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28th Graduation Ceremony Speech by Prof. Simon N. Gicharu, CBS

REMARKS

 BY

PROF. SIMON N. GICHARU, CBS

CHAIRMAN, BOARD OF DIRECTORS

DURING THE

MOUNT KENYA UNIVERSITY 28TH GRADUATION CEREMONY

GRADUATION THEME: “FROM KNOWLEDGE TO NATION-BUILDING: ADVANCING RESPONSIBLE LEADERSHIP AND GOVERNANCE THROUGH HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS.”

ON

FRIDAY, 5TH DECEMBER, 2025

AT

MOUNT KENYA UNIVERSITY GRADUATION PAVILION

HAPPY VALLEY GROUNDS, THIKA

 

  • SALUTATION

 

  • The Chancellor, Prof. John Struthers (Present Online)
  • The Guest Speaker, CPA Dr. Aurelia Rono, Principal Secretary, State Department for Parliamentary Affairs, Office of the Prime Cabinet Secretary, Kenya.
  • Members of the University Board of Directors,
  • The Pro-chancellor and Ag. Chairman of the Council, Dr. Vincent Gaitho,
  • Members of the University Council,
  • Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Deogratius Jaganyi,
  • Vice-Chancellor, Mount Kigali University, Rwanda, Dr. Martin Kimemia,
  • Your Excellencies the Ambassadors present or their Representatives,
  • Vice-Chancellors and Representatives present,
  • Members of the University Management Board and Senate,
  • Mount Kenya University Staff,
  • Parents and Guardians,
  • Graduands and Students,
  • All distinguished guests, Ladies and Gentlemen.

Good Morning,

  • PRELIMINARIES

On behalf of the Board of Management, I wish to appreciate CPA Dr. Aurelia Rono, our Guest Speaker for accepting our invitation to give her talk on the theme of this ceremony which is “From Knowledge to Nation Building: Advancing Responsible Leadership and Governance through Higher Education Institutions.”

I also congratulate the graduands as well as their parents and guardians and all the stakeholders whose dedication has led to the successful completion of the graduands’ studies culminating to this graduation ceremony.  Congratulations!

MKU’s Investment in New Growth Areas for Students and Alumni to Identify Potential Non-Conventional Employment/Self-Employment Opportunities

Ladies and Gentlemen, the four new Growth Areas that MKU BOD has invested in to support students' and Alumni employability are:

  1. Malindi Maritime Academy,
  2. Artificial Intelligence and Robotics,
  3. Sports and Creative Arts,
  4. Placement of German-bound

 

MALINDI MARITIME ACADEMY

The Malindi Maritime Academy, is fully accredited by the Kenya Maritime Authority. It was established in 2024 with the view to creating additional or expanding employment opportunities in the following areas:

  1. Hospitality
  2. Engineering
  3. Nursing
  4. Ship Captains

Through, the training at Malindi Maritime Academy, trainees acquire skills in the following areas;

  1. Nautical Science, which is the study of the art and science of navigation and operating a ship safely at sea. It prepares students for a career in the maritime industry.
  2. STCW - Standard of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers, which is an international convention under the International Maritime Organization (IMO) that guides on the training, certification, and competency of seafarers.
  • Mandatory training on basic safety and security, such as Personal Survival Techniques, Fire Prevention and Fire Fighting, and First Aid.

In support of the Malindi Maritime Academy, the Chairman BoD has personally signed a partnership deal with the Abu Dhabi Maritime Academy (ADMA) with the view to strengthening the training at Malindi Maritime Academy. The Agreement, which was signed in November 2025, mandates ADMA to support Malindi Maritime Academy in capacity building and knowledge transfer development of foundational maritime education programs and Train-The-Trainer activities.

The MKU’s Maritime Academy – ADMA partnership also caters for course development on emerging areas of interest, such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) in maritime applications, maritime safety and sustainability, joint promotion of maritime career education in East Africa, as well as joint research and innovation engagements in initiatives aligned to UN Sustainable Development Goals with a special interest in SDG 9 on Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure.

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI) AND ROBOTICS

The Board has acquired the UBTECH Walker E-Educational Humanoid Robot, which has already been commissioned for the purpose of assisting the students to venture strongly into AI in line with the current global trends.

This is a big leap forward as the Humanoid Robot is a central equipment in advancing AI education, education robotics literacy, inter-disciplinary research, student innovation, and teacher training in alignment with MKU’s AI Strategy and Kenya’s Digital Transformation Agenda.

Through this venture, MKU has joined other leading global universities that have integrated robotics and AI in their activities. These universities include Tianjin University of Technology and Education, Wuhan University, and Shenzhen University, among others.

SPORTS AND CREATIVE ARTS

Co-curricular activities are a key and vital part of the university education worldwide, where leading universities are known to be giants in both co-curricular activities alongside the mainstream programmes.  In this regard, in line with the national policy on promotion of sports and creative economy, the Board of Directors has continued to invest heavily in these co-curricular areas to ensure MKU students' talents are fully tapped and developed.

The Board of Management congratulates the students who have excelled in various sports and other creative arts and notes with pride and appreciation the following sterling cases IN SPORTS;

  • Viona Wangari- who has joined Kenya Army
  • Salome Kemuma - who has joined Kenya Navy
  • Godwin Ochieng - who has joined Kenya Police
  • Bridgit Lucy Katuku - who is in team Kenya who is representing the country in the World under 21 Taekwondo Championship between 3rd and 6th December 2025 in Kasarani Stadium, Kenya.

Appreciation also goes to the University Management and Students Welfare for the conducive and enabling environment.

