Proposed changes in Engineering Students’ Final Project & Attachment Management in JKUAT to Enhance University – Jua Kali Collaboration to bridge existing technological

Abstract

Apart from being a major employer, Kenya’s informal sector which is commonly referred to as Jua Kali has produced a lot of useful inventions and improved products that have changed Kenyan lives. Some of these products include airplane prototypes, improved charcoal stoves, wheelbarrows and money maker water pumps just to mention a few. However most of these products have failed to attain optimal mass production and improvements due to insufficient technical expertise in carrying out design and optimization, poor research and logistical support, financial constraints and ineffective marketing strategies. For this sector to fully contribute to industrialization of our country, deliberate efforts must be made to support and nurture it. This provides an entry opportunity for institutions of higher learning, like JKUAT, to collaborate and convert the raw indigenous ideas to workable and technological systems for mass production.