Dr. David Njuguna Githinji

Description

Currently, I am a senior lecturer at Moi University, School of Engineering. I have doctorate degree in material characterization the Open University UK and a master’s degree in Advanced Materials from Nottingham University, UK. At university, I teach both undergraduate and postgraduate students in the field of engineering materials. I also supervise undergraduate and postgraduate students´ research and thesis. I am also a coordinator at the Africa Centre of Excellence in Phytochemicals, Textiles and Renewable Energy (ACEII-PTRE), which is a World Bank funded project for postgraduate training. My duties at the Centre include coordinating all engineering postgraduate studies supported by the Center, linking the Centre with various manufacturing industries in Kenya, provision of technical advice on scientific equipment procurement and assisting in postgraduate students’ recruitment.

Motivation

I have keen interest in acquiring an in-depth knowledge of the model of German universities of applied sciences, and in particular, how the internship modules are integrated with curricula. I find the workshop on “application-oriented teaching” very relevant to the challenges we are currently encountering at Moi University. During my stay at the University, I have been involved in the development of both undergraduate and postgraduate curricula. The structures of these curricula are normally informed by the guidelines issued by the Commission for University Education (Kenya). The guidelines require that the students are exposed to industrial experiences before they graduate. However, the guidelines are not clear on how the industries should enlighten the content of the curricula so that there is no disconnect between what is taught and what industries need. It is my belief that through these workshops, i will gain relevant knowledge on application-oriented teaching, on curriculum structure for this model of teaching and on internship-curriculum integration.

The application of the acquired knowledge from these workshops shall be applied immediately in the Africa Centre of Excellence in Phytochemicals, Textile and Renewable Energy, at Moi University. This is a World Bank funded project for which I am actively involved in its implementation. The main objective of the Centre is to offer quality postgraduate training in the aforementioned thematic areas. It is a requirement that all students sponsored by the Centre should undergo a mandatory industrial internship for at least one month. However, the implementation of this requirement has become a challenge to us since it is being implemented for the first time at postgraduate level and also the structure of our curriculum does not allow such kind of integration between studies and internships. These workshops will, therefore, serves as an eye opener on how this model of training is applied and implemented. It is my hope that the knowledge i will acquire from the workshops will allow me to initiate a systemic shift in the university curriculum delivery modes so as to embrace an application-oriented teaching.

My interest is also motivated by the concept of applied research. I would wish to understand the research model applied by the University of Applied Sciences Neu-Ulm (HNU) and the Technische Hochschule Ingolstadt (THI). From my experience, applied research in advanced countries, is mainly informed by the needs of industries and therefore has real/potential applications. In these countries, research problems mainly emanate from industries and, in most cases, it is the industries that sponsors the research. However, in Kenya our research model is different. In most cases, it is student-driven and often abstract with no real industrial application. It is my hope that these workshops will offer some insights on how to bring paradigm shift in the way we conduct our research. In addition, I will be interested to understand the cooperation and networking between universities and industries, and in particular, the working of the university-industry research model.

Relevant Insight

The structure and implementation of an internship workshop. I was impressed by the fact that the internship semester has three section; introduction, internship and conclusion. I found the concept of training students before workshop very important.
The aspect of internship sourcing being student driven was very novel.
Conceptual seminars: this is a new aspect which i found very relevant since students works on real industrial issues
Lastly, i liked the aspect of didactics training to all professors joining the University of Applied Science.
Lastly, lastly, the use of companies employees to teach on part time basis is very important for networking and identification of relevant projects that can be done by students

Applications

I intend to introduce conceptual seminars in the courses i teach in the department. This will entail intensive discussion with relevant industries in the region about their industrial issues, inviting them for briefing and identification of students groups to handle their project. My intension is to start with postgraduate students and later on involves undergraduate students. Using this approach, it is expected that a good relation will be created with relevant industries for the mutual benefit of the university and industry.
I will also enhance our industrial attachment placement strategy by introducing elements of pre-training on attachment applications, communication skills, leadership skills, handling of literature and report writing. This will be particularly important at postgraduate level, where we are introducing a mandatory internship for all engineering masters and doctorate students.
I intent to start regular visits to local companies to understand their issues and also gain updated information on current manufacturing techniques. This help in informing the kind of research students undertake at the university which is geared in addressing current industrial challenges. In addition, industrial visits will provide the much exposure on current manufacturing techniques thus enriching my teaching strategy.
Lastly, the acquired knowledge on technology transfer will have an immediate application in the business Incubation Centre (IC) we are currently establishing. We are scouting for innovative ideas from students which we intend to incubate into successful business enterprises. This initiate is being funded by world bank through Inter University Council of East Africa. The knowledge acquired will go a long way in setting up this IC.