The University of Nairobi held a successful Research Week 2021 that was multidisciplinary, with participants drawn from various sectors and countries. The week-long event that ran from November 22 to 26, 2o21 had seven international conferences with over 500 participants, more than 30 keynote presentations and 150 abstracts. The overarching theme ‘Rethinking Research, Innovation & Technology for Sustainable Development.’
“For the second year since the pandemic struck, we are holding our conferences virtually. This year, we chose to focus on the issue of sustainability as a running theme across all our conferences. Sustainability is the key word in the global development agenda and countries across the world have aligned their development policies, plans, and resources to achieve this ideal in their development endeavours,” explains Prof. Margaret Hutchinson, the acting Associate Vice-chancellor, Research, Innovation and Enterprise. “On the other hand, the developments during the last two years have made it necessary for every sector to rethink the strategies and approaches and ensure that we are not merely paying lip service to the commitment towards sustainability. The unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic has taught us the importance of building resilient and sustainable practices, in every sector.”
The conferences include: 4th Annual Forensic Victimology and Victim Support Conference Kenya 2021, 6th DBA-AMR International Conference, 3rd Annual Development Finance Conference (ADFC) 2021, 4th Annual Conference on Status of African Women, 12th Africa International Business Management Conference (AIBUMA), Science outputs for societal transformation and Remembering Prof. Okoth Okombo: The Person and his Academic Legacy Webinar.
Research is the backbone of development because it provides solutions to societal problems through the transfer of knowledge and technologies, interactions, and reflection. In the process, research meets the demand for health, food, and transportation fuels among other priorities. Research also helps to reduce the negative environmental impact of development activities, ultimately leading to improved livelihoods.
“This is the fourth year that we are hosting the University of Nairobi Research Week, having had the inaugural Research Week in 2018,” says Prof. Stephen Kiama, the Vice-Chancellor, University of Nairobi. “The initiative to embed the research week into the university calendar of activities was a deliberate and strategic decision to provide researchers with a platform to engage peers and stakeholders about their research, and also get the opportunity to network with likeminded stakeholders in relevant respective fields.”
The University of Nairobi is a research intensive university with a reputation for excellence. UoN has a strong and vibrant research culture demonstrated by the continual growth of its research capacity and portfolio.
The Research Week is specifically intended to foster discussions on research activities and findings, create a platform for presentation of academic papers and foster and strengthen partnerships with other players in the research enterprise across various sectors.
