Five academic staff from Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) have returned from a significant international Winter School in Rome, Italy, exemplifying the power of academic exchange in bridging the global north and south. Their participation, from November 20-21, 2025, underscores a growing collaboration aimed at addressing shared planetary challenges through science and cross-cultural understanding.
The scholars: Dr. Ephantus Kihonge (School of Business and Economics), Dr. Robert Nesta (Zoology), Dr. Evanson Karanja (Computing), Mr. Gerald Otieno (Biotechnology Research), and Dr. Eng. Erick Ronoh (Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering); were competitively selected under the EU-funded ACHIEVE-IT Project. They joined peers from African and European universities for the intensive program titled “Sustainable Agrifood Systems and Plastic Pollution: A One Health Vision,” coordinated by Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore.
The participants were part of a targeted cohort from three African partner universities: JKUAT, the University of Sousse, and the University of Monastir.
Held at the TH Roma Carpegna Palace Hotel, the Winter School served as a dynamic platform for knowledge transfer and partnership building. Participants engaged with global experts on critical issues including microplastics in food systems, environmental modelling, food safety, and sustainable agriculture policies. This dialogue is central to the ACHIEVE-IT initiative’s mission, financed by the European Union via the NextGenerationEU framework, which aims to strengthen academic ties, enhance research and teaching capacities, and foster enduring partnerships between institutions in Africa and Europe.
“This was more than a training—it was a confluence of perspectives,” noted Dr. Ephantus Kihonge. “Bringing together minds from the global north and south allows us to co-create solutions that are scientifically robust and culturally informed, ensuring sustainability agendas are inclusive and impactful.”
The successful involvement of JKUAT staff highlights the university’s active role in global scholarly networks and its commitment to contributing African expertise to worldwide sustainability and One Health objectives. The exchange programme was vital in democratizing knowledge, promoting mutual learning, and building a collaborative scientific community equipped to tackle transboundary environmental and health issue