Centre of excellence for sustainable operations in resource management and food supply to be established

Plans are underway to establish the African Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Operations in Resource Management and Food Supply, which is part of the partnership between the University of Nairobi and Kühne Foundation.

The partnership framework stipulates that business courses in logistics and operations management will be developed by working with faculty members from the University of Nairobi (UoN) and the University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM), thanks to the funding from the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD).

The centre will harness a transdiscplinary approach by drawing experts from the three universities to impart industrial knowledge and skills in sustainable operations; sustainable operations are timely given the ongoing environmental and climate change crisis. Thus, the centre aims to empower students with the necessary skills in sustainable operations in production, movement and processing of food and other natural resources

The Centre of Excellence will be domiciled at the Department of Agricultural Economics, Faculty of Agriculture and the Department of Business, Faculty of Business and Management Science. A transdiscplinary team comprising of 18 faculty members will support the centre by hosting Sustainable Management and Operations (SMO) and Masters of Business Research (MBR) courses.

In order to solidify this partnership, the President, Kühne Logistics University (KLU), Dr. Thomas Strothotte paid a courtesy call on the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Nairobi, Prof. Stephen Kiama.

Dr. John Busienei, Department of Agricultural Economic will lead the SMO programme while Prof. Gituro Wainaina, Department of Management Science will lead MBR programme. Three draft curricula have been developed and reviewed by the academic team; the curriculum entails programme content, structure, teaching and assessment methodology.

Future project activities include works on the final Masters and PhD curriculum that will enable students to be admitted during January intake, the co-supervision of PhD students by the three participating universities, short listing and enrolment of PhD scholarship applicants and networking and publicity through the Accra Autumn School where ten students and one professor will be participating.

This centre of excellence will go a long way in creating data integral in supporting policy making by creating a critical mass of unique thinkers and cementing the University of Nairobi’s position as a globally competitive institution.