Daystar University Hosts Annual Postgraduate Seminar 2025

The Dean, School of Communication Prof. Levi Obonyo (middle foreground) with a cross-section of postgraduate students who attended the seminar on 8th March 2025

[Athi River, Monday 10th March 2025] On Saturday, 8th March, 780 postgraduate students attended the annual postgraduate seminar at Daystar University Main Campus at Athi River.

The Vice Chancellor, Prof. Laban P. Ayiro, gave the keynote address on the theme: The Next Chapter.  In his remarks, Prof. Ayiro amplified Daystar University’s ‘Design for Delight’ (D4D) strategic approach to customer focus that is intended to set the Golden Standard through providing exceptional student experiences.

“I called you here today because we have a vacuum in this country.  Postgraduate studies play a pivotal role in national development and fuse into the global community. Focusing on both the setbacks and advantages of postgraduate studies becomes essential if we are going to make a positive contribution to development,” he offered. 

Prof. Ayiro stated that he was experimenting with the D4D model at Daystar University to see if it would bear the desired outcome of increased graduation rates for postgraduate students. 

“I am manipulating the independent variable of ‘design’ to achieve the dependent variable of ‘delight’. This annual postgraduate seminar is one of several factors we are testing,” he observed.

The Acting Deputy Vice Chancellor, Academic, Research and Student Affairs, Prof. Samuel Muriithi highlighted the Problem-Based Learning (PBL) pedagogy as the approach Daystar University is using to champion and drive D4D in academics.  The four pillars of PBL include Quality Teaching and Learning, Quality Research and Scholarship, Quality Faculty, and Quality Infrastructure.

Prof. Muriithi presented data showing that since the annual postgraduate seminar began three years ago, the number of postgraduate students completing their studies each year has been steadily rising, from 112 in 2022 to 252 in 2023 and, 351 in 2024.  

Prof. Laban P. Ayiro and Prof. Kivutha Kibwana receive a fruit token from a grateful postgraduate student 

On his part, the Deputy Vice Chancellor, Finance, Administration and Planning, Prof. Muturi Wachira, highlighted the University Management’s commitment to delivering quality infrastructure for enhanced student experiences.  He mentioned that two major projects: the David Musau Mumama Learning Complex (DMMLC), poised to house the School of Law; and the Faye Smith Hostel for female students, are nearing completion.  Moreover, the Vice Chancellor committed to putting up two more buildings, one for the School of Communication and another for the School of Applied Human Sciences.

In a presentation titled “Navigating policies, support systems, and progression”, the Director of the Graduate School, Sr. Prof. Agnes Lucy Lando, highlighted academic policies that needed review in order to facilitate the timely completion of studies for postgraduate students. She encouraged the students to adhere to requirements by the University and the Commission for University Education (CUE) for postgraduate studies, and also to take advantage of financial support available for them at the University, government, and international levels. She appreciated the students for positively responding to the Vice Chancellor’s invitation and turning out in large numbers for the physical meeting.

Sr. Prof. Lando noted that among the 780 students present at the meeting, 19 were international students who had flown in from Australia, Burkina Faso, Democratic Republic of Congo, South Sudan, Ethiopia, Uganda, and Tanzania; while  about 350 were from other counties outside the  Nairobi City County.

The Director of Research, Innovation, Commercialization and Entrepreneurship (D-RICE), Dr. Caroline Muaka Ayuya, spoke about the role of postgraduate research in driving innovation, opportunities available to enable postgraduate students commercialize their research output, and support structures for entrepreneurial research available.

The Director for Academic Affairs, Dr. Dinah Keino, articulated the need for postgraduate students to uphold academic integrity in research and thesis writing.  “The University has invested in Turnitin licenses for the plagiarism check; be sure to achieve a similarity index of 18% and below.” urged Dr. Keino.

Prof. Kivutha Kibwana, a faculty in Daystar University’s School of Law, and the programme moderator for the day, urged postgraduate students to adhere to academic standards so that their individual end products would be useful to any institution where they find themselves serving. He explained that the forum was intended to foster a partnership between the students and the University, to guarantee that both work harmoniously towards producing high-quality scientific inquiry, innovation, and commercialization.

“We keep on negotiating how to study together; however, the one thing we do not bargain about is the scourge of plagiarism and kindred academic cheating,” said Prof. Kibwana. He further invited postgraduate students to dialogue with the Vice Chancellor and his team to achieve two-sided public participation that would ensure that both the students and faculty birth a learning space in which mutual expectations are met, bearing in mind the required high-quality research output.

To organize the one-day postgraduate seminar, the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Laban P. Ayiro, was assisted by a special team called Drivers and Animators of postgraduate programmes. These included the Acting Deputy Vice Chancellor, Academic, Research and Student Affairs, Prof. Samuel Muriithi; the Deputy Vice Chancellor, Finance, Administration and Planning, Prof. Muturi Wachira; the Director of Graduate School, Sr. Prof. Agnes Lucy Lando; the Deputy Director of Graduate School, Monica Opiyo, the Director of Academic Affairs, Dr. Dinah Keino; the Director of Research, Innovation, Commercialization and Entrepreneurship, Dr. Caroline Muaka Ayuya; the Director of Quality Assurance Dr. Sylvia Tuikong the Director, Main Campus (Athi River), Dr. Daniel Robert Aswani; Senior Lecturer in the School of Law, Prof. Kivutha Kibwana, and Mrs. Magdaline Kiyeng from the Office of the Vice Chancellor.

The thought-provoking sentiments by the Vice Chancellor and his team resonated deeply with the audience.

Present also were Deans of Schools, Directors, Heads of Departments, members of the Management Board and the University Senate, Faculty, and staff.

The event was not just about presentations and speeches. It also provided a platform for interaction and networking among postgraduate students. The students were able to connect with their tutors and like-minded peers.

The event culminated with lunch and cutting of a celebratory cake, a symbolism of the commitment by the University and the postgraduate students towards the betterment of Daystar University and the global community.