UoN, Kenyatta University get Sh222 million grant for research

Kenyatta University main entrance. [File, Standard]

Students of two local universities are going to benefit from a well-funded international research project and thriving consortium of global universities.

The University of Nairobi and Kenyatta University join network of experienced and next-generation researchers from Europe and South Korea.

The universities collectively secured a Sh222.33 million (EUR 1,292,600.00) from the Horizon Europe initiative, the European Union's Marie Curie Staff Mobility flagship for research and innovation.

This global approach will allow researchers to gain first-hand and in-depth insights on relevant research topics and develop skills through networking and training.

This will also improve their employability and future talent management through capitalizing and transforming global entrepreneurial education.

Dubbed, 'The Global Entrepreneurial Talent Management 4 (GETM4)' project will link 11 universities across nine countries by identifying complex dynamics of individual entrepreneurs worldwide, unravelling their roles, attitudes, and expectations in innovation during emergencies.

It also seeks to investigate the broader role of industries in predicting and adapting to disruptions, focusing on strategic entrepreneurship within organisations.

Additionally, the project is aimed at identifying collaborations and devise strategies that seamlessly integrate entrepreneurial skills and mentoring processes into Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics courses.

The project will unfold through several exchange programmes amongst the partner institutions based on the principle that tackling global disruptions requires global research teams.

The project which kicked-off at the Technological University Dublin (TUD), School of Computer Science (City) Ireland, will run for a period of four years from November 2023 to November 2026.

Other partner consortiums comprise of a transnational, trans-disciplinary, transgenerational, trans sectorial and gender-balanced research team include South Korea's Kyungpook National University and Chonnam National University, Dublin City University (Ireland), Tallinn University (Estonia) and University of Ljubljana (Slovenia).

International institutions which secured the opportunity are Northumbria University (UK), Technological University Dublin (Ireland), University of Warsaw (Poland), Cyril and Methodius University (North Macedonia) and Universidad Adolfo Ibanez (Chile).

The five industry partners to join in the consortium are Fundacja Po Drugie (Poland), SAP SSC (Ireland), Macedonian Human Resource Association (Macedonia), MEDIADE (Slovenia), EKO Integrated Services (Ireland) and ESEN (Estonia).

GETM4 will organize 368 staff exchanges and a series of sandpits rotating between the partner institutions.

The research will be underpinned by a "respectful impact" perspective since research and innovation should be transferred and translated respectfully between the Global South and North and knowledge should be shared equitably and in all directions.

The project will focus on in-depth research of specific issues from various stakeholder perspectives including students/graduates, HEIs and employers.

The project will Integrate research outputs and develop GETM across dimensions of generations, genders, disciplines, countries, sectors and stakeholders and ensure researcher development and knowledge are transferred and disseminated.

It will also generate research capacity impact through international mobility and collaboration and provide researchers with first-hand and in-depth insights on specific issues from various perspectives, and develop research skills through networking and training incorporated into sandpit events.