The Kenya Medical Research Institute (Kemri) Graduate School will soon become a full-blown university.
Health CS Susan Nakhumicha revealed this on Tuesday when she officially opened the 14th Kemri Annual Scientific and Health Conference in Nairobi.
The Kemri Graduate School (KGS) is the university arm of Kemri offering specialized postgraduate degrees in line with the institution’s mandate.
KGS aims to develop a human resource base equipped with updated research skills and knowledge to provide solutions to the rapidly growing healthcare delivery challenges facing the African region.
Nakhumicha acknowledged that Kemri plays a vital role in the capacity building of upcoming researchers within the country and beyond.
The health CS noted that she had already written to Education CS Ezekiel Machogu to that effect.
“Kemri has been providing post-graduate courses, especially for researchers and scientists in those areas and so we are working towards the university to be recognised and now go full blown in terms of providing those post-graduate courses,” Nakhumicha said.
“I have already written to my Education counterpart CS Ezekiel Machogu and plans are underway, very soon. We are working closely with Kemri itself you shall now see us launch the Kemri University,” she reaffirmed.
The CS noted that a combination of academic, research and global partnerships available at Kemri make postgraduate study a fertile environment for young scientists aspiring to build a future rewarding career in health research and innovation.
Since 2003, KGS has contributed to local and international research capacity building in Masters, Doctoral and Postdoctoral training in diverse areas.
These include Biomedical Sciences, Public Health, Epidemiology and Medicinal Chemistry.
Since its inception, KGS has enrolled more than 1,700 students at Master, Doctoral and Postdoctoral levels.
Kemri has recently achieved the prestigious status of being the leading health research institution in Kenya, surpassing other renowned institutions in the 2023 rankings by Scimago Lab.
The institute's outstanding performance underscores its dedication to excellence and its significant contribution to health research at both national and continental levels.
