Varsities urged to help bridge knowledge gap in textile sector

The textile industry has been singled out as one of the sectors that have stagnated due to knowledge gaps between the sector and academia.

Investment, Trade and Industry Cabinet Secretary Lee Kinyanjui, while addressing participants at the inaugural Community Workshop on Sustainability in Nairobi on Wednesday, said there is a disparity between research advancements and farming practices even in the community adjacent to universities.

"You find varieties that have gone through research, but the linkage remains lost," he said.

He said, for instance, during a previous visit to Lamu County, farmers noted that the cotton seeds they are supplied are not suitable for the area.

The CS said there is a gap in research on which seeds would work well in what areas, so that farmers can be advised accordingly.

"This obviously affects business. If we want to grow our textiles sector and cannot grow cotton, we really won't go far," the CS noted.

He recalled during his time as a principal secretary for roads that he sought to have the University of Nairobi (UoN) and Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology spearhead collaboration among engineering departments in learning institutions to advance road construction technology.

"If you look at the roads, even the railway we have constructed, a lot of that has been done by companies from abroad. If not, could our engineering departments run the next railway from here to Malaba or Eldoret?" he posed.

Jubilee Holdings Ltd Chief Executive Julius Kipng'etich, who also chairs the Advisory Board for the Africa Centre of Excellence on Sustainable Operations for Resource Management and Food Supply (SCO) domiciled at UoN, said institutions of higher learning exist to solve societal problems.

"Part of the revolution and thinking in this programme is alignment of courses to what the industry wants," he said, referencing the Master of Science in Sustainable Management and Operations (Sumo) offered at UoN.

The programme has been developed in collaboration with the University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, and Kuhne Logistics University, Germany, through SCO.

Dr Kipngetich said there is a need for universities to adapt to the fast pace the world is moving by relooking at their curricula and adjusting to the skills needed in the business environment. This is with emphasis on sustainable practices, which are dictating business operations.

"Where I work, we have a vacancy for an ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) manager we cannot fill because there is no local university that provides talent and skills for ESG," he revealed.

"If you look at where the world is going, we are conquering space and using space technology in ordinary operations. And artificial intelligence (AI) is here. Now, are we going to embed it into all programmes? It completely changes how curricula are delivered in schools."

Prof XN Iraki, from the UoN School of Business, said the conference was put together on the realisation that while universities, businesses and government do their part, their efforts have not been synergised for maximum impact.

"That is the missing link there," he said. "One of the things we have decided is we must go beyond classes and lectures and consider the society because they are the consumers of knowledge, and they are the ones going to implement the ideas we generate."

Prof Francis Mulaa, the Deputy Vice Chancellor for Research, Innovation and Enterprise at UoN, said sustainability should be viewed as a business opportunity as opposed to a problem.

"You can actually derive a livelihood from the pollution we talk about, and that is what makes it sustainable," he said.