Strathmore University to increase Masters Enrolment

Strathmore University has announced that it will increase enrolment of post graduate students for its Masters Programme by 10 per cent of the current student population. The university, currently with a population of 6,000 students, said it was looking to grow its Masters Programme in the next academic year by about 700 students as it plans to have a larger impact of its graduates in the African marketplace.

“We are interested, as a not-for-profit university, in ethics and quality. We are also aware that Masters graduates have a bigger impact on the economy and therefore yearn to increase the number of the Masters graduates benefitting from our programmes this academic year,” said the Deputy Vice Chancellor — Academic Affairs, Prof Izael Da Silva.

The enrolment increase will grow the undergraduate to graduates students ratio to 80:20 with Masters students’ population at above 1,000.

Strathmore is at the same time seeking to increase its sponsorship for bright and needy graduate and post graduate students in a new Endowment Fund programme likened to the one at Harvard University.

“Our Endowment Fund is now at $2 million. Sadly, unlike at Harvard where this fund is growing every year from inheritance, we have not seen a lot of people who graduate and became successful bequeathing their land, wealth and other properties to their Alma Mater or even other Universities. This very charitable culture has helped grow their Endowment Fund immensely, enabling them to sponsor students from all over the world including in Africa.

“We will be appealing to Africans and companies doing business in Africa to support our Endowment Fund programme so we can support the dreams of bright but needy children — first in East Africa and then all over Africa,” said Prof Da Silva.

Strathmore has recently started market oriented training at the graduate level — including the new Masters in information system security — the only Masters level cyber security training programme in the region which was launched last month and the Masters in Mobile Telecommunication and Innovation course offered in collaboration with leading mobile network operator Safaricom at the university’s Safaricom Academy centre.

“We have launched an awareness campaign through the Schools of Graduate Studies to market the various Masters programmes ahead of the academic year which starts in May,” said Prof Ruth Kiraka, Dean Schools of Graduate Studies.

Reference : www.nation.co.ke