As the University looks toward the 2026 cycle, the message to industry partners was clear: UoN is "open for business".
NIW 2025 Winners posing for a photo with the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (RIE), Prof. Leonidah Kerubo Omosa and (DVC-HRA), Prof. John Demesi Mande
Innovation and commercialisation are no longer peripheral activities, but the bedrock of the University’s 2023-2027 Strategic Plan. The Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Margaret Jesang Hutchinson, made these remarks on March 25, 2026, during the Research and Innovation Week (RIW) 2025 Innovators’ Award Ceremony organised by the Research, Innovation and Enterprise (RIE) Division.
The Vice-Chancellor, who was represented by Acting Deputy Vice-Chancellor in charge of Human Resource and Administration (DVC-HRA), Prof. John Demesi Mande, outlined some of the measures being taken to institutionalise innovation as a key pillar for the University’s growth:
- Direct Financial Support: Funding innovators to ensure the lack of capital does not stifle world-changing ideas.
- Policy Evolution: Reviewing Intellectual Property (IP) policies to transition the IP Management Office (IPMO) into a world-class Technology Transfer Office (TTO).
- Grassroots Growth: Establishing Faculty Innovation Champions and student-led clubs in every faculty to make entrepreneurship a core part of the UoN culture.
Deputy Vice-Chancellor (RIE), Prof. Leonidah Kerubo Omosa, pointed out that the University of Nairobi (UoN) was progressively shedding the "Ivory Tower" image and reinventing itself as a "Glass Tower" that is “transparent, engaged, and deeply connected with industry and society… shifting from research for publication to research for public good”.
The ceremony, which took place at the University of Nairobi Towers, marked the culmination of the 2025 cycle, during which the university had strategically merged the 9th Nairobi Innovation Week with Research Week in line with its identity as “a research-intensive institution focused on translating scholarly value into social and entrepreneurial appeal”.
The 2025 winners, including six students and six members of staff, were selected from a total of 31 University exhibitors for showcasing brilliant ideas in diverse areas including:
- Health and Food Security: The winning staff innovation prize went to a team led by Dr. Esther Kanduma of the Faculty of Science. Their innovation, dubbed "Uyoga," was a mushroom-based high-protein flour for making porridge designed to combat malnutrition among Kenya’s pastoral communities affected by climate change.
- Digital Economy: Student innovator, Kebabe, scooped the top prize with his Parksby solution, a smart parking platform connecting owners of idle spaces in urban areas to vehicle owners seeking parking space. The platform has registered over 700 spaces and is attracting international appeal.
- Circular Economy: Projects such as Silk Origin Limited by Dr Marianne Muriithi of the Faculty of Health Sciences are utilising silk proteins for high-end health and beauty products, while the student-led Queening Africa recycles synthetic hair waste into eco-friendly fashion products.
The university’s expanding innovation ecosystem was amplified by the presence of strategic partners like the UK-Kenya Tech Hub at the ceremony. Country Director Enos Weswa reminded the gathering that universities are factories of possibilities, urging innovators to embrace a more global "startup founder" mindset, where USD valuations and international impact were the buzzwords.
Prof. Marc Zolver, the University’s foreign expert in Industry-Academia cooperation, observed that "innovation has no passport", reiterating that Nairobi-filed patents filed by UoN should carry the same commercial weight as those in any part of the world.
The message to the winners by Prof. Maina Wagacha, Director of Innovation and Intellectual Property Management (IPMO), was one of urgent progression and the directorate’s commitment to support the innovators as they navigate the complexities of IP protection. "Your innovations are top-notch, but we do not want you to stop there, get an IP for that innovation…we will simplify the journey from idea to patent”, he said. The innovators won cash prizes ranging between Ksh 10,000 and 50,000 and will also receive certificates.
The University remains committed to walking the path of commercialisation with its innovators, transforming discoveries into companies, products, and jobs that will define the future of the African industry. The Dean of Students, Mr Johnson Kinyua, advocated for the creation of 24-hour innovation hubs to enhance the creativity of the university’s budding innovators.
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