Vice Chancellor Prof. Victoria Wambui Ngumi has welcomed a new Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) initiative to foster academic, research and cultural exchanges between Japan and African countries, to spur growth of the continent. At the Ninth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD9), JICA launched the new academic network between Japan and Africa, in which Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (Kenya), Egypt-Japan University of Science and Technology (E-JUST, Egypt), Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (Kenya) and Stellenbosch University (South Africa) will act as hubs for networking and collaboration among African universities and with Japanese universities.
Speaking when she received a team of consultants from JICA to JKUAT on Thursday September 4, 2025, Prof. Ngumi noted that the partnership with JICA was instrumental in hoisting JKUAT as a centre of excellence with regional significance and impacts.
She added that JKUAT, which currently ranks among the most preferred Universities in Kenya, offers a wide range of programs across multiple disciplines, including technology, engineering, agriculture, science, social sciences, building sciences, health sciences, and applied sciences.
Prof. Ngumi noted that JKUAT’s focus on specialised fields and a robust research and innovation culture had received global recognition through hosting of specialised centres such as the African Union’s Pan African University and the International Maritime Organization’s Maritime Technology Cooperation Centre for Africa.
Other attributes anchoring JKUAT’s international utility include a strong pool of competent alumni, industry and community engagement, as well as technology transfer arms.
According to Prof. Ngumi, fusion of ideas, knowledge and attitudes between African scholars and their Japanese counterparts, is critical in delivering solutions to development challenges facing both sides while strengthening friendships between Japan and Africa.
“We already have very strong linkage with Japanese universities and industries making JKUAT an ideal one-stop Center for partnership with Japanese entities to champion industrial development and advanced research activities for whole of the African continent,” Prof. Ngumi said.
The JICA linked team of consultants who visited JKUAT were: Ken ARAKI, Senior Consultant, IC Net Limited; Satoshi IZAWA, Senior Consultant, Koei Research & Consulting Inc. and Rezin Cheptoo, also from Koei Research & Consulting Inc.
The Deputy Vice Chancellor Academic Affairs, Prof. Robert Kinyua attended the meeting of the consultants with the Vice chancellor.
