UoN VC Prof Kiama Gitahi takes up Presidency of the International Institute of Online Education

The University of Nairobi was nominated by UNESCO-ICHEI as the Rotating Presidency Unit of the International Institute of Online Education which will be Chaired by the UoN Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Stephen Kiama as President

IIOE is a global collaborative initiative to strengthen the teacher competency for Higher Education Institutes in developing countries and improve access to quality higher education resources. Partnership plays an important role in ensuring accountability and sustainability of IIOE.

Initiated by UNESCO-ICHEI, together with its partner Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) and Enterprises in Africa and Asia-Pacific countries, the International Institute of Online Education, IIOE, aims to enhance the capacity of partner HEIs in developing countries and expand access to quality higher education.

SPEECH BY PROF. STEPHEN KIAMA, VICE-CHANCELLOR OF THE UNIVERSITY OF NAIROBI, AS REPRESENTATIVE OF ROTATING PRESIDENCY UNIT OF IIOE 2022 HELD VIRTUALLY ON TUESDAY JANUARY 11, 2022 
 

The outgoing president Professor Syed Mansoor Sawar

All protocols observed,

Good evening!

It is a great honour for the University of Nairobi to serve as the rotating presidency unit of IIOE for the year 2022. I am humbled by the trust and faith you have in the University of Nairobi and me to carry this mantle forward. 

It is a challenge accepted and together we will grow. It is my wish to onboard more higher education institutions, so we can be a formidable force to champion digital transformation in the higher education arena throughout the world.

As Sean Higgins rightly said” 

Every day the clock resets. Your wins don’t matter, your failures don’t matter, don’t stress on what was, fight for what could be”. 

Let us fight for a new mode of delivery in higher education, let us fight to retool our faculty, if not for any other reason, then to be of value to the students across the globe through creation, preservation, integration, transmission and utilization of knowledge.

I also take this opportunity to appreciate the initiatives by the previous presidents, Professor Mahmoud El-Meteini, President of Ain Shams University, Egypt (2020), Professor Syed Mansoor Sawar, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Engineering and Technology of Lahore, Pakistan (2021). 

You are an inspiration to us to continue doing the good you started. As Bernard of Chartres said “We are like dwarves sitting on the shoulders of giants. We see more, and things that are more distant, than you did, not because our sight is superior or because we are taller than you, but because you raise us up and by your great stature add to ours:”.

In 2022, the University of Nairobi will work closely with UNESCO-ICHEI to support all IIOE Partner HEIs in developing Online and Blended Teaching and Learning (OBTL) and realizing their Higher Education Digital Transformation agendas through launching OBTL standards and guidelines, co-constructing IIOE online curriculum, developing IIOE online degree programmes and certification programmes aligned to industrial and labour market needs.  The newly established IIOE National Centres will definitely play pivotal roles in their respective countries and even regions to benefit more HEIs with the willingness and plan to pursue OBTL and Higher Education Digital Transformation.

To all IIOE representatives present today, alone I cannot make it but through your support and constructive criticism, we shall achieve more.

Thank you all!