“Unity is strength…. when there is teamwork and collaboration, wonderful things can be achieved” Mattie Stepanek.

The Meru University of Science and Technology (MUST) family held a New Year’s Meeting on 6^th January, 2023.  Prof. Eustace Mwenda, Director Board of Postgraduate Studies (BPS), gave the reading of the day from Psalms 133:1-3: ¹ How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity! ² It is like precious oil poured on the head, running down on the beard, running down on Aaron’s beard, down on the collar of his robe. ³ It is as if the dew of Hermon were falling on Mount Zion. For there the Lord bestows His blessing, even life forevermore. The powerful lesson from the Bible focused on living together in unity and the blessings of brotherly unity.

“Good morning ladies and gentlemen and Happy New Year! I come to you with much appreciation that God has given us another year to serve this great University, with a dream of our great grandfathers “The Makerere of Kenya”. This dream is rejuvenated by the freshness of the new year and the expectations I read in your faces, the building blocks that have kept us going.  Yes, we do know MUST is our common denominator and common foundation. It is our home, and as staff of this great University we are forever conscious of this great bond, a bond that unites us all.  Today as we are gathered here, we can all testify and celebrate and count many blessings that God has given us over the past year. Indeed, He has been our Ebenezer, our Provider, our source of victory.” Prof. Romanus Odhiambo.

The Vice-Chancellor greatly appreciated the members of staff for their continued dedication and commitment to the University.  He highlighted some of the achievements that the University has accomplished so far;

1. We have continued to meet our financial commitments: paying our salaries on time, paying our statutory deductions on time as well as paying our suppliers on time.
2. Our academic activities: (teaching, student enrolment and Academic programmes accreditation) have exponentially grown. 98 programmes have been approved by the Commission for University Education (CUE); only 2 remain and are in the accreditation process.
3. We have been able to initiate and re-energise our Research, Innovation, Commercialization and Extension (RICE) agenda; the inaugural research conference 2022 (MUSTIC 2022), our launch of the research journal, as well as the increase in external research Grant’s applications.

4. We have stabilized our relationship with the community and to this end the Community’s confidence in the University has grown.
5. New thinking on how we should carry our mission: Relooking at the MUST CBD campus and reviewing its activities to be in line with the needs of lifelong learning hence looking at it as a Centre for Professional Development and Continuous Education Programme.

6. Focusing the University to be a research and an entrepreneurial University: introducing graduate and research assistantship,
7. Creating an international liaison office in Nairobi to serve as a bridge between the University, corporate institutions and global institutions.
8. Signing many linkages to nationalise and internationalise and globalize the University.

The Registrar, Administration and Planning, Dr. Elijah Walubuka, briefed members of staff on the Quality Management System (ISO 9001:2015), Information Security Management System (ISO 27001:2013) and Performance Contract.  Dr. Walubuka thanked members of staff for their dedication and commitment in the previous year with the University bagging two major achievements on the two (2) standards; Re-certification on the Quality Management System and the Official Launch of the Information Security Management System.

The Ag. Deputy Registrar Human Resources, Mr. Peter Wekesa, sensitized members of staff on the MUST code of conduct and Terms of Service. He said that the MUST staff code of conduct guides individuals as to how they should behave at the workplace.  He further stated that employee ethics is essential for maintaining discipline at the workplace.

The colourful event provided an opportunity for members of staff to interact with one another, share ideas and a meal.

“I wish you all the best. Let us go and serve our University. Let us be strong and focused in serving our University to produce world class graduates who are competitive, have integrity, are professional, are of high quality and innovative; ready to be stewards in the 21^st Century. This year, my focus remains the same; to work towards achieving and maintaining continued success for Meru University of Science and Technology.” Prof. Romanus Odhiambo.