The Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) and the Pan African University Institute for Basic Sciences, Technology and Innovation (PAUSTI) yesterday held a historic joint graduation ceremony.
The event, held at JKUAT’s main campus, marked the 45th convocation for JKUAT and the 13th for PAUSTI, underscoring a shared commitment to advancing science, technology, and innovation in Africa. The ceremony also served as a platform to showcase cutting-edge research yielding real-world impact from both institutions.
A total of 4,541 graduands were conferred with degrees, diplomas and certificates in a colourful ceremony presided over by JKUAT Chancellor Prof. Joseph Mathu Ndung’u. JKUAT awarded 68 PhDs, 258 Masters, 3,616 Bachelors degrees, 411 diplomas and 110 certificates. PAUSTI presented 11 PhDs and 10 Masters degrees.
Prof. Ndung’u reaffirmed the University’s commitment to excellence and lauded recent national honours bestowed on JKUAT staff members while celebrating Prof. Mary Abukutsa-Onyango as the 2025 Africa Food Prize Laureate for her ground-breaking work on African indigenous vegetables.
“Our ongoing collaboration with UNESCO’s World Academy of Sciences has yielded tangible outcomes, including the establishment of a Social Robotics Laboratory in the school of Computing and Information Technology,” Prof. Ndung’u added.
Cabinet Secretary for Education, Julius Migos Ogamba, commended JKUAT for producing industry-ready graduates and contributing to national initiatives including digital device assembly, the Horn of Africa Gateway Development Project, cancer screening in Laikipia and potato value-chain development in Nyandarua. He urged universities to accelerate preparations for the full rollout of Competency-Based Education expected in 2029.
Ogamba’s remarks were delivered by Dr. David Watene, Director of Education in the State Department of Higher Education.
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In her address, Vice Chancellor Prof. Victoria Wambui Ngumi highlighted JKUAT’s continued focus on quality training, research and innovation aligned to national and continental priorities. She announced the recent designation of JKUAT as the Eastern Africa Hub for food value chain research under the Japan-Africa Research Networking Project (AJ-INSPIRE), new partnerships with Samsung Electronics East Africa, ARC Ride and Marula Mining PLC.
Prof. Ngumi also noted JKUAT’s growing global footprint, with 54 students and 9 staff undertaking exchanges in 2025 to institutions in the USA, Italy, Egypt and Japan, while hosting 67 international students and 10 staff members.
On supporting Kenya’s bid to turn its territorial waters into a new engine of national wealth and innovation, Prof. Ngumi said JKUAT’s Bachelor of Science in Marine Engineering programme has since produced 200 highly skilled graduates equipped to serve as seafarers, marine engineers, and managers of critical port infrastructure.
The vice chancellor added that JKUAT had planted close to 45,000 exotic and indigenous tree seedlings towards the the government’s tree-growing campaign, within the campus, in 2025.
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In his speech, the Chair of Council, Dr. James Micah Onsando, emphasized infrastructure development and the commercialization of research as top priorities. He expressed gratitude for government capital funding to complete the College of Engineering and Technology Building.
Dr. Onsando announced that the Council is actively steering the commercialization of JKUAT’s IP portfolio through its subsidiaries, the JKUAT Industrial Park and JKUAT Enterprises Ltd., in partnership with the Kenya National Innovation Agency and the Kenya Development Corporation.
The Pan African University Vice Rector, Academic and Student Affairs, Prof. Bolanle Idowu Akeredolu, challenged the graduates to nurture an entrepreneurial mindset, and a steadfast commitment to ethical leadership; and leverage their innovative minds and power of synergy to impact communities and Africa, at large.
Valedictorian Samuel Kahura, graduating with a Bachelor of Laws, inspired his peers to “keep the dream alive,” drawing parallels with Nelson Mandela’s 46-year journey to complete his LLB, and urged the Class of 2025 to change their communities and the world.
The ceremony also celebrated the inaugural cohort of 57 graduates from the JKUAT TVET Institute who received CDACC certificates and diplomas in ICT, Business Management, Human Resource Management, Financial Sales, Project Management, Supply Chain Management, Office Management and Corporate Governance.
By Juma Ndigo
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