Researchers, policymakers, industry leaders, and innovators converged at Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) for the 16th Sustainable Research and Innovation (SRI) Conference. The annual forum is dedicated to turning groundbreaking research into practical solutions that address today’s pressing global challenges.
Held under the theme, “Empowering Transformation through Science, Technology and Innovation to Address Global Challenges,” the two-day conference (October 8–9, 2025) sought to strengthen collaboration between academia and industry, accelerating the uptake and commercialization of research outcomes.
The conference explored 14 sub-themes in engineering research, including Climate Change-Resilient Strategies, Smart Agriculture and Food Security, and Emerging Trends in Artificial Intelligence and Embedded Systems, among others.
It attracted wide participation, with at least eight local universities represented, alongside contributions from institutions in South Africa, Nigeria, Uganda, South Korea, Japan, Thailand, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America, among others.
Speaking as the Chief Guest at the conference, the Director-General of the Kenya Industrial Research and Development Institute (KIRDI), Dr.-Ing. Calvin Onyango highlighted the event as a crucial platform for advancing progress towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
“This platform provides a vital opportunity to contextualize ideas and deliver practical solutions to pressing national challenges, from smart agriculture to youth unemployment,” said Dr.-Ing. Onyango.
Highlighting the vast potential for research across multiple fields, Onyango emphasized the importance of translating ideas into practical, usable prototypes and machines that deliver tangible solutions to people and communities.
He noted that this vision can only be realized through collaborative efforts among all stakeholders working in tandem to achieve practical and impactful solutions.
“Harnessing Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) is key to transforming research into scalable solutions that drive industrial growth, improve productivity, and deliver tangible benefits to communities and the Kenyan economy,” the Director General noted.
The Vice Chancellor, JKUAT, Prof. Victoria Ngumi, affirmed the university’s commitment to promoting STI, noting its central role in unlocking Africa’s transformation and enabling the continent to contribute meaningfully to the global knowledge economy.
“Through STI, we can create solutions that not only respond to our local challenges but also position Kenya and Africa as contributors to global progress. We hope to see more research and innovation outputs from our engineering and technology programs,” said Prof. Ngumi.
Represented by the Deputy Vice Chancellor, Research, Production, and Extension, Prof. Jackson Kwanza, the Vice Chancellor underscored the significance of the forum in highlighting the critical role of engineering in development by showcasing how research and innovation drive practical solutions.
Prof. Ngumi said the SRI Conference not only provides a platform for collaboration but also for publishing the Journal of Sustainable Research in Engineering (JSRE), which has so far released eight volumes with four issues each, across 15 thematic areas, driving the dissemination of impactful research and innovations.
Reflecting the conference’s focus on practical, solution-driven research, Ms. Victoria Rotich, who presented her research work on Swarm Robotics for Agricultural Applications in Kenya, emphasized the importance of precision agriculture in improving productivity and promoting sustainable farming practices.
Her research highlighted that harnessing robotics in agriculture can help smallholder farmers optimize resource use, reduce costs, and adapt to the effects of climate change; demonstrating how research can directly address real-world challenges.
Victoria Rotich’s work is among many impactful research projects that were presented at the SRI Conference, underscoring JKUAT’s commitment to driving innovation for sustainable development.
Since its inception in 2008, SRI has grown into a pivotal platform, bridging research and practical application. By fostering collaboration among academia, industry, and policymakers, it continues to drive innovation-led growth and deliver sustainable, evidence-based solutions to national and global challenges.
