Moi University has benefited from digital audio-visual equipment valued at Ksh.6 million donated by the Shanghai Municipal People’s Government and Donghua University. The equipment will help the institution of higher learning to set up two smart classrooms.
The classrooms christened the “Shanghai Love Classroom” will be equipped with advanced technology equipment to bolster distance learning. One classroom will be set up on the Mombasa campus and the main campus in Uasin Gishu County.
Speaking during the launch of a digital classroom at the institution’s Mombasa campus, Shang Yuying, Vice Secretary General of Shanghai Municipal People’s Government disclosed that Donghua and Moi universities share a long-standing partnership that has lasted many with the Chinese institution enlisted international students.
“Smart classrooms provide a very vital platform for digital education. People from everywhere in the world are now focusing on the possibility of distance learning and I know Moi University has been a forerunner in this field for the past decade,” said Shang
She noted that since 2016, they have been establishing digital classrooms with many partners in several countries including Moi University where a Confucius Institute and the college for textile engineering and fashion design was launched some years ago.
“We would love to make use of the equipment donated by Shanghai Government to even strengthen that platform to make it do more. Together we can make a difference,” she stated.
The Vice Secretary General of Shanghai Municipal People’s Government said through their cooperation with Moi University, they have collaborated on programmes such as the student cultivation initiative, research collaboration as well as people-to-people exchanges.
At the same time, Shang lauded the increasing number of Chinese companies setting up industries in the country noting that they will benefit from skilled workers.
“They need both of us to train talents for working effectively in those industries. We would love to develop research collaborations and on top of that a Centre of Excellence to reinforce collaboration between Chinese and Kenyan people,” she remarked
Moi University Vice-Chancellor (VC) Prof. Isaac Kosgey welcomed the support, stating that the smart classroom would enhance teaching and learning experiences with students and faculties.
“Smart classrooms are a technology platform where we offer content to learners virtually,” said the VC adding that plans were underway to teach Chinese using the smart classrooms.
“We are into distance learning as an institution. We want to get education to everybody within Kenya and in the region for those who are interested in our programmes. Going forward, we will be rolling out smart classrooms throughout our campuses,” added Kosgey
On his part, Moi University Director of the Institute of Open and Distance E-Learning Prof Masibo Lumala said they were keen to institutionalize the use of technology in teaching and learning and also go further and offer examinations online.
“We want to leverage on technology as a university to go an extra mile,” said Prof. Lumala
“We want to open the smart classrooms to the communities around. We don’t want to restrict it to our students. We want people who are working at the dock, and tourism sector to be able to learn Chinese so that they can interact easily with their counterparts within their business where Chinese is spoken. We will teach other languages as well,” he added.
