Mount Kenya University (MKU) has been ranked among the top 10 best universities and the second best private university in Kenya.
In Africa, the institution has been ranked at position 258 out of more than 2,000 universities after improving from position 16 to 10 out of 124 institutions in the Kenyan ranking.
In the sub-Saharan ranking, MKU has jumped from position 177 to 151 among the 1,393 colleges in the rankings released last week by Webometrics.
The Thika-based institution is now rated among the top 16 in continental rankings. “The ranking is a true reflection of the efforts that the university has put towards enhancing, teaching and learning, research and innovations,” says Prof Deogratius Jaganyi, MKU Vice-Chancellor.
“The university organised a research and innovation week last year where staff disseminated their research findings,” he added.
Overall, the University of Nairobi has retained the top slot in Kenya while Strathmore University is the best private college, according to the latest Webometrics rankings.
Other leading institutions in Kenya include Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, Kenyatta University, Egerton, Moi, Maseno, Technical University of Nairobi and Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology.
This year, MKU has also ranked as a top performing institution of higher learning by UNIRANK and EDURANK after improving from position 6,318 to 5,437 out of 32,140 institutions in the world ranking. This put MKU in the top 19 per cent in the global rankings by the two institutions.
Congratulating the university leadership, management, faculty and entire fraternity on the morale-boosting achievements, the MKU VC said the ranking has improved due to the growth in the number of external networks (subnets) linking to the institution’s webpages. “On this index, the college improved from position eight to three due to increased partnerships and linkages.”
Transparency, openness
MKU has also gained mileage on the transparency and openness ranking due the presences of top cited researchers and increasing citations from the top 210 authors due to increased investment in research and innovation.
The institution also has seen a growth in its top cited papers from its scholars, ranking it amongst the top 10 per cent most cited in each one of the 27 disciplines of the full database.
Further, there has been improvement in publications and promotion of research culture in the university following establishment of college of graduate studies and research as a centre of excellence, boosting its positioning in the Excellence / Scholar ranking by webometrics.
MKU’s Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Academic and Research, Dr Mercyline Kamande applauded the faculty members for their tireless mentorship and training of postgraduate students who have embraced research and innovation as a driver to sustainable development.
“The university will continue implementing different strategies that will ensure a holistic student growth by mentoring innovators who upon graduation will become job creators or venture into gainful employment and wealth creation opportunities,” she added.
MKU Medical school
MKU Medical School is ranked as the leading training institution among medical schools in East Africa, according to EAC Partner States Medical Practitioners Boards and Councils. “Students choose to study at MKU because it is among the top-ranked universities nationally and regionally,” said the Deputy Vice-Chancellor.
The institution is also ranked top among universities in research funding and is the fourth-best Kenyan university in sports, as per a CPS International survey. “MKU has gradually grown to be a respected brand. We top the list of science-offering private higher education institutions, according to CPS International,” Dr Kamande added.
By James Wakahiu
