Africa-Press – Tanzania. THE National Institute of Transport (NIT) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with two Kenyan Colleges to collaborate in academic exchange programmes, research activities, curricula development and capacity building.
The two Kenyan colleges are namely Kenya Aeronautical College (KAC) located at Wilson Airport in Nairobi and Kenya Coast National Polytechnic College (KCNP) located in Mombasa.
NIT Rector, Prof Zacharia Mganilwa said in Dar es Salaam after the signing ceremony held in Nairobi and Mombasa that the MoU are part of fulfilling the objectives of the East Africa Skills for Transformation and Regional Integration Project (EASTRIP).
“We have signed the MoU with Kenya Coast National Polytechnic to fulfill the needs of the EASTRIP project which wants to see regional students and academic staff moving from one country to another,” he said.
He added, “Therefore, with the MoU that we have signed in Mombasa, the two institutes will have an academic exchange programme for lecturers and students as per EASTRIP project goals.” Kenya Coast National Polytechnic is the Centre of Excellence in Marine Transport and Port Logistics as indicated in EASTRIP, therefore the collaboration with NIT will provide numerous opportunities for both institutions to accomplish the objectives of the project.
With the agreement, Kenya Coast National Polytechnic’s academic staff and students will have an opportunity to come for maritime courses in Tanzania and NIT staff and students will also do the same in Kenya.
NIT is offering diploma courses on shipbuilding and repair, shipping and port logistics operations and a Bachelor degree in shipping and port logistics management.
“We are currently in the process of accrediting the Bachelors’ Degree in Marine Engineering and Naval Architecture,” he said. On other benefits that will be apparent to the two parties, Prof Mganilwa said: “We have agreed that KCNP will assist and promote admission for Kenyan students who are willing to study at NIT.
On the other hand, we will do the same for Tanzanian students who want to pursue further studies at KCNP,” On another development, Prof Mganilwa said that when in Kenya, the Institute has also revived their MoU with Kenya Aeronautical College (KAC) to further strengthen the academic exchange programmes for aviation- oriented programmes.
“KAC is a private Kenyan college not in the EASTRIP project but NIT and KAC have a long history of collaboration since the early days of the establishment of the School of Aviation Technology. With this collaboration, both institutions will be able to improve the quality of training offered at the respective sites.
Furthermore, the collaboration will assist our Centre of Excellence in Aviation and Transport Operations (CEATO) to achieve its goals through EASTRIP,” he said.
