Engineers unveil five-year strategic plan

From left: Federation of African Engineering Organisations(FAEO) President, Papias Kazawadi, Institute of Engineers of Kenya (IEK) President Eng. Eric Ohaga and IEK Secretary Shammah Kiteme, during IEK Presidents' dinner 2023 in Nairobi. [Wilberforce Okwiri,Standard]

Kenyan engineers have unveiled a five-year strategic plan through their umbrella body with five key areas of focus.

These include membership, relevance, governance, resource mobilisation and expertise.

The 2023-2028 strategic plan by the Institution of Engineers of Kenya (IEK) is a review of the previous one and has been developed through a participatory process.

It aims to enhance IEK as an inclusive, revered and member-driven learned society of the engineering profession, positioning it as the go-to primary authority for responsive, responsible, progressive, sustainable and public benefit engineering solutions.

Institutional framework

It also aims to improve IEK's institutional framework to support an effective, professional and collaborative community of engineers, transition IEK into a financially independent society sufficiently resourced to effectively advance the members' interest and provide training that offers lifelong learning to equip engineers with current technologies and new ways of practising.

"This plan charts our path towards a more robust and sustainable future for our institution and the engineering profession as a whole,'' said IEK President Erick Ohaga during the launch of the strategic plan.

He commended IEK branches across the country for being vital in driving their mission forward.

Strong linkages

"Together, we have strengthened the linkages between academia and industry, enhancing the quality of engineering education and training to align with the prevailing local and liberalised market needs," he said.

He said collaborations have been crucial in their journey, and he was pleased to mention their fruitful partnerships with the Engineers Board of Kenya (EBK), academia, and industry.

"Together, we have been working to address challenges faced by engineers in Kenya, including low registration rates, consumption of local content in engineering services, and unharmonised standards. We will continue to engage with the government to advocate for necessary reforms that benefit our profession and the nation at large," he said.

Graduate engineers(GE) have been complaining about the delayed process of registering them as professional engineers (PE).

EBK chairman Erastus Mwongera said that the Graduate Engineers Internship Programme (GEIP) cohort four was successfully commissioned

"We registered 354 and 344 in the last two years respectively. We are committed to recruiting 500 GEs under the program for this financial year," said Mwongera.

The Board, he said, undertook 20 independent reviews of university programs last financial year and is planning to undertake 10 this financial year.

School curriculum

"The Board is developing establishment instruments for the schools and the journey towards Washington Accord is progressing well," he added.

The chair also said the engineers' projects registration portal and Engineers' registration portal have been launched and the uptake is encouraging

The launch of the strategic plan event was also attended by chief guest Papias Kazawadi, President Federation of African Engineers Organisation (FAEO).