About the Directorate

The Directorate of Research and Innovation at the University of Eldoret is housed under the Planning Research and Extension Division. The Directorate is responsible for the realization of all research and innovation performance of the University. As a unit, we are mandated to handle and oversee all research activities and innovative technologies undertaken at the university.

The MISSION of the Directorate is anchored towards promoting the discovery, Invention, Application, and dissemination of knowledge through quality research and Innovation. The VISION of the Directorate is centered on achieving excellence in research, innovation, outreach, and consultancy. In achieving this, the Directorate has endeavored to develop capacity for research and innovation at the University, promote timely and accurate dissemination of all findings and innovations, promote innovative research in high-priority areas in line with the National and International development agenda, and cultivate a culture of continuous improvement on matters outreach and consultancy with both internal and external stakeholders.

Annual Research Grants Initiatives

To meet the University’s Vision of becoming a Premier Centre globally recognized for its visibility in knowledge generation and technological innovations, the Directorate works closely with the University Management to ensure annual dissemination of research findings for the purpose of informing key policy agendas within National and International discourse. Due to this, the Directorate has ensured that the University sets aside 20% of its annual operational funds towards research projects and innovation (Annual Research Grants Support-ARGs).

Since its inception in the year 2016, the ARGs has witnessed over 87 competitive innovative multidisciplinary research proposals being funded by the University, more than 59 conferences and workshops being attended by the ARGs beneficiaries, over 32 innovations sprouting from this research and more than 52 publications being published in an internationally refereed journal by the ARGs beneficiaries aimed at addressing key Agendas affecting National and International affairs.

Publication and dissemination of research findings

As more students and staff engage in research more manuscripts have been published in reputable journals around the world. More than seventy-six (76) publications have been recorded in our database and we are still counting. Researchers have been encouraged to also make themselves and their work visible by registering on the Google Scholar and Research Gate platforms, so far, the progress is tremendous and our research and publications are viewed globally by academicians and policymakers alike, and this has been central in advancing the University’s Internationalization agenda within and beyond.

Research results and findings as centerpieces of addressing societal problems have been disseminated in both local and international conferences. For instance, during the 6th African Higher Education Week and Ruforum Biennial Conference which was held on 20th-26th October, 2018, over 39 extended abstracts and 32 posters were presented papers and posters were presented in conferences by students and staff of UoE. In September 2016, UoE hosted the 3rd International Interdisciplinary Conference on “Innovative Research for Sustainable Development”. The conference brought together researchers from 36 institutions from Kenya, Uganda, and Nigeria. Approximately 250 papers were presented in 20 sessions under 8 sub-themes. The Directorate facilitated two outreach activities where farmers from around the University were trained on modern agricultural technologies in horticultural production with a bid to help them improve their production and earn higher incomes. Other conferences that the Directorate has facilitated include Postgraduate conferences, school conferences, and the UoE@10 conference among many more.

Public Lectures

In order to enhance the dissemination of knowledge on research, technology, and skills generation, the Directorate has conducted over nineteen (19) public lectures mostly from external speakers which has been instrumental in enabling the University to meet its Motto of being the Flame of Knowledge and Innovation.

Building research capacity
To advance research capacity among its staff and students, the Directorate has continuously created the needed awareness in writing grant-winning proposals, research ethics, and accessing research e-resources through a series of seminars and workshops organized by the Directorate. Further, to cushion the University Staff and students from unknown ramifications emanating from research and innovation issues, the Directorate in liaison with the University Management has developed the Research and Innovation Policy, Intellectual Policy, and Consultancy Policy among many more.

Intellectual Property Management Office (IPMO)

In order to protect Intellectual property from the output of our researchers, staff, and students, the University Management established the IPMO office which is housed under the Directorate.

Planned activities

To give a platform of expression to innovators and inventors of UoE, the Directorate conducts Annual Innovation Day to showcase the innovations and inventions developed by our undergraduate, and postgraduate students and staff. We hope various stakeholders especially industry will use this opportunity to scout for potential technologies for use or forge collaborations with UoE researchers for future work.

The Directorate will continue to organize and facilitate the research capacity-building efforts amongst its staff and postgraduate students to attain the levels of high-quality research that the University aspires to achieve.