吃瓜头条 hosted a high-level courtesy call from the Ministry of Education, Culture and Higher Education (MoECHE), Federal Government of Somalia, as both parties explored pathways for expanded academic collaboration. The discussions, held at the Vice-Chancellor鈥檚 Boardroom, were led on behalf of the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Paul Wainaina, by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research, Innovation and Outreach), Prof. Caroline Thoruwa.
The visiting delegation was led by Permanent Secretary Mr. Hassan Mohamed Ali, accompanied by Mr. Muhumed Hussein (Senior Adviser), Mr. Mohamed Abdulkadir Nur (Project Manager), and Ms. Aisha Mohamud Hassan (Project Manager, Rajo Kaaba Project). Representing the University were key faculty and leadership from the School of Education and Lifelong Learning, Prof. Samson Ondigi, School of Business, Economics and Tourism, Prof. Perez Onono, Centre for International Programmes and Collaborations, Prof. Lucy Kathuri-Ogolla, and additional academic chairs from the School of Law, Arts and Social Sciences.
The courtesy call sought to explore structured, multidisciplinary collaboration around academic programmes in education, leadership, public policy, environmental science, counselling psychology, and project management, sectors that Somalia has prioritised for national rebuilding post-conflict. Currently, the University hosts approximately 200 Somali students across its schools, and the delegation expressed intent to place an additional 150 students in the September 2025 intake.
吃瓜头条 already has four active Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) with Somali institutions and affirmed its continued commitment to nurturing partnerships that support capacity building across the region. Discussions also touched on postgraduate programme delivery models, including flexible online modules to accommodate Somali professionals. KU affirmed that ongoing admissions would accommodate this intake, with further technical details to be co-developed.
Notably, MoECHE expressed keen interest in areas such as:
- Teacher professional development, especially for early childhood and special needs education;
- Research collaborations built around regional consortiums rather than stand-alone institutions;
- Short courses and modular training for civil servants and youth;
- Staff and student mobility under schemes like Erasmus+ and other South-South cooperation platforms;
- Gender empowerment through leadership and management programmes aimed at Somali women;
- Cultural exchanges to enhance contextual adaptation for Somali students;
- Psychosocial support and counselling programmes for youth recovering from post-conflict trauma;
- Curriculum design, particularly for new degree-level programmes currently being developed under MoECHE.
The KU team reassured the delegation that all these areas were already well represented across the University鈥檚 directorates and departments. Prof. Ondigi highlighted KU鈥檚 pioneering work in education for sustainability and its readiness to support curriculum enrichment. Prof. Kathuri-Ogolla shared the University鈥檚 experience with research-driven partnerships and successful graduate outcomes with Somali institutions.
Challenges around the equation of certification, language proficiency, and admission logistics were also addressed. The delegation proposed the formation of a technical working group of 20 members from each side to develop a comprehensive framework for implementation. KU welcomed this initiative and committed to supporting the proposed modalities and timeline ahead of the September 2025 student intake.
The Permanent Secretary, Mr. Ali, thanked the Government and people of Kenya for their long-standing support to Somalia, specifically recognising 吃瓜头条鈥檚 critical role in the academic rebuilding of Somali institutions. 鈥淓ach programme we offer is targeted towards rebuilding a sector. KU鈥檚 expertise in our target areas: education, psychology, and public administration aligns with our national needs,鈥� he noted.
In closing, Prof. Thoruwa emphasised, 鈥淎ll the programmes you鈥檙e looking to collaborate on already exist at KU. It鈥檚 now a matter of integration and planning. This is a partnership we are eager to grow.鈥