Jan Mutai is a believer in universities as engines of development. To those who don't know him, no hard feelings. His sister, Chelagat Mutai, derisively called Seroney's (no relation to the author) girl is an astute politician who has sadly faded from the political landscape. Nonetheless Jan, who head the megalarge Kenya Posts and Telecommunications, is the Secretary of the Addis-Ababa based Africa Telecoms Union. He doubles as the Chairman of Council at Western University of Science and Technology, WEUCO. In recognition of the role played by research to energise development in the fast developing and developed world, Jan proposed that universities act as incubators of technology. Combine this with the recent study that rated Kenyan universities poorly and you understand why Mr. Mutai's proposal should be taken more seriously. Anybody who has time to peer through peer reviewed journals in the variety of research areas must have noticed the apparent lack of publications emerging from Kenyan universities.
Part of the reason for this is the lack of deliberate investment by government on research. The universities in China and Japan as well as the USA and Europe are all affiliated one way or another to some companies with interest in the research goings-on. Once a thesis, dissertation or peer-reviewed paper is published, the companies snap-up the research and buy off the rights to begin pilot and industrial simulations. Our universities have heaps of thesis gathering dust perjoratively. While biotechnology is the buzzword at the moment, Kenya with its rich endowment of natural resources is languishing in want.
There is need to invest in research infrastructure, reference resources and personnel training over and above payment of basic salaries of those university dons whose impact in the economy is yet to be felt. By the way, do our universities have subscriptions to the online research publihers like Elsevier, Wiley Science, Taylor and Francis, Blackwell, American Chemical Society and others?
For this is probably where government needs to invest more.
Part of the reason for this is the lack of deliberate investment by government on research. The universities in China and Japan as well as the USA and Europe are all affiliated one way or another to some companies with interest in the research goings-on. Once a thesis, dissertation or peer-reviewed paper is published, the companies snap-up the research and buy off the rights to begin pilot and industrial simulations. Our universities have heaps of thesis gathering dust perjoratively. While biotechnology is the buzzword at the moment, Kenya with its rich endowment of natural resources is languishing in want.
There is need to invest in research infrastructure, reference resources and personnel training over and above payment of basic salaries of those university dons whose impact in the economy is yet to be felt. By the way, do our universities have subscriptions to the online research publihers like Elsevier, Wiley Science, Taylor and Francis, Blackwell, American Chemical Society and others?
For this is probably where government needs to invest more.
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