Engineers have a critical role to play in making Kenya a knowledge-based economy

From left: National Construction Authority Chief Executive Officer Daniel Manduku, Institute of Engineers of Kenya chairman Rueben Kosgei and Bamburi Cement managing director Bruno Pescheux at the launch of a mobile concrete testing laboratory in Nairobi on November 4, 2015. PHOTO | SALATON NJAU | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • To transition into a knowledge-based economy, it is not only important for us as a nation to attract global industry players, but also to foster the development of Kenyan engineering firms to a level where they too become global players.

  • This can be achieved by encouraging trained engineers and other professionals to register and join their respective professional institutions such as the Institution of Engineers of Kenya and the Engineers Registration Board.
  • We should encourage engineering firms to employ registered engineers in their businesses.

In the competitive world we live in today, the success of organisations is largely determined by their ability to develop and commercialise innovative products that not only allow them to reap the economic dividends of innovation, but also build a knowledge-based economy.

We in the engineering profession have a critical role to play in making Kenya a knowledge-based economy.

To transition into a knowledge-based economy, it is not only important for us as a nation to attract global industry players, but also to foster the development of Kenyan engineering firms to a level where they too become global players.

This dream can only be achieved through development of human capital. A firm focus on driving scholarly progress is indispensable in the development of human capital. As such, stakeholders in the engineering fraternity need to see to it that we churn out world class engineers from our academic institutions. We must begin to strengthen our capacity and credibility as engineers in order to play a more active role in building the Kenya we want.

This can be achieved by encouraging trained engineers and other professionals to register and join their respective professional institutions such as the Institution of Engineers of Kenya (IEK).

Conversely, we should encourage engineering firms to employ registered engineers in their businesses. It is worrying to note that the few engineers who have joined professional bodies seldom participate in its matters. This has left a huge room for non-professionals to slowly but steadily infiltrate the industry, bringing down standards and the country’s global competitiveness.

ACTIVE ROLE

To move past this predicament, I believe that we should not only enroll with the IEK and Engineers Registration Board, but also take a more active and central role in driving innovation.

Last year, Kenya unveiled its industrialisation blueprint with a five-point strategy that aims to make the country a manufacturing and industrial export centre. The blue print, which borrowed heavily from Vision 2030, aims to create a robust, diversified, competitive and industrialised Kenya in 15 years.

Among the focal points is a pillar that will attempt to build local content for resources and infrastructure investment by focusing on the oil and gas sector as well as the construction and service sector. This, in addition to infrastructure development, is an area that our expertise as engineers is needed.

The Kenya Education Network (Kenet) baseline survey carried out in the 2014/2015 academic year found that there were 12 fully fledged universities offering 54 undergraduate engineering degree programmes in Kenya. The undergraduate enrolment was 10,343, representing 2.6 per cent of the total enrolment.

Conversely, of this number, it was noted that the transition to postgraduate was dismal, with only 288 masters and 35 PhD students. The Kenet found that only three universities have awarded PhD degrees in the last three years.

The reasons for a majority of locally-qualified engineers not pursuing advanced degrees are numerous, varied and debatable. This notwithstanding, the development of a technology city presents a unique opportunity to turn this narrative around.

Currently, Konza Technopolis Development Authority is working with Korean Advanced Institute of Science and Technology to establish a graduate school at Konza City. There is also a section to house local universities that will offer degree programmes in science, technology and engineering.

A call for expression of interest by the local universities closed on April 22, 2016, with local universities showing huge interest to have a presence at the city.

John Tanui is the chief executive officer of Konza Technopolis Development Authority; [email protected].