This year’s Joint Facility for Electives (JFE) got off to an impressive start with its official opening on July 9 at the Kenya School of Monetary Studies (KSMS). Speaker after speaker at the launch urged the students to set high goals and to exploit their full potential. There are 145 students drawn from 17 African nationalities on the Collaborative Master’s Programme (CMAP) and 31 students from 10 African countries on the Collaborative PhD Programme (CPP) – giving a total of 176 students. The two programmes are managed by the African Economic Research Consortium (AERC).
This is the largest gathering of graduate students from sub-Saharan Africa.
Furthermore, over 40 highly qualified lecturers and professors, majority of them from Africa, are teaching the CMAP and CPP courses at the facility. The bringing together of students from different nations in one facility allows the formation of networks among African scholars that become extremely valuable long after the students have completed their studies. This is an “African Union” of its own kind because when the students leave this facility; they will have made ever-lasting academic and social relationships with their colleagues from other parts of Africa.
In his welcome address to the students, Prof. Kinandu Muragu, the Executive Director of the Kenya School of Monetary Studies (KSMS) said the KSMS was privileged to host JFE as the programme adds value to the institution. “It makes me feel part and parcel of the university community.” At the same time, he lauded Prof. Olive Mugenda, Vice Chancellor of Kenyatta University saying she was an ideal role model to the students and especially the female ones.
Further, he said that with the huge contribution that economics makes to the development of the African continent, the current students should play a bigger role in developing the region in the next 10 years. Prof. Muragu stressed the need for Africans to author their own books so as not to depend on reference materials developed and published elsewhere. “Africa has good scholars who can author academic books,” he emphasized.
On his part, Dr. Innocent Matshe, the AERC Director of Training observed that it has been a tough year for all in terms of preparation, but warned the students that it would get tougher. He told the students to make use of the facility to learn something new. Dr. Matshe further emphasized on networking and interaction among the student community. He recognized the professors drawn from all over the world for their big role of capacity building in Africa and expressed gratitude to the KSMS administration for their extra efforts to host some 200 people in the next four months. He urged students to take this as an opportunity to make learning a way of life.
After welcoming the students, Prof. William Lyakurwa, AERC Executive Director, held a special reception for students from Francophone countries, mainly University of Yaoundé II in Cameroon and University of Cocody in Ivory Coast. He noted that when the CPP started, it was focused on sub-Saharan Africa, but Francophone countries tried to break away; AERC has endeavored to retain this group. “We should strive to keep the sub-continent together rather than attempt to divide it along linguistic lines,” he advised.
Prof. Lyakurwa heaped praise on the special guest, Prof. Mugenda, who he said had made history by becoming the first woman to be appointed a Vice Chancellor of a public university in Kenya, Eastern and Southern Africa. At the same time, he cautioned students to be respectful and abide by the rules of their host institution.
And, in her address to the students, Prof. Mugenda urged them to be persistent and to work hard if they want to succeed. “You have to make sacrifices if you want doors to open for you,” she said. At the same time, she advised female students that it is possible to juggle career with family life successfully. She warned them that the JFE programme was quite intensive and fast-paced, therefore, they should use all the facilities available, like the e-learning infrastructure. Prof Mugenda said that through this programme, AERC was sowing seeds of African unity and encouraged students to network as much as possible and even do collaborative work.
Prof. Mugenda has built an impressive track record of quality leadership through her professional contribution towards improving the quality of education in Kenya. Kenyatta University recently made two noteworthy achievements under Prof. Mugenda’s watch as VC. In May 2008, the university was recognized as the best performing state corporation in the 2006/07 performance contract evaluations. In the same year, the university received ISO 9001:2000 quality certification for its excellence in accountability and operations. More recently, the university became the first learning institution to establish a business innovation and incubation centre; this was launched in July 2011. The centre will nurture and create employment for the youth.
The JFE is an annual 14–16-week residential CollaborativeMaster’s PhD Programmewhere students are taught a wide range of elective courses by highly qualified teaching faculty drawn from Africa and beyond. This ensures that the programmes’ high standards are maintained, as well as to bring students together in a mutually-enriching environment. AERC is the executing agency responsible for resource mobilization, logistics and contractual arrangements. To participate in the JFE, students must have successfully completed the core courses (microeconomics, macroeconomics and quantitative methods) at their respective universities as a precondition. After the JFE, students return to their institutions for comprehensive exams (PhD students only) and thesis research (for both Master’s and PhD students). This year's JFE for the CMAP runs from June 27 to September 23, while that of CPP is from July 4 to November 2011.
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