The Faculty of Education hosted a successful 4 th Annual International Conference on Research
and Innovation in Education themed “Post-Modern Trends in Education Transformation and
Sustainable Development”. The virtual conference, took place on October 26 -27 as part of the
activities of the annual University of Nairobi Research Week, during which thirteen other
conferences were hosted by various faculties. The event consisted of activities such as
presentations of research papers, keynote addresses on topical issues and trends in education by
experts in various areas, and open discussions by conference participants.
The primary objective of AICRIE was to provide a platform for sharing research findings in the
area of education and also catalyse networking among scholars and graduate students. Over
90 research papers were presented by Kenyan researchers and others drawn from various
countries across the world including Botswana, Canada, Ghana, India, Nigeria, Uganda,
Tanzania, Rwanda, USA, and United Kingdom among others.
Participants presented papers under various sub-themes including Refocusing Education in the
21 st Century; Transformative and Pedagogical Practices; Teacher Profession and Development;
Sports and Physical Education for Sustainable Development; Equity, Quality, and Inclusive
Education; and Financing Education.
Speaking during the opening ceremony, the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Stephen Kiama,
acknowledged the need for continuous research to facilitate the achievement of sustainable goals.
He noted that universities were engines of societal transformation by playing a critical role in
shaping new ways for the world, educating the global citizens, and delivering knowledge and
innovation. “Therefore, for universities to remain relevant and true to their role of societal
transformation, there is a need to continuously examine the curriculum, teaching and learning
approaches, and staff development process at all levels of education”, he challenged the
participants.
The Dean, Faculty of Education, Prof. Jeremiah Kalai, while welcoming participants to the
conference, echoed the Vice-Chancellors’ remarks on the importance of research. Referring to
the theme of the conference, the dean noted that it was quite timely and reflected the
circumstances that the Faculty of Education was operating in in relation to global challenges,
changes, and opportunities.
Professor Jerono Rotich from Indiana University (United States) made a keynote presentation
titled “Building Global Collaboration in Kinesiology for Sustainable Development”. Noting that
the field of Kinesiology has numerous opportunities for collaboration, she urged the conference
participants and their institutions to think beyond the geographical borders and embrace
collaborations to help counter the problems facing the field of education.
In another keynote address, Mr. Michael Asudi, the Kenya Country Coordinator and Secretary of
International Affairs at the Organization of Africa Youth, stressed the importance of lifelong learning in building the skills of the youth over and above the traditional education curriculum.The speaker discussed critical issues affecting the youth under the title “Youth and lifelong Learning: Opportunities, Challenges, Partnerships and Collaborations”. He urged the youth to take the initiative of being self-motivated to ensure continuous learning and leveraging the available learning opportunities.
Rebecca Ferguson, Professor of Learning Futures at the Institute of Educational Technology
(IET) at the Open University, United Kingdom, discussed the importance of innovative
pedagogies in education. She emphasised the need for trainers and lecturers to focus on the
delivery of quality education to the learners using approaches that reflected the changing context.
Other keynote speakers during the conference included Dr. Narendra Deshmukh, a senior scientist
from India, who presented on the Challenges in the 21 st Century Teacher Education; Mr. Enos Kiforo,
who discussed Transformative Learning through the use of Technology; and Mr. Franklin Mugambi,
who spoke on the issue of breaking the barriers in adult and lifelong learning.
The conference ended with the participants being urged to intensify their research, networking,
collaboration, and publishing activities.
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