Varsities challenged to turn research into jobs and enterprises

University students during past graduation on August 114, 2026. [Jenipher Wachie, Standard]

Universities have been challenged to move beyond academic publications and accelerate the commercialisation of research and innovation to create jobs, enterprises and practical solutions to Africa’s development challenges.

Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Migos Ogamba said institutions of higher learning must deliberately identify promising innovations and help move them from laboratories and workshops into the marketplace, where they can generate economic value and improve people's lives.

Speaking during the joint graduation ceremony of Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) and the Pan African University Institute for Basic Sciences, Technology and Innovation (PAUSTI), the CS said universities had a responsibility to ensure research contributes directly to national development.

“As we strive to deliver on this role, I call upon our institutions of higher learning to make deliberate efforts to scale up promising innovations and translate them into viable products, services and enterprises,” Ogamba said in a speech read on his behalf by Technical and Vocational Education and Training Principal Secretary Dr Esther Muoria.

The CS noted that universities must become stronger engines of innovation, enterprise and employment, ensuring that research does not remain confined to laboratories but reaches communities, industries and markets.

Ogamba also urged universities to prepare for the transition to Competency-Based Education, with the first cohort expected to enter university in 2029.

The call comes as universities face growing pressure to demonstrate how research funding and academic expertise can translate into tangible economic and social benefits.

JKUAT Vice Chancellor Prof. Victoria Ngumi, Chancellor Prof. Joseph Mathu, TVET PS Dr Esther Muoria and  JKUAT Council Chair Dr. James Onsando on August 14, 2026. [Jenipher Wachie, Standard]

JKUAT Vice Chancellor Prof. Victoria Ngumi said the university was strengthening partnerships to ensure its research addresses practical challenges facing the country and the continent.

She cited the university's contribution to Kenya's National AI Strategy, cleaner maritime technologies, improved potato production and initiatives connecting dairy farmers to markets as examples of research and innovation with practical applications.

“We are also embedding outcome-based education in our engineering programmes as we work towards their accreditation under the Washington Accord,” Ngumi said.

The university has also introduced new academic programmes targeting emerging national and global needs, including degrees in Communication and Marketing, Revenue Administration and Technology, Chemical Engineering and Nautical Science.

JKUAT Chancellor Prof. Joseph Mathu Ndung’u said research should ultimately be measured by its impact on society rather than the number of academic papers produced.

He pointed to research in agricultural biotechnology, artificial intelligence, bioinformatics and climate-resilient agriculture as areas with potential to transform livelihoods.

“Such work reminds us that the finest university research does not end with publication. It finds its way into farms, enterprises, public institutions and households, where it can improve livelihoods and widen opportunity,” Ndung’u said.

JKUAT Council Chair Dr. James Micah Onsando said the university had made progress in protecting intellectual property, securing one patent and four copyright registrations in the six months preceding the graduation.

The registrations cover areas including agriculture, engineering, health, digital systems, renewable energy and manufacturing.

“Our next task, therefore, is to accelerate the journey from laboratory and workshop to market and community, so that research contributes not only to knowledge creation, but also to jobs, new enterprises, improved services and sustainable revenue for the University,” Onsando said.

He said JKUAT's membership in the United Nations Artificial Intelligence Capacity Development Network as a founding member would create additional opportunities in AI skills development, computing infrastructure, data governance and responsible technology use.

However, Onsando also raised concerns over infrastructure challenges at the university, appealing for support to rehabilitate its internal road network and find a lasting solution to periodic flooding that affects movement and university operations.

He welcomed the government's plan to construct a hostel at JKUAT under the Affordable Housing Programme but urged authorities to expedite its completion.

The PAU Vice Rector for Academic and Student Affairs, Prof. Bolanle Idowu Akeredolu-Ale, challenged graduates to apply their knowledge beyond the classroom and embrace entrepreneurship and innovation as they enter the wider economy.