1. ENHANCING PROGRAMS’ QUALITY AND INNOVATION CAPABILITIES IN HIGHER EDUCATION TO DRIVE KENYA’S PROSPERITY AND QUALITY OF LIFE IN 21ST CENTURY.
A PUBLIC LECTURE
AT THE
UNIVERSITY OF ELDORET, ELDORET, KENYA. BY
PROF. BOSIRE MONARI MWEBI, PhD
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR, FACULTY OF EDUCATION,
ST.FRANCIS XAVIER UNIVERSITY, ANTIGONISH, NOVA SCOTIA, CANADA.
JUNE 8TH, 2017

2. 21ST CENTURY SKILLS
The world in which today’s students will graduate is fundamentally different from the one in which we grew up. Students in the 21st century will be confronted with increasingly complex social cultural, economic, technological, and global challenges

3. POST-SECONDARY EDUCATION IN 21ST CENTURY
Post-secondary education must prepare students who possess sophisticated, diversified, and complementary, competencies that will enable them to navigate through these challenges.
The implementation of 21st Century skills require an integrative approach to curriculum that combines academic subjects, interdisciplinary themes, and essential skills, with instruction which uses modern pedagogies and technologies.

4. 21ST CENTURY LEARNING ENVIRONMENT
In 21st century learning environment, competencies and skill attainment are emphasized. All students have opportunities to gain proficiency at their own rate and in their own way. Setting of clear standards help students to know where they are in the process of gaining competencies and allows them to monitor their own progress.

5. POST-SECONDARY EDUCATION IN KENYA
Recent reports in post-secondary sector have highlighted that Kenya’s higher education training is facing several challenges, and one of them is the mismatch between skills taught in classroom and the skills needed by industry.

6. STRATEGIES TO IMPROVE PROGRAM QUALITY AND INNOVATION IN POST-SECONDARY EDUCATION
IMPROVEMENT IN PROGRAM CONTENT
IMPROVEMENT IN PROGRAM DELIVERY
IMPROVEMENT IN PEDAGOGICAL SKILLS
INNOVATION POSSIBILITIES THROUGH PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP
BUILDING EFFECTIVE INTERFACE BETWEEN UNIVERSITIES AND BUSINESS

7. IMPROVEMENT IN PROGRAM CONTENT
Have a sustainable strategies that will lead to Improvement in program content and courses that demonstrate connects to current knowledge and graduate skills required in public and private sectors,
Engage employers in course design and delivery.

8. IMPROVEMENT IN PROGRAM DELIVERY
Shift reliance on lectures and exams to a broader array of delivery strategies.
Move from rote learning to competence-centered learning – producing graduates with critical thinking and problem-solving skills.

9. IMPROVEMENT IN PEDAGOGICAL SKILLS
Faculty need to have pedagogical skills such as how students learn (Multiple intelligence), how to engage learners through student-centered strategies

10. INNOVATION POSSIBILITIES THROUGH PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP
There is need for systematic improvement strategies in post-secondary institutions’ business models to develop the ability to generate revenue streams

11. RESEARCH PARTNERSHIP AND ECONOMIC GROWTH
There is need for more client-focused, demand driven research initiatives

12. BUILDING EFFECTIVE INTERFACE BETWEEN UNIVERSITIES AND BUSINESS
How can university research open doors to business to build constructive interface for collaboration?
Matching Strengths With Opportunities
Building Industrial Consortium Models
Simplifying Rules Of Engagement
Enhancing Commercialization And Knowledge Translation Savvy

13. MATCHING STRENGTHS WITH OPPORTUNITIES
Identifying priority research teams to match areas of strength with areas of unmet need in the society for new knowledge and innovation

14. BUILDING INDUSTRIAL CONSORTIUM MODELS
Using industry consortium model – bringing multiple industries to the table together – creates an environment to tackle their problems that are a major barriers to their progress

15. Simplifying Rules Of Engagement
Creating simple rules of engagement with industry helps streamline their investment in people and research at the universities. Standard templates for contracts as well as clear policies on overhead and intellectual property.

16. Enhancing Commercialization And Knowledge Translation Savvy
Developing focused professional development and training programs for faculty and graduate students around commercialization and knowledge translation builds their confidence and know-how to interface with industry effectively

17. THANK YOU! QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS WELCOME!