Meru county Governor, Hon. Kiraitu Murungi, MUST Chancellor Dr. James Mwangi and MUST Vice Chancellor Prof. Romanus Odhiambo during the 6^th Graduation and Vice Chancellor’s Inauguration ceremony.

MUST 6^th Graduation and Vice Chancellor’s Inauguration Ceremony

Friday, 8^th March 2019 will forever be a memorable day for Meru University of Science and Technology. It goes down in history as the Celebration of our 6^th Graduation Ceremony and Inauguration of our Vice Chancellor, Prof. Romanus Odhiambo.

Parents, guardians, relatives and friends trickled into our main campus from 6:00am beaming with joy to come witness their loved ones graduate. The Class of 2019 looked ever so radiant adorned in their graduation gowns. Laughter and endless selfie stations filled our beautiful campus. It was clear from the onset; this would be a remarkable day.

The inauguration of Prof. Romanus Odhiambo as the Vice Chancellor of Meru University of Science and Technology kick-started the event.

MUST Chancellor Dr. James Mwangi CBS installs Prof. Romanus Odhiambo as the second Vice Chancellor of Meru University of Science and Technology as the Chairman of University Council Prof. Dulacha Galgalo looks on.

This event’s theme “Celebrating competitive Graduates for socio-economic development” shone through every speech offered during the ceremony.

PS Alfred Cheruiyot representing the outgoing Education Cabinet Secretary Amb. Dr. Amina Mohamed, urged the University to provide numerous opportunities for training students with the aim of easy transition from learning to earning. PS Cheruiyot emphasized on the need to include technical skills in the curriculum since the Big 4 Agenda and Kenya Vision 2030 will require such skills.

MUST Chancellor, Dr. James Mwangi urged the University Council and management to work as a team and embrace best practice governance in enabling the provision of quality higher education in the University. The Chancellor stated the role of Universities is to be drivers of the nation towards newly industrializing, middle level economy with high quality of life through training, research and innovation. Dr. Mwangi applauded the University on the on-going and existing research projects aimed at meeting those needs, citing the true return on any investment of any research and innovation as the ultimate positive impacts on the beneficiaries.

“Investment in functional research and innovation is key to addressing our societies` needs to add value to their available resources in order to create wealth.” MUST Chancellor, Dr. James Mwangi.

The Meru County Governor, Hon. Kiraitu Murungi thanked the University management for staying true to Njuri Ncheke’s (Meru Council of Elders) dream of creating and maintaining a University in the region. Hon. Kiraitu congratulated Prof.Romanus Odhiambo on his installation and describe him as a great leader and educationist.

The Governor stated his administration would work to support the institution and its environs by making Nchiru a symbio-city. He added the institution is playing a key role in solving the complex problems in the county and nation at large, in order to make a positive social economic influence for the future. Hon. Kiraitu noted that in collaboration with private sector and relevant stakeholders, he will seek to increase water resources for the institution and the community, green the institution and enhance infrastructural development.

“Quality in sphere of life should be a great concern for Kenyans. The Ministry of Education encourages Universities to make curriculum reviews to bridge the gap exsiting between industrial needs and the quality of education offered to learners.” Mr. Cheruiyot Alfred PS State Department for Post Training and Skills Development giving a speech on behalf of CS Amb. Dr. Amina Mohamed.

The Chairman of Council, Prof. Dulacha Galgalo stated the University Council acknowledges the various milestones achieved by the University in its growth and development stages for the last 10 years. Prof. Galgalo affirmed that in staying true to the theme of the graduation, the University Council is keenly focused on imparting practical and industry driven competencies to our graduates by supporting the management and senate to occasionally review curriculum to match with the skills and demands in our industries and global society.

Our newly installed Vice Chancellor, Prof. Romanus Odhiambo congratulated the Class of 2019 noting that training and graduating a young population like our graduands here today takes team effort.

“In the first seven months of my tenure at Meru University of Science and Technology, we have identified a number of key areas to concentrate our effort in. These choices have been informed by existing government policies, dynamics of customer preferences and sustainable competitive advantages in the higher education sector in Kenya. In order to increase access to high education, we have embarked on aggressive marketing, traversing across several counties to inform Kenyans of the learning opportunities at our University. At the same time, we are developing several curricula from certificate levels to doctorate, in close adherence to the requirements spelt out by the Commission for University Education (CUE), Kenya National Qualification Authority (KNQA) and Technical and Vocational Training Authority (TVETA). Further, we are also developing short courses cutting across areas of agriculture and food security, public health, environment and manufacturing that target to impart life skills to our local communities. These choices were deliberately made to address the Big Four Agenda as well as dispel the traditional notion that university is only for the elitist group in the society.” Vice Chancellor, Prof. Romanus Odhiambo

In this 6^th Graduation ceremony, more than a thousand graduands were conferred with Degrees and others awarded Diplomas and Certificates in a variety of fields.

In the decked out graduation gardens, the Class of 2019 was treated to copies of the Friday Daily Nation where a spread on this great event was featured.

This group of ladies celebrated the fact that their graduation fell on the same date the world celebrates women. It was without a doubt a Happy International Day for Women.

Here are some memories captured during the great ceremony: