Prof George Karani from the Centre of Occupational & Environmental Public Health nominated Professor Mabel Opanda Imbuga, Vice Chancellor of Kenya's Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, JKUAT, for an Honorary Doctorate award. The JKUAT VC awarded the degree on 12/7/2018.
Vice-Chancellor Prof Imbuga is a Professor of Biochemistry, and for more than 35 years, she has strongly influenced teaching, research and leadership within agriculture, science, technology and innovation within her field across Africa. She started her career as a research assistant before becoming a dean, director, and deputy vice chancellor and then became Vice Chancellor JKUAT. In the process, she became the second woman to head a Kenyan public university.
By exploiting Scientific and Technological Innovations, Prof. Imbuga has transformed JKUAT to be the most entrepreneurial university in Kenya. She has become a leading example for brokering the linkage between Universities and Devolved Governments in Kenya, and a champion for use Scientific and Technological Innovations in development.
Prof Imbuga has driven the change agenda for scientific education across Africa, as demonstrated by the range and number of significant Board positions she holds. Currently, Prof Imbuga is the Chairperson of RUFORUM (a network of 85 universities in Africa), Chairperson of Forum for African Women Vice Chancellors and a former President and founder of the African Women in Science and Engineering. Prof Imbuga has driven the change agenda for scientific education across Africa, as demonstrated by the range and number of significant Board positions she holds. Prof Imbuga has spent 35 years applying this belief in practice, in particular supporting young women to enter and succeed in scientific careers, her commitment demonstrated by the numbers at JKUAT where women hold more than 40 per cent of management positions
Vice-Chancellor Prof Imbuga has been instrumental to help develop relationships between Cardiff Metropolitan School of Sport and Health Sciences and JKUAT.
Prof Imbuga and her senior administrative team visited CSHS in 2009. In 2010, JKUAT funded two senior academic staff members from the university to spend two months working with Prof Karani and Dr Morris from CSHS.
The academic and student exchange programs initiated by the two institutions has, since 2012, resulted in senior academic staff and PhD students from JKUAT spend time working in Wales with staff at CSHS and Public Health Wales. JKUAT in 2014 funded staff from CSHS to spend time teaching and research at JKUAT.
CSHS and JKUAT have jointly organised two international conferences in 2010 and 2012. The 2010 conference was on emergency preparedness. In 2012, CSHS and JKUAT jointly organised an international conference co-chaired by Prof Karani and Dr Nganga from the two institutions. One hundred and sixty delegates, including a delegate each from Uganda, Cameroon, Rwanda and Ghana attended the conference, whose theme was 'Environmental Public Health – collaboration for sustainable development'. Six academic staff from CSHS and one staff each from Public Health Wales, Health Protection Agency and Air Monitors (UK) attended and presented at the conference
Currently there are two PhD students enrolled at JKUAT co-supervised by staff from CSSHS. Staff from CSSHS have acted as external examiners at JKUAT, co-authored joint grant applications and research papers.
