The KENET 2022 cohort of eight graduate trainees started their training on January 5, 2022. These graduate trainees will enhance our staff pipeline and increase our capacity to deliver new digital services in the following key areas.

1. Applications Development. This is the area of highest demand in ICT staffing, especially with increased blended and online learning and for developing new cloud-based research services. The application development team is responsible for continually enhancing the KENET remote teaching platform, development of new cloud-based software appliances to support the researchers in different areas, and automation of KENET NOC (Network Operation Center) services.  

The following three graduate trainees shall join the applications development team as developers:  

a. Cynthia Adhiambo Oduor - a 2019 graduate of Technical University in Computer Technology. She has been working as a developer for the past two years. She was also a former KENET Intern in 2019.  

b. Philip Wawazi - a 2019 graduate of Africa Nazarene University in Computer Science who has been involved in independent software development in the past two years.  

c. Moses Mugoya - a 2019 graduate of Meru University of Science and Technology in Computer Science. He has been working with Ajira as a trainer for the past one year.  

2. Instructional Design. KENET plans to increase the capacity of the instructional design team to support faculty teaching with technology. The instructional design also develops online capacity building content for KENET (e.g., online cybersecurity awareness course). The instructional design team was stretched during the COVID-19 pandemic era many faculty needed to develop online content and to be trained in the use of KENET remote teaching platform. 

Ms. Caroline Wangui Gachuhi, a 2020 graduate of Murang'a University of Technology, Mathematics and Computer Science, will join the team as a graduate team. The training as an instructional designer shall include basic system administrator and cybersecurity.  .  

3. Systems Administration. The demand for system administration skills to support both KENET backend cloud infrastructure, research cloud services, and as well as member institutions in different areas, including cybersecurity has increased. Two graduate trainees shall therefore join the system administration team:  

a. Moureen Namai, a 2021 graduate of Technical University of Kenya in Electrical and Electronic Engineering. She will join the team supporting the community cloud infrastructure.  

b. Samuel Macharia, a 2019 graduate of Technical University of Mombasa in Mathematics and Computer Science. He will join the research cloud services team.  

4. Community Relations and Engagement. KENET plans engage members by compiling success stories of our members in the adoption of ICT in teaching, learning, and research and post them on KENET website. KENET shall also be promoting champion researchers and educators in different areas using social media and blogs. In additions the communications team is responsible for community relations and engagement activities. Ms. Lavendar Jade Nafula, a 2021 Journalism graduate from USIU-Africa has joined the community relations group. She was already operating her own YouTube channel, creating digital content will be visit different member institutions to compile stories and news of the impact of ICT on teaching, learning, and research in our community.  
 

5. Network and Infrastructure Engineering. This team is foundational for all KENET services and responsible for building and operating the national research and education infrastructure and providing advisory services of campus networks. It also operates the data center infrastructure that includes electrical power, air-conditioning and fire-suppression systems. Mr. Khamis Kisa Phitia, a 2019 graduate of Electrical and Information Engineering, University of Nairobi has joined the group. He is a registered graduate engineer with EBK and has worked as a graduate intern with KRA and then MoICT.  

All the graduate trainees shall be mentored by experienced KENET and will also be required to undergo intensive training in the different areas for a period of one year. This is the model KENET has used to build a sustained talent pipeline since 2012.