The Board of Management has also;

  • Bought a consignment of sporting gear, and vital assorted sporting equipment to support sports and creative arts.
  • Supported the same through the improvement of the existing facilities;
  • Provided a high technology-aligned Scania Marcopolo bus dedicated for promotion of sports and creative arts.

 

PLACEMENT OF APPRENTICES IN GERMANY AND AUSTRIA

MKU signed partnership agreements with Germany’s Hochschule Koblenz (Koblenz University), and German healthcare institutions courtesy of AG-Career Hub, which has led to a total of 54 highly qualified nursing apprentices in four cohorts to have successfully been transitioned to Germany thus establishing a sustainable and exemplary model of international professional placement.  The 5th cohort is scheduled to travel to Germany in March 2026. This is part of a research project led by Hochschule Koblenz on sustainable international recruitment.

This has opened up many opportunities and the numbers continue to rise.

The Board wishes to send a word of appreciation to the Government of Kenya for the mobility agreement signed with the Federal Government of Germany which has helped in creating a conducive environment for the Mount Kenya University’s Germany-bound apprentice’s placement initiative.

The Board’s appreciation also goes to the Embassy of the Federal Government of Germany in Nairobi for the strong support accorded to Mount Kenya University in this endeavor.

The Board urges more Kenyans to take advantage of this goodwill between the two Governments which is a significant job creation option to assist the qualified Kenyan Nurses.

INSTITUTIONAL ADVANCEMENT

  1. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE DENTAL SCHOOL

The Board is in support of Mount Kenya University’s collaboration with the Ministry of Health in the establishment of the Dental School.  In support of this, the Board has acquired and commissioned key equipment including State-of-the-art Dental Chairs, Phantom Heads for the skills laboratory including fully equipped labs with CADCAM machines in readiness for the dentistry training. These equipment and facilities have also been backed up the installation of new Dental Chairs and renovation of the Dental Clinic at the Thika Level 5 Hospital for use by the proposed Dental School.

The Board’s support enables Mount Kenya University to have one of the best dental training institutes in the region and becomes one of the leading private universities that offer dental training.

EXPANSION OF ODEL OUTREACH TO UGANDA

The Board will in early April 2026 launch the ODEL Regional Centre in Kampala, Uganda, under the Equip Africa Institute’s ODEL Centre and Online Education.  Once this centre is launched, it will have the capacity to accommodate about 500 students pursuing education at various levels and in different programs.

HOSPITALITY TRAINING IN THE LARGER EAST AFRICAN REGION

The Board has also supported the expansion of Mount Kenya University’s affiliation in Rwanda through the establishment of the Kigali Paramount Hotel where Mount Kenya University’s hospitality students have been crossing over to Rwanda for attachments and internship opportunities.  This is a 4-star luxury hotel in Kigali, Rwanda, located in Kicukiro District of Kigali town, next to the Mount Kigali University (Rwanda) along the highway that leads to the airport.

Here in Kenya, the School of Hospitality, Travel and Tourism Management is bound to expand its reach to Kilifi where the Board shall be completing the Vipingo Beach Front Hotel which is a 5-star facility for training of Hospitality students to make them market-ready and especially allow them the opportunity to link-up with the Malindi Maritime Academy to venture into seafarers-oriented professional engagements.

SUPPORT TOWARDS THE FULL UTILIZATION OF MOUNT KENYA UNIVERSITY’S ALUMNI SKILLS

The Board is encouraging the Mount Kenya University Graduates including those graduating during the 28th Graduation Ceremony to give their unreserved services to the communities where they are working and have their impact positively noticed. The MKU alumni must strive to go an extra mile in their services.

In addition to doing what they are employed for and doing it well enough, they should also aspire to go that extra mile for their services to be better felt.  For instance, if you are a nurse in a hospital near a slum, what would you do as an extra engagement within the community to reach out to the nearby disadvantaged community and offer your professional support?  How can your presence in that neighborhood be felt?

To encourage the “Gesture of Mount Kenya University Alumni “EXTRA-MILE” Support to the Community, the Board has established the “Alumni Extra-Mile Recognition” for their sterling contribution to the society”.

In this regard, a call was made by Mount Kenya University to identify such an alumnus.  This was a very detailed process that was guided by the newly established Alumni Award Policy (2025).

Moving forward into the future, the Board has set aside 100 million Kenya Shillings for an annual appreciation of our Alumni.  This is a grant to keep MKU’s alumni do what they are doing in a better way.  So, the cash price given to beneficiaries of the Alumni annual awards should go towards improving on what they are doing.  Upon receiving of the cash award, they shall ensure they spend the cash award in what they were nominated for or that special engagement which led to their nomination.

Consequently, Ladies and Gentlemen, at this point allow me to invite the Vice-Chancellor to invite the 2025 Alumni Award Beneficiary.

 THE VICE-CHANCELLOR TO LEAD IN THE PROCESS WHERE THE BENFICIARY WILL BE AWARDED BY THE CHAIR BOD

 CONCLUSION

As I conclude, may I once again congratulate you, our graduands.

In a special way, I also wish to congratulate some few persons who are graduating in today’s ceremony as follows:

  1. Ambassador, Samuel Thuita - Kenya’s Ambassador to Israel,
  2. Antony Ng’ang’a Mwaura – Chairman, Kenya Rural Roads Authority,
  3. Steve Thompson MAGANA - Media personality
  4. Hon. Gertrude Mbeyu Mwanyanje – Women Representative, Kilifi County,

On behalf of the Board of Directors, sincere prayers for all graduands to find joy in their respective careers and in their Extra-Mile support to their communities.

 

Thank you for your audience.

Prof. Simon Gicharu, CBS

CHAIRMAN, BOARD OF DIRECTORS

MOUNT KENYA UNIVERSITY

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