CentraleSupélec Launches Academic Cooperation Activities With The University Of Nairobi

Université Paris-Saclay traveled to Nairobi in early July with four schools from the ParisTech group to take part in the first workshops to launch the tripartite agreement signed in Paris on May 11.

academic-cooperation-centralesupelec-University-NairobiFrom 2019, CentraleSupélec participated in the feasibility study for the realization of the Science and Engineering Complex (ESC) that the University of Nairobi wishes to build on its Chiromo campus in Nairobi. This project, funded by the French Development Agency, will see the Faculties of Engineering and Science and Technology working together to better train the engineers Kenya needs, in accordance with the 2030 national strategy. education, research and innovation, in connection with companies and with strong internationalization.

Several working visits took place between 2019 and 2022, from the French side to Kenya and from the Kenyan side to France, including a working meeting on the CentraleSupélec campus in 2022, bringing together French schools and the University of Nairobi, which wishes to build the ESC in the image of the new campus of the School on the plateau of Saclay.

The construction of the ESC is coupled with a knowledge sharing and transfer component between the French and Kenyan parties. CentraleSupélec – Université Paris-Saclay and the schools of the ParisTech group will work with the University of Nairobi on five pillars: the governance and economic model of the complex, research and innovation, the redesign of curricula, relations with companies and internationalization. This trip allowed the organization of workshops and meetings with the various Faculties – Engineering and Science and Technology, but also Agriculture, and Business and Management – ​​and the Directorate of University Advancement & Institutional Development to define more concretely the actions to be carried out. .

Opening by the Vice-Chancellor and the Ambassador of France to Kenya
The Vice-Chancellor of the University of Nairobi, Pr. Stephen Kiama, opened the week by recalling the importance of this cooperation for the establishment, which thus benefited not from a single partner, but from the expertise of five engineering schools and a French university. The Ambassador of France to Kenya and Somalia, HE Arnaud Suquet, added that this tripartite agreement was the flagship project of French university cooperation in Kenya and lays the foundations for a collaboration that can be replicated in other countries. The ESC thus opens the way to cross-mobility of students, doctoral students, researchers, teachers and staff and to the sharing of experiences for the creation of value in Kenya.

While Bertrand Willoquet, Country Director of AFD in Kenya, underlined that this partnership was win-win and that the complex would respect environmental values ​​in application of the Paris Agreement, the Deputy Vice-Chancellor in charge of Academic Affairs , Pr. Julius Ogengò, recalled the University’s enthusiasm and impatience to work with companies to train engineers capable of meeting the challenges of the 21st century.

Pr. Fethi Beidoui, Director of International Relations at Chimie ParisTech, on behalf of the French delegation, noted the role of East African leader of the University of Nairobi, committed to excellence in education, research and of innovation. He reiterated the enthusiasm of French schools to support the Kenyan university in achieving its objectives.

A dense program and constructive workshops
Following this inaugural session, workshops and conferences devoted to the pillars of the project were held. A first half-day brought together the companies, in particular the five that have already committed to collaborating with the University of Nairobi – TotalEnergies, Elgon Kenya, Bureau Veritas, Schneider Electric and Saint Gobain, of the academic world. It was an opportunity to bring out the needs of companies and the expectations of the University in order to make them converge and work together on the training of tomorrow’s engineers. It is on this pillar that CentraleSupélec, via its Corporate Relations and Valuation Department, has already committed itself. Several online workshops enabled staff from the Directorate of University Advancement & Institutional Development, in particular the team of Marc Zolver, international technical expert in post since September 2022, to train. Training activities, distance or face-to-face, will continue, in order to provide the University of Nairobi with a service that will bring the industrial world closer to training and research.

The second day was an opportunity to discuss research and innovation themes. In small groups, mixing staff from the Faculties of Engineering, Science and Technology, Agriculture and Business and Management, the interlocutors reflected on the improvements to be made to research at the University of Nairobi and the ways to achieve this. , including, for example, doctoral mobility, teacher-researcher exchanges, joint seminars or closer ties with companies. In terms of innovation, the University is already carrying out several actions, such as the C4D lab (Computing for Development) on the Chiromo campus or the future ATIC (Agricultural Technology and Innovation Center) financed by Elgon Kenya on the campus of the Faculty of ‘Agriculture.

A third day was devoted to a major subject: curriculum reform. The discussions in small groups have brought to light various possibilities to better train the engineers that the country and the region need. Several scenarios have emerged, from the renovation of existing courses to the establishment of a five-year course of excellence, through the establishment of cross-disciplinary modules applicable to different courses. This third day was also an opportunity to present the current situation of the internationalization of the University of Nairobi. Anne Nkoidila, who is leading the creation of an international relations department with the support of Marc Zolver, gave an overview of existing collaborations, expectations and opportunities for cooperation. The University has already responded to the call for Erasmus+ Intra-African Mobility as coordinator of a consortium of South African (University of Witwatersrand), Rwandan (University of Rwanda) and Nigerian ( University of Lagos), whose European partner is the University of Paris Sciences & Lettres. CentraleSupélec, via its International Relations Department, will endeavor, with Chimie ParisTech and the University of Paris-Saclay, to submit a Capacity Building project to the Erasmus+ program. This will be an opportunity for the University of Nairobi to increase its pool of expertise thanks to other European partners, in particular the European Alliances EUGLOH and EELISA. Rwandan (University of Rwanda) and Nigerian (University of Lagos), whose European partner is the University of Paris Sciences & Lettres. CentraleSupélec, via its International Relations Department, will endeavor, with Chimie ParisTech and the University of Paris-Saclay, to submit a Capacity Building project to the Erasmus+ program. This will be an opportunity for the University of Nairobi to increase its pool of expertise thanks to other European partners, in particular the European Alliances EUGLOH and EELISA. Rwandan (University of Rwanda) and Nigerian (University of Lagos), whose European partner is the University of Paris Sciences & Lettres. CentraleSupélec, via its International Relations Department, will work with Chimie ParisTech and the University of Paris-Saclay to submit a Capacity Building project to the Erasmus+ programme. This will be an opportunity for the University of Nairobi to increase its pool of expertise thanks to other European partners, in particular the European Alliances EUGLOH and EELISA.

The visit to Nairobi ended with a half-day of work on business-university relations and the actions or tools to be put in place, then a half-day of conclusion at the French Embassy, ​​with the Ambassador and the Cooperation and Cultural Action Service. This meeting was an opportunity to take stock of the actions to come, from the start of the 2023 school year.

Outlook
The signing of the agreement in Paris in May and its launch in Nairobi in July pave the way for the structuring of cooperation in Franco-Kenyan pairs or in committees according to the pillars.

Starting in the fall, a second curricular workshop will bring together the various options mentioned and study their feasibility for the University of Nairobi. In October, researchers from French schools and universities will participate in annual research seminars organized by the Faculties of the University of Nairobi in order to identify the areas of scientific cooperation to be given priority. CentraleSupélec’s Business Relations and Valorization Department will continue to support the Directorate of University Advancement to consolidate business-university relations. The International Relations Department will begin its work on the structuring of an international relations office capable of managing student, doctoral student, teacher and staff mobility,

The delegation returned enthusiastic about the cooperation that is being structured with the University of Nairobi and impressed by the richness of the exchanges and the dynamism of the teams. The Science and Engineering Complex is a great project for the University, for Franco-Kenyan university cooperation, but also for the five schools and the partner university in that it allows them to extend their presence on the African continent and in especially East Africa.