Mount Kenya University

The Mount Kenya University is a chartered university and has diverse strategic partnerships with Higher Learning Institutions across the world and industry including United Nations Volunteers (UNV) as a vital means of achieving the university triple - pronged mandate of teaching, research and community engagement. The University is a member of the United Nations Academic Impact (UNAI), the Association of African Universities (AAU), the Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU), the Kenya Private Sector Association (KEPSA), Linking Industry with Academia (LIWA), Talloires Network of Engaged Universities, and hosts the UNESCO Chair in Digital Education, Interdisciplinary Teaching and Sustainable Development. The University promotes access to higher education by establishing Campuses and Open, Distance and E-Learning (ODEL) Centres in different geographical areas in East Africa and beyond. The University Main campus is located in Thika town, with other Campuses in Nairobi, Parklands, Mombasa, Nakuru, Eldoret, Meru, and Kigali Rwanda. The University has ODeL Centres located in Malindi, Kisumu, Kitale, Kakamega, Kisii and Kericho and marketing offices located in Isiolo, Nyeri, and country offices in Kampala in Uganda, Bujumbura in Burundi, Hargeisa in Somaliland and Garowe in Puntland. With 57 year of experience in capacity building, one of the core principles of UNITAR's work is getting closer to beneficiaries through a global network of partners on the ground: a principle that ensures the relevance, ownership, sustainability and impact of UNITAR's training initiatives. Driven by its commitment to delivering quality education to vulnerable populations, UNITAR brings to the table not only its training expertise, but also its commitment to and experience in building strong, resilient and impactful collaborations. The pooling of resources and knowledge between UNITAR and Mount Kenya University will enable the partners to achieve much more and much faster in these unprecedented times of the COVID-19 pandemic. The partnership emphasises the vital link between development, peace and quality education through building the capacities of county government leaders, the military, the police, the private sector, youth, schools and communities, the Ministry of Health and the Postal Cooporation of Kenya. A range of interactive presentations that took place on the 8th of March showcased the vast scope of new opportunities to empower people and transform lives, which this new collaboration presents.