UoN and Israel Universities to Collaborate

The new Israel Ambassador to Kenya, H.E Amb. Michael Lotem on  Tuesday,  April 19, 2022, paid a courtesy call on the VC, UoN, Prof Stephen Kiama. 

The ambassador noted that there is a need for more structured collaborations between UoN and Israeli universities. The Ambassador said he will spearhead the collaboration between the University of Nairobi and Israel Universities in various fields of mutual interest.

Medicine was one of the fields the ambassador noted the need to create more lasting collaborations, noting that most of the Israeli universities have a full ecosystem where the universities are interlinked with corporations and work as one, a concept he said UoN would learn and implement.  The East African ecological setup is an aspect the ambassador noted would go a long way in helping the Israel scientists in their research.

 Some of the other areas that the ambassador called for intense collaboration include Agriculture, Social sciences and Religious studies.

 Ambassador Michael in his sentiments also said that in the quest for increased collaborations, he would welcome the opportunity by the University to host Israel scholars as  part of an exchange program between the university and Isreal Universities. 

On his part, the Vice-Chancellor welcomed the collaboration initiatives proposed by the Ambassador, He said, ``The University of Nairobi is the leading and oldest University in Kenya and has played a key role in the development of all the sectors in Kenya’s economy and the globe at large”. The VC emphasized the University's commitment to producing employable graduates as part of its Mandate. 

 The VC also thanked the Isreal ambassador for their continued support to the University’s agricultural students for the  11-month Advanced Agricultural Training at the Arava International Center for Agriculture Training (AICAT) stating that most of  the students who have benefited from the program in the past have evolved into agripreneurs and others absorbed by Israeli companies as well as county Governments in Kenya. Currently there are fifty students in Israel from UoN.

 Also present during the meeting were Mr. Brian Ouma, Chief Operations Officer and Mr.Johnson Kinyua, Dean of students. The Israel ambassador was accompanied by Dvora Dorsman Yarkoni, deputy ambassador, Laban Mwai, MASHAV officer,  and Yelena Margovsky, Political & UN officer,all from the  Embassy of Israel to Kenya.