. The goal is to produce skilled, empowered, competitive, employable, enterprising and innovative graduates ready for the job and entrepreneurship market.

 The UoN Skills Centre partners with Industry Partners to offer Technical, Leadership and Soft Skills Training programs for students/staff skills. Students, as well as graduates, will be provided with the avenue to gain “Skills for the Future” through a series of training programs that will aid them in developing their careers and also make them more marketable in the job market.

Among the skills that will be offered at the Skills Centre include: technical skills such as computer skills, programming, data analytics, marketing and data mining, soft skills like CV writing, interview techniques, communication skills, cross-cultural skills and job hunting skills, entrepreneurship skills including ideation to commercialization, patenting and licensing, start-up and incubation and business development and leadership skills.

 “Low skills perpetuate poverty and inequality. Skills development can reduce unemployment, raise incomes, and improve standards of living. Helping young people develop skills makes economic sense”

World Bank

UoN hosted a Jobs Recruitment Fair on Dec 18, 2018, by 26 Chinese multinational companies (MNCs) at the Great Court, Main Campus. Over 50 graduates of UoN got their dream job through this fair.

On July 28, 2018, the Chief Administrative Secretary (CAS) Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation, Dr. Andrew Tuimur, Principal Secretary of State Department of Agriculture and Irrigation, Prof. Fred Segor and the Ambassador or Israel to Kenya H.E. Noah Gal Gendler flagged off 118 students from five public Universities and Institutes (UoN, JKUAT, Egerton, Kenya Water Institute and Karen Institute of Agriculture). This is an implementation plan of MoU signed in February 2016 between H.E. President Kenyatta and Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Israel’s support to Kenya through 11 months Advanced Agriculture and Irrigation Training program in Israel. So far over 358 students have been trained and will be part of the President’s Big 4 Agenda on Agriculture transformative leaders in alleviating the food insecurity in Kenya. The students from UoN were 15.

           UoN Students flagged off to Israel for “Advanced Agriculture Training”