{"id":141035,"date":"2026-05-14T13:03:11","date_gmt":"2026-05-14T13:03:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/science-and-innovation-kenyas-only-path-to-global-competitiveness-ruto\/"},"modified":"2026-05-14T13:03:11","modified_gmt":"2026-05-14T13:03:11","slug":"science-and-innovation-kenyas-only-path-to-global-competitiveness-ruto","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/science-and-innovation-kenyas-only-path-to-global-competitiveness-ruto\/","title":{"rendered":"Science and innovation Kenya\u2019s only path to global competitiveness: Ruto"},"content":{"rendered":"

NAIROBI, Kenya, May 14 \u2014 Deliberate investment in science, technology and innovation is the only path to the country\u2019s prosperity and global competitiveness, President William Ruto has said.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The President said continued education reforms as well as ongoing expansion of research and technology institutions are part of the government\u2019s deliberate strategy to achieve national transformation.<\/p>\n

He was speaking at State House Nairobi on Thursday after awarding charters to the Kenya Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) and the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI).<\/p>\n

The President said the elevation of the two research institutions to specialised degree-awarding status is a major step in the realisation of the country\u2019s ambition to design home-grown solutions for national transformation.<\/p>\n

<\/a>Ruto was speaking at State House Nairobi on Thursday after awarding charters to the Kenya Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) and the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI)\/PCS<\/p>\n

Present during the ceremony were Korea National Assembly Speaker Woo-Won-shik, Cabinet Secretaries Migos Ogambo (Education), William Kabogo (ICT and Digital Economy), and Aden Duale (Health).<\/p>\n

Others were National Assembly Deputy Speaker Gladys Boss Shollei, Education Committee Chairperson Julius Melly, and a delegation of legislators from South Korea.<\/p>\n

The President emphasised the place of quality education and innovation in attaining industrialisation and fostering job creation.<\/p>\n

He cited the United States and South Korea as illustrious development models, noting that both built their economic transformation on world-class research universities and a national commitment to science and engineering.<\/p>\n

Quoting former South Korean President Park Chung-hee, President Ruto said: \u201cScience and technology are the engines of national development.\u201d<\/p>\n

The President said KAIST would focus on driving the country\u2019s technological and industrial transformation, with programmes in artificial intelligence, robotics, digital technologies, smart manufacturing, renewable energy, biotechnology and semiconductor physics.<\/p>\n

As a fully-fledged university, he said, KEMRI would strengthen Kenya\u2019s capacity to protect public health through medical research, disease surveillance, vaccine development, and training of biomedical scientists, epidemiologists and public health experts.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne institution (KEMRI) will help protect the health and survival of our people. The other (KAIST) will help drive the technological and industrial transformation of our economy,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

President Ruto went on: \u201cTogether, they represent the architecture of a modern, innovative, resilient, and knowledge-driven nation.\u201d<\/p>\n

The President noted that the partnership with South Korea in developing KAIST reflects lessons from Seoul\u2019s own transformation from poverty to a leading industrial economy within a generation.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u201cWe must benchmark with the best,\u201d he said. \u201cSouth Korea was where we are and there is no reason we cannot be where they are.\u201d<\/p>\n

Global competitiveness, the President said, is being redefined by biotechnology, robotics, advanced manufacturing, climate science and artificial intelligence, which is projected to contribute more than $15 trillion to the global economy by 2030.<\/p>\n

\u201cKenya will not stand outside this transformation. We must, and we will, lead within it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

He went on: \u201cWe must transition from being merely consumers of global knowledge and technology to becoming creators of new knowledge, drivers of innovation, and producers of transformative solutions.\u201d<\/p>\n

He highlighted KEMRI\u2019s role during the Covid-19 pandemic in diagnostics, genomic sequencing, and surveillance as evidence of Kenya\u2019s scientific capacity.<\/p>\n

The Covid pandemic, he stated, taught the world that \u201chealth security is national security,\u201d noting that countries that had robust and resilient systems responded quickly, leading to their faster recovery.<\/p>\n

President Ruto commended KEMRI for making important contributions to research on malaria, HIV, tuberculosis and the development of the malaria vaccine now in use in high-burden regions.<\/p>\n

To support such accomplishments, he said, the government has\u00a0 established a State Department for Science, Research and Innovation and committed to meeting the national target of allocating 2% of GDP to research and development.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThis will unlock billions annually for research, innovation, and scientific advancement,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Over the next decade, he added, the government aims to grow the national research fund.<\/p>\n

He called for stronger coordination and synergies among research institutions to build centres of excellence and produce high-calibre professionals capable of driving Kenya toward a first-world economy.<\/p>\n

Education Cabinet Secretary Migos said KAIST and KEMRI are positioned to provide research solutions and foster industrial development, creation of jobs and drive overall national transformation.<\/p>\n

The government, he pointed out, is making an intentional shift towards specialised education in science, technology and innovation to align with national goals and global trends.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are establishing centres of excellence aimed at meeting national priorities,\u201d he said, pointing out that the government is keen to establish strong research and industrial linkages to ensure outcomes are commercialised.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Mr Woo-shik said his country and Kenya would cultivate closer ties in strengthening education and research institutions to produce highly skilled and talented graduates \u201cwho will serve as trailblazers\u201d in delivering shared prosperity in Kenya and beyond.<\/p>\n

He said education has been a central pillar in Korea\u2019s transformation journey from an impoverished country to a prosperous nation.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NAIROBI, Kenya, May 14 \u2014 Deliberate investment in science, technology and innovation is the only path to the country\u2019s prosperity and global competitiveness, President William Ruto has said. The President said continued education reforms as well as ongoing expansion of research and technology institutions are part of the government\u2019s deliberate strategy to achieve national transformation. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-141035","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","entry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/141035","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=141035"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/141035\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=141035"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=141035"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=141035"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}