TUM to establish medicine school, signs deal with Ghent University

The Technical University of Mombasa has signed a deal with Belgium’s Ghent University that will see both institutions collaborate on various sectors that they will identify, including research.

The collaboration will increase each institution’s strength and help internationalize their programs.

TUM, for instance, is in the process of establishing a School of Medicine, and this collaboration will go a long way towards helping them anchor the program.

“We hope that there will be an exchange of faculties and we are also privileged to have some equipment that is coming from Ghent University to support us in that endeavour,” TUM vice chancellor Prof Leila Abubakar said on Friday.

The equipment will mostly benefit TUM’s Anatomy lab but others will be used in the pre-clinical studies.

Speaking at TUM after signing the collaboration deal, Prof Abubakar said the School of Medicine program will be unique because it embraces all other departments.

“It will not just be a health issue. We have the technology, medical engineering and other faculties which, as part of the research, will be able to be involved in the School of Medicine,” the VC said.

The Commission for University Education is expected at TUM on February 29 to assess their preparedness to start the School of Medicine program.

“We hope and pray that we will be able to launch it this year,” she noted.

Abubakar however said the partnership will not only be related to the School of Medicine but also other areas of interest between TUM’s faculty members and faculty members from Ghent University.

Ghent University rector Prof Rik Van de Walle said international cooperation is not only crucial for TUM but for Ghent University too.

“We want to improve our position in ranking and for us to do that we have to identify, internationally, top-quality research and education institutes and partner with them and that is the reason we are here.

“Their quality and ambition is high. They have direct access to a talent pool both in terms of young students and young researchers,” Van de Walle said.

Ghent University is a public research university and one of the most prestigious universities in Belgium, currently ranked within the top 150 of the QS World University Rankings 2024.

QS World University Rankings is a portfolio of comparative college and university rankings compiled by Quacquarelli Symonds, a higher education analytics firm.

The Ghent University rector stressed that although TUM has a strong connection to a talent pool, they are not in Kenya to identify talent in the country and take it to Belgium.

“We want to find high-quality people to work with,” Van de Walle said.

He said TUM’s intention to start a School of Medicine allows them to create an access point to explore other potential domains of research or education.

Prof Abubakar said the collaboration with Ghent University will also help improve TUM’s research department.

“We are not only signing the MoU. We are also match-making to identify areas of interest so that we can now initiate the conversation today,” the TUM VC said.

She said although research in Kenya is not where it is supposed to be, there is markedly an improvement and potential for improvement.

“We want to collaborate with the best because that is when we will get that advantage from those who are already doing the research and then identify the unique areas which are bedevilling our own country and how we can partner and solve some of the problems,” Abubakar said.

She noted that at the end of the day, research should help solve some of the community's problems.

However, Van de Walle cautioned against underestimating Kenya’s research strength and potential and overestimating other country’s.

“I’ve been in Kenya now for about a week. I’ve been visiting universities and research institutes in Nairobi, Eldoret and now in Mombasa.  I’ve met tens of people.

“I can tell you the quality of the people is excellent. Even the quality of the infrastructure is excellent. You have in Kenya and in your institutions, a talent pool that is much broader than ours. You have lots of young people,” Van de Walle said.

He said the ambition of young Kenyan students is impressive.

Prof Marleen Temmerman from Ghent University’s Obstetrics and Gynecology department, who has worked in Kenya since 1985, said she has seen in 40 years in Kenya an evolution in the potential of Kenya.

She said since TUM has a technical background, it becomes easy for the varsity to produce an all-round student in the medical field.

“Now and in the future, medicine and health sciences need also to be embedded in more technology,” Prof Temmerman said.

Ghent University’s Prof emeritus Katharina D’Herde said already, four lecturers have already shown interest in joining TUM’s imminent School of Medicine to teach and collaborate.