Page 16 - Engineering in Kenya Mag

Eng. Kagondu: How we
planned the one of a kind event
THIS year’s IEK Career Week was unique in so many ways. It was the first mentorship programme that brought a number of
universities together on the same platform, breaking away from the norm of individual institution career talks. It was also held virtually in line with the Covid-19 protocols. Eng. Grace Kagondu – Chair of the IEK Capacity Building & Mentorship Committee – who led the team that planned the event shares her experience in the coordination and the future of the Career Week.
What informed the idea of bringing together multiple institutions for the event this time round?
Two things. First Inclusivity and outreach. Secondly, Optimisation of resources. During this year’s World Engineering Day for sustainable development celebrations, we were keen to reach out to all our members, including students and have them in the celebrations. We also wanted to reach as many students as possible. Use of virtual platforms enabled us to reach over 500 engineering students from 12 universities as compared to other years when we did physical visits to one university at a time. Eventually some universities would miss out altogether due to challenges associated with physical visits, such as logistics. The IEK’s Strategic Plan 2019-23 highlights inclusivity as one of its key pillars where all classes of our membership can feel part of the institution and its activities.
On optimisation of resources, the Covid-19 pandemic has affected the financial performance of many entities and IEK is conscious of this reality. A virtual event requires less
financial outlay and enabled more optimal use of our resources. In short we achieved more with less.
Share with us your experience planning for this event in comperison to previous ones?
It was a busy and exciting experience but also an eye opener. The Career Week 2021 was organised by the Capacity Building & Mentorship Committee (CBMC), which has the Young Engineers Chapter (YEC) as one of its subcommittees. My role as chair of CBMC was to coordinate and facilitate linkage between YEC and other partners and stakeholders for a successful event. We had to loop in the targeted 12 universities, student engineering bodies, EBK, at least four speakers per day for each discipline focus over the four days, in addition to coordinating with other IEK committees such as PRAC, the IEK Secretariat, the communications team and poster design team. That was a busy time!
Students candidly shared their experiences and the challenges they face. We learnt their key concerns about a future in engineering. Most were keen to join IEK as student members but preferred an online process. We agreed on an easier approach through the University Deans, pending full automation of our processes.
As committee what challenges did you experience planning and execu- tion event?
The co-ordination required was quite intensive so we resolved to have virtual meetings every two days. We also created virtual platforms looping in engineering students’ leaders and university Deans/Chairs to ensure real- time communication and resolution of issues. One good outcome was realization of the need to launch social media groups for our student and graduate engineer members. This is now a work in progress to align with policies in place.
What do participants gain from IEK career week events?
The students are exposed to the truly wide range of engineering careers available to them after
The students are exposed to a truly wide range
of engineering careers available to them after graduation. Quite a number were surprised to learn
that options such as Aerospace and Marine Engineering are available and have quite attractive prospects.
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Engineering in Kenya Magazine Issue 002
CAREER WEEK