The 8^th Heads of Institutions forum took place on the 8^thand 9^th December 2016 at the Serena Beach Hotel and Spa, Mombasa with 115 participants in attendance. The forum theme was “Leveraging Technology for Organizational Effectiveness and Innovation”.

The guest speaker was Dr. Evans Baiya, Chief Strategy Officer, Evastrategies in USA. He gave a key note address on, “Strengthening the Innovation System of Kenya –an External View”. The forum sessions were well attended with presentations being made by different heads of institutions and invited guests.  113 participants attended the forums opening session on 8^th December and 110 participants were in attendance on 10^th December 2016.

Topics covered during the forum included; The Transformation of Global Higher education, Broadband internet as a Catalyst for Innovation – the case of University of Nairobi, The Digital Entrepreneurship Project – Improving the Employability of Higher Education Graduates and Grant Management in Research Institutes and Research Universities. The presentations “Employability of University Graduates – the case of Strathmore University in the period 2006 -2016”,“Strengthening the Innovation System of Kenya” and “The Transformation of Research Universities in Africa” respectively were felt to have had the biggest impact on the participants.

On the evening of 9th December, 2016 KENET hosted a cocktail that was held in honor of the outgoing Trustees  Prof. Richard Mibey and Prof.  Solomon Mpoke, who had served the KENET community with great dedication.

The 9th Annual Heads of Institutions Forum will be held in December, 2017.