• The facility has a resource centre, seminar, consultation and video conferencing rooms
• The University Council to ensure timely completion of postgraduate studies
Image: John Kamau
A postgraduate centre has been opened at the Nairobi campus of Mount Kenya University.
The facility has seminar rooms, a resource centre, consultation rooms and a video conferencing room (Zoom room).
MKU council member Francis Njonge said the resource centre incorporates a library with latest editions of research textbooks and an e-learning section with statistical software to aid in data analysis.
“The resource centre also has the originality checker software that postgraduate students can use to check the originality of their work before submitting it for examination,” Njonge said during the launch on Monday.
Njonge said the institution will open similar centres in all its campuses and Open, Distant and E-learning (ODEL) centres across the region.
“As we speak, this room is equipped with infrastructure that will allow our postgraduate students and especially those in the diaspora to meet and consult with their supervisors via web technologies. This technology is particularly convenient for our postgraduate students who may wish to make presentations from their locations because it saves time, expenses, and costs associated with travelling.”
The facility also has rooms for use by students who prefer privacy during studies.
Njonge challenged institutions of higher learning to seriously engage in research and publication of journals.
“Higher institutions that only offer training and teaching and don’t undertake research, are mere high schools. We must get serious on research issues so that we can render solutions to major problems our country and the rest of the world are facing,” he said.
MKU has invested heavily in research and innovation. “We at MKU teach/train, do research and offer community service. We are determined to produce graduates who are globally competitive, more innovative and more entrepreneurial,” Njonge said.
He said the university council is cognizant of the fact that globally, timely completion of postgraduate studies has been hindered by the delayed academic progression of students.
The School of Postgraduate Studies and the Directorate of ICT have started the full automation of postgraduate procedures that will ensure students and supervisors alike are prompted through their student portals on pending or delayed postgraduate milestones for action.
“The automation is at an advanced stage and piloting will start in a matter of weeks.”