By Felix Njenga
Kiambu National Polytechnic (KINAP) is holding it’s annual open day and innovations and exhibitions day, providing a platform for students from various institutions to display their skills and projects creativity and innovation.
Formerly Kiambu Institute of Science and Technology (KIST), the institution is holding a three-day open day bringing together public and private sector players who will benchmark on how to remodel technical training to meet the labour demands of technological innovation and flexibility.
The trainees are showcasing a diverse range of talents, spanning from art, mechatronic department, the mechanical automotive department, ICT and computer studies, the hospitality department and the building civil engineering department.
According to the Chief Principal Sammy Waititu speaking during the official opening said that they open up the day so that members of the public and any interested person can come in the institution and see what our trainees are doing.
” We train our students technical skills and not necessarily they get employment but employ themselves and also innovate things that can solve our day to day lives or build things that can be sold and earn a living for themselves,” he said.
He said that some of the innovations include making youghurt from soya seeds for those people who do not partake milk products.
” Soya seeds are rich in proteins and our students have been able to make youghurt out of it. While drinking the youghurt you would not tell that there is no milk in it,” he said.
He said that another innovation that the students have invented is a water supply system that do not require usage of power but gravity to pump water.
“When we install the water supply system you will not be required to have power or solar. It will pump water using force of gravity and our trainees have acquired knowledge on how to balance the system which will supply water for years without fail,” he said.
He said that TVETs has embraced the dual training model that a trainee goes for theory and a little bit of practicals inside the institution for three months and goes for industrial attachment for another three months so that they get integrated into the job market quickly.
” We have entered into agreement with industries where trainees are trained for theory for three months then the industries take them for three months and by the time they graduated they are interested into the jobs,” he said.
He added that hospitality students undergo a program where for three days of the week they are in class learning and two days they go to different hotels to cook while under supervision so that when they graduated they are taken by the hotels while having their certificates.
” We are on the fourth year doing dual training and we started with the Mechatronics department a concept we borrowed in Germany where the industry have fully coopted our student but we have agreed with them that they must allow the students to complete their studies and attain certificates,” he said.
He called on parents and those intending to join the institution is easy and enrols students who have completed form four and those who have not completed and those who reached Standard 8 and did not proceed to Secondary school and also enrolling students who got low grades as long as one is interested in doing technical skills.
“We encourage people to enter into KINAP website and apply for enrollment and also enter KUCCPS portal and apply for enrollment. The government is paying fees for the needy. One can also visit our institution and apply,” he said.
Wilson Mwaura, a trainer, said that the trainees have been able to use avocado seeds to make standardized alcohol, tea leaves and other beneficial products for consumption.
“We are using simple technology to put avocado seed to good use which is fit for usage by humans,” he said.
Trainers have the knowledge to empower themselves economically through following legal procedures in using technology the right way.
