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Former Irish playwright the late George Bernard Shaw once famously remarked that, “the single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place.” This quote succinctly embodies the problem with communication while underscoring importance of effective engagement and messaging. As scientists work around the clock to grapple with intractable challenges such as food insecurity, pandemics, environmental pollution and so on, it is emerging that social sciences, such as science communication, play a crucial role in actualizing research … Continue reading “SCIENCE COMMUNICATION IS A KEY ENABLER OF ONE HEALTH CULTURE AND PRACTICE”

This new report from the ISC outlines plausible scenarios for the COVID-19 pandemic to consider the options for achieving the most desirable end to the crisis, highlighting that decisions made over the coming months and years need to be informed not only by short-term priorities but also by long-term challenges, and will serve as an analytical tool for policy-makers to lead to a more optimistic outcome to the pandemic. A result of the Council’s COVID-19 Outcome Scenarios Project, the report Unprecedented and Unfinished: … Continue reading “COVID-19 AND IMPLICATIONS FOR NATIONAL AND GLOBAL POLICY”

A position paper of the International Science Council The International Science Council (ISC) is committed to a vision of science as a global public good. This vision has profound implications for the ways in which science is conducted and used, and the roles that it plays in society. This ISC position paper considers those implications, exploring the ways they influence the responsibilities of scientists, both individually and collectively, and how they apply in the different settings in which science is … Continue reading “SCIENCE AS A GLOBAL PUBLIC GOOD”

National Cereals and Produce Board, NCPB staff and Facilitators from NACOSTI The National Commission for Science, Technology, and Innovation (NACOSTI) facilitated a three-day training on the Science, Technology, and Innovation performance contracting indicator and reporting to the National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB) Focal Person and Champion(s). The training was convened by the NCPB. In accordance with the purposes of the STI Act enactment, the Financial Year 2021/2022 Performance Contracting Guidelines (18th Cycle) released by the Ministry of Public Service … Continue reading “TRAINING FOR THE NCPB TEAM IN SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, AND INNOVATION MAINSTREAMING  PC INDICATOR”

The Kabete National Polytechnic in Nairobi County.[Courtesy] Last week, Kabete National Polytechnic held its second research conference. I was a guest as an alumnus. It was nostalgic visiting an institution that has evolved in the last 100 years from a native industrial training depot (NITD) to a technical school, a technical institute and now a national polytechnic. Now you know why the small town next to this school is called “N”. Did I hear the late founding President Jomo Kenyatta went … Continue reading “WHY THE ROLE OF TECHNICAL INSTITUTIONS IN INNOVATION CANNOT BE GAINSAID”

Researchers need to be assessed on every aspect of their work, no matter where it takes place. Photo by marlenefrancia/Shutterstock How do you assess academic researchers for promotion or funding? This question has become ever more central in higher education settings since the 1980s saw substantial growth in investment in research. This significantly increased the number of researchers in the academic workforce and the need to assess their output for employment, promotion and other career advancements. One response to the need … Continue reading “RESEARCHERS SHOULD BE ASSESSED ON QUALITY NOT QUANTITY: HERE’S HOW”

Enrolment at public universities dipped for the first time in three years in a period that saw the intake at technical colleges offering diploma and certificate courses increase 22 percent. FILE PHOTO | NMG Enrolment at public universities dipped for the first time in three years in a period that saw the intake at technical colleges offering diploma and certificate courses increase 22 percent. Official data shows that students joining public universities for undergraduate degrees dropped for the first time … Continue reading “PUBLIC UNIVERSITY ENROLMENT DIPS AS TVET NUMBERS GROW”

In robot-assisted surgery, surgeons guide minimally invasive instruments remotely. Photograph: agefotostock/Alamy In world-first trial, bladder cancer patients who had robotic surgery went home sooner and were less likely to be readmitted Patients having major abdominal operations should be offered the option of robotic surgery, doctors and scientists have said, after a world-first clinical trial found the procedures dramatically speed up recovery times, reduce complications and cut the risk of blood clots. In a first-of-its-kind three-year study, experts at University College London … Continue reading “ROBOT-ASSISTED SURGERY CAN CUT BLOOD CLOT RISK AND SPEED RECOVERY, STUDY FINDS”

Kenya’s Delegation during the Preparatory Committee Meeting for the Ninth Review Conference in April 2022 in Geneva, Switzerland. The preparatory committee meeting for the Ninth Review Conference of the Biological and Toxins Weapons Convention (BWC) was held from 4th to 11th April 2022, in Geneva, Switzerland. Kenya was represented by H.E Amb. Cleopa Mailu (Head of Permanent mission), as the head of the delegation, Prof. Walter Oyawa (Director General, NACOSTI, and BWC National Focal Point), CEO’s from several research institutions … Continue reading “KENYA PARTICIPATE IN PREPARATORY COMMITTEE MEETING FOR THE NINTH REVIEW CONFERENCE OF THE BWC”

Trucks dumping rocks to complete a river closure for a dam in China’s Sichuan province in 2021.Wang Lei/China News Service via Getty Images China is poised to build a hydropower dam in two years using artificial intelligence, construction robots, and zero human labor, scientists involved in the project said. The Yangqu dam on the Tibetan plateau is set to be assembled layer by layer, like with 3D printing, The South China Morning Post first reported on Sunday, citing a paper published in April in … Continue reading “CHINA IS USING AI AND 3D PRINTING TO BUILD A 590-FOOT-TALL DAM WITHOUT THE NEED FOR HUMAN WORKERS”