The 7th Annual Heads of Institutions Forum took place on the 10th and 11th of December 2015 at the Mombasa Serena beach and Spa hotel with 108 participants in attendance. The forum theme was “Sustainability Models for Higher Education and Research Institutions”.

The guest speaker was Dr. Nico Cloete, Director, Center for Higher Education Transformation, Cape Town, South Africa. He noted that, the importance of knowledge and higher education for sustainable development is global, despite existing contextual and regional differences. “Traditionally, Universities in Africa focused on Ideology, Elite Selection and Training, and performed poorly on Knowledge Production. Africa needs to shift to increased participation (from low base of under 10%) and increased knowledge production”, said Dr. Cloete.

The forum sessions were well attended with presentations being made by different heads of institutions and invited guests. 107 participants attended the forum’s opening session on 10th December and 101 participants were in attendance on 11th December 2015. 

Topics covered during the forum included; The Critical Role of Strategic Finance Approaches in Universities and Research Institutions, The Cost of Establishing a Medical School at Pwani  University: Resource mobilization and collaboration with medical research institutes, The future sources of research funding for physical sciences and engineering in Kenyan Universities, Opportunities for Adoption and Scaling Up of Green Energy Solutions by Kenyan Higher Education Institutions: The case of Strathmore University, and The Institutional Readiness for Implementation of large Public Private Projects: The case of Kenyatta University.

On the evening of 10th December, 2015 KENET hosted a cocktail was held in honor of the Vice Chancellors and Trustees who have served the KENET community with great dedication. Some of the Vice Chancellors honored during the cocktail include; Prof Tuitoek of Egerton University, Prof Dominic Makawiti of Maseno University, Prof Olive Mugenda of Kenyatta University, and  Prof Freida Brown of United States International University and KENET Trustee.

The 8th Annual Heads of Institutions Forum will be held in December, 2016.