Institute of Computer Science and Information Technology

Project Report on Tree Planting activity

jmwai — Fri, 10 May 2013 08:12:13 +0000

Project Report on Tree Planting activity at Gachororo Health Centre and Juja Police Station on 19th April 2013 by members of staff of Institute of computer science and information technology (ICSIT)technology (ICSIT)

Preface:
First of all, we the authour of this article, on behalf of (Institute of computer science and information technology) would like to extend our heartiest thanks to Professor Mabel, Vice Chancellor, JKUAT for her encouragement and support of the project. We were happy to receive funding from the University which helped us to execute the project.
The main objective of the project was to use tree planting to instill a sense of environmental awareness amongst ICSIT members of staff and the local community neighbouring the University. The project has been received well by members of staff of ICSIT and we consider this as a form of green activism through tree planting.

The planning was coordinated by Mr. Francis Thiong’o, an Assistant Lecturer in the department of Information Technology under the guidance of Dr.Waweru Mwangi, Director, ICSIT. All arrangements were made by the two aforementioned. They drafted the proposal and made contacts with the managers of Gachororo Health Centre and Juja Police Station respectively. The project date was set to 19th April 2013.
About 200 trees were planted which were of different species. The participation of some members of staff from the aforementioned designated locations and their eagerness mutually has made the project more fruitful.

Participants:
The fact that the date arranged for was actually the last week of the January – April 2013 semester and most of the students had already finished their end of semester Examinations and left Campus while a few were sitting their examinations. For this reason, none of them students participated in this project despite the invitation extended to them. Participation from members of staff of ICSIT was drawn from both Computing and Information Technology departments.

Supervision and follow up:
We considered the fact that the two sites where trees were planted had shown a genuine desire to have the trees and agreed to take care of the trees. This proved beyond doubt that they were ready to take care of the project and ensure that the trees last and the real benefits could last longer. In addition we committed ourselves to pay periodic visits to the two sites to supervise the trees. For this reason, a project management committee was formed comprising of the project coordinator and ICSIT management team and their responsibility is to supervise the project regularly.
The committee members are:
Dr.Waweru Mwangi, Director ICSIT
Nancy Macharia, Deputy Director ICSIT
Philip Oyier, Chairman IT Department
Francis Thiong’o, Assistant Lecturer, IT Department
Future plan
We the members of staff of ICSIT are looking forward to plant more trees during the short rains season starting in October 2013 with the scout groups of various primary and Secondary schools neighbouring the University.

Problems encountered.
We encountered very few problems while executing this project. The biggest problem we have encountered has been with flooding. Juja being a relatively flat area is prone to flooding. This problem resulted in abandoning a few trees leaving them unplanted until the flood level has gone to reasonably low level.

Conclusion:
The keen interest and the positive response of ICSIT members of staff in the project have helped them become aware of conserving nature. They are eager to work with these types of the projects in future.

