Mount Kenya University Lands in The United Kingdom

Mount Kenya University has established a framework for MoUs with several universities in the UK that include Oxford, University of Bradford, Nottingham University, Nottingham Trent University and Regent’s University hosted by Kenya High Commission in the UK Lazarus Amayo last week among them Mount Kenya University, Maasai Mara, Jaramogi and Dedan Kimathi.

The UK forum involved UK University Consortium for Africa, and Kenya University Consortium where the UK University Consortium for Africa comprises of 8 universities in the UK who have come together to support African students get scholarships and tuition discounts and they are Bath Spa University, University of Bradford, University of the West of England, London Metropolitan University, University Campus Suffolk, Teesside University, University of Central Lancashire and UCFB Wembley.

Mount Kenya University’s growth is attributable to partnerships, many different actors working together. The MKU-UK partnerships are geared towards benchmarking quality, academic exchange programmes, staff and student exchange as well as leading to joint proposal writing, joint research and joint publishing.

The MKU Institute of Security Studies, Justice and Ethics (ISSJE) in particular will partner with University of Bradford, UK, in offering programmes in Security, Justice and Ethics. Bradford is the oldest university department dedicated to the study of peace and conflict not just in the UK but also in the world

 The University of Bradford’s Department has students from over 50 nationalities and its alumni include Dr. Saeb Muhammad Salih Erekat, currently a member of the Palestinian Parliament and Chief Palestinian Negotiator in the Israel-Palestine conflict and such are the professionals MKU’s ISSJE seeks to produce

MKU has also partnered with Oxford to bridge the gap between Science and Religion. In Africa, Science is sometimes brushed off by some communities as witchcraft and collecting specimen for research is a challenge, and testing vaccines, for example is a challenge as in some cases of researchers being sent away by communities.

Last year, a team of scientists from Oxford University visited Mount Kenya University Thika Main Campus to explore initiatives that can bridge the dichotomy between science and religion in Africa and last week, an MKU team led by Dr. Francis Muregi, Director, and Research, reciprocated the visit by Prof. Andrew Briggs, a Professor of Nanomaterials at Oxford. They developed a funding proposal on ‘Kenyan Scientific and Religion Affiliation’

The Project aims to:

• Encourage culturally-sensitive and constructive interactions among all those who are concerned with the relationship between science and the Christian faith in Kenya

• Facilitate discussions surrounding questions  of  how  science  (and  scientific findings) can contribute positively to Christian faith and biblical interpretation

• Promote sustainable development through synergistic interaction between science and Christian faith in addressing socio-economic, health and environmental challenges in Kenya.