The Government of Kenya has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Switzerland to strengthen scientific cooperation between the two countries.
The MoU was signed between the Ministry of Education and the Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research of the Swiss Confederation in the field of research, technology and innovation.
Basic Education Principal Secretary (PS) Dr Belio Kipsang’, who represented Kenya, said the government is committed to improving education in the country through such partnership with other countries.
Kipsang’, signing the agreement in Ministry of Education HQ in Nairobi, said Kenya welcomes partnerships that will improve skills and create opportunities for Kenyans.
Head of the State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI) at Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research of the Federation Martina Hirayama, said the country will continue to partner with Kenya.
The collaboration will create opportunities for exchange programmes in both countries, scholarship opportunities for Kenyan students to study in Switzerland and joint call for research, grants for research, and knowledge exchange, among many other areas.
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Hirayama’s visit to the country was to strengthen and expand existing cooperation in education, research and innovation (ERI).
The MoU between the Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research and the Kenyan Ministry of Education will play a significant role in achieving the aim.
The University of Bern’s Centre for Development and Environment (CDE) will also formalize a new basis for its long-standing partnership with the Centre for Training and Integrated Research in Arid and Semi-arid Lands Development (CETRAD), in collaboration with the University of Nairobi and the Kenyan government.
In existing cooperation in education, research and innovation in the country, Swiss ERI stakeholders work with partners in Kenya within the context of competitively awarded bilateral and multilateral instruments.
The Confederation designated the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute (Swiss TPH), in cooperation with the University of Basel, as the Leading House for the Sub-Saharan Africa region for the years 2021-2024. This mandate will continue in 2025-2028. Within this framework, Swiss TPH offers a range of instruments to support bilateral research and innovation cooperation.
Swiss Government Excellence Scholarships are a further means of support. To date, almost 60 of these scholarships have been awarded to Kenya.
Cooperation on research projects takes place through a number of programmes such as Excellence in Africa at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL). Between 2018 and 2023, the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) funded almost 50 joint Swiss-Kenyan research projects.
By Obegi Malack
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