Annexes:
Photos

ICSIT Students Win the 2013 Microsoft Kenya Imagine Cup

jmwai — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 13:02:13 +0000

Collins Omwenga, Paul Mutie and Somboriot Kipchillat students at the Institute of Computer Science and Information Technology presented an application named Protege which seeks to support the process of giving donations to children’s homes and other charitable organizations across the world.
The application creates a support mechanism that allows children homes and rehabilitation centers to receive donations of any kind through an open accountable system based on Windows Azure cloud services, Windows 8 and Windows Phone. The app which will be free for download later in the year on the Microsoft store will allow people to search for children homes in any region of the world, view their donation request, send donations and even virtually adopt a child.
The donor will be able to receive automatic updates on the progress of the projects he or she has donated to through live notifications. Donations that can be sent via this application range from financial payments through mobile money transfer platform such as Mpesa to clothes, food, stationary, building equipment, toiletries and even volunteer time.
“We were speechless. To have won this year’s Kenya country finals – and to have the opportunity to represent our country at Worldwide Imagine Cup along some of the brightest young minds – is an honour,” said Paul Mutie, a member of the winning team. “And we’re thrilled to have the opportunity to compete with students from around the globe who, like us, are passionate about making a difference in the world. Our application is a foolproof system that tracks donations and creates accountability to the donors and the recipients.”
The premier student competition which centers on the use of imagination, creativity and technology to help solve some of the world’s toughest problems, was launched in 2003 globally and in 2008 in East Africa. For the first time since its inception, East Africa will be represented by 2 teams from Kenya and Uganda at the global finals which will be held at St Petersburg in Russia in July this year.
“Each team that competed in Kenya’s country finals is deserving of the highest recognition for the creativity and imagination applied to some of the world’s biggest challenges. We’re proud to honour these young students who we believe truly exemplify the spirit of the Imagine Cup competition, and we’ll be cheering on team PI Crafts from Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology as they compete on the world stage in St Petersburg,” said Louis Otieno, Microsoft Director for Legal and Corporate Affairs, Africa Initiatives
This year’s event was sponsored by Microsoft, the African Development Bank (AFDB) and Nokia. Team PI Crafts will join the brightest young minds to compete on the world stage in July at St. Petersburg Russia. The 2013 competitors will gain real life experience, make new friends, and harness the power of technology to take on the world’s toughest problems.
Imagine Cup is more than a competition. As part of Microsoft’s YouthSpark initiative, it is a way for young entrepreneurs, innovators and developers to have the opportunity to develop an idea, create a product, set a clear business plan and event take their product to market. All Imagine Cup Worldwide Finalist teams are eligible to apply for Imagine Cup Grants, a three year USD3-million investment by Microsoft to help students turn their ideas into reality. Microsoft BizSpark, another YouthSpark initiative, enables Imagine Cup participants to launch startup businesses in their communities and across the web.

JKUAT-CISCO Community Outreach Award

jmwai — Sat, 04 Aug 2012 10:49:04 +0000

JKUAT has been granted by CISCO Limited on Community Outreach Award East Africa as the most outstanding institution in this aspect. The certificate was given to JKUAT during the recently held CISCO workshop at Zanzibar. The CISCO students have participated in a number of Community Outreach Services and most recent one is where they helped Thika School for the Blind reactivate their laboratory in June 2012.

The CISCO students team being led by the CISCO Coordinator(JKUAT) Mr. Dennis M. Kaburu did an overall maintenance tasks in the computer lab where all computers and the local area network were brought back to operational state. The coordinator realized the problem facing the institution was sustainability of the computer labs in terms of preventive maintenance, computer service repairs and local area network setup and maintenance.

To address this, we requested them that JKUAT team can be volunteering and undertake preventive maintenance, repair of computers and the local area network on periodical basis. An engagement between the Principal, Thika school for the blind and Director ICSIT is in the process.

Computer Science for High Schools Workshop

jmwai — Wed, 23 May 2012 12:06:26 +0000

The two day workshop dubbed “Computer Studies for Future problem solvers”, is an initiative by The Institute of Computer Science and Information Technology (ICSIT) – Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (Kenya) aimed at preparing the students at high school levels for a future career in computer science and related fields. In general, computer science in Kenya at this level, has not picked up to the expected standards in comparison to the current technological trends due to the lack of proper preparation of high school teachers for computer science related courses hence they are ill equipped for adequately guiding their students. This endeavor provides a platform for preparing and equipping the high school teachers and students with the necessary attitude, approach and knowledge by bringing them together in interactive forums with the university computer science trainers.

As a result of this undertaking, more and more students should gaining and show interest in computer science including the traditionally non interested groups like the female students and the marginalized communities.This year, this endeavor will be in tandem and in collaboration with the Google Computer Science for High Schools (CS4HS) who have funded us for the a workshop which will work to establish and accelerate the gradually growing community for high school computer science teachers and students together with the university trainers.

Director’s message for 2012/2013

ibr — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 07:15:58 +0000

The Institute of Computer Science and Information Technology (ICSIT) welcomes everyone to see and participate in its activities. We recognize the great potential that lies in the youth and we wish to impact to them important skills that will help them realize their potential.

We are excited by the dynamics of Technology and we believe that together with your support, we shall be able to offer computer based solutions to the many problems facing our society.