End of Semester General Convocation / Assembly

4th December 2019

Dear Students / Active Infobits, Skills and Competences Constructors and
Dear members of Staff, non-teaching and Infobits, Skills and Competences Facilitators

Today’s End of Semester General Convocation / Assembly gives me a very great pleasure to welcome you all to MIUC and MIUC undertakings of this Semester that is ending.

But I, first of all, wish to thank God for having reached this far. To him be the glory for ever and ever.

We started this journey together at the beginning of September 2019, after the National Census, full of expectations and, indeed, many worries! Here we are today, our hands full of our harvests / sheaves. Ps. 126: 1-6 says it well with these words, (v. 6)
“
When the LORD restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like those who dreamed.
Our mouths were filled with laughter, our tongues with songs of joy. Then it was said among the nations, “The LORD has done great things for them.”
The LORD has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy.
Restore our fortunes, LORD, like streams in the Negev.
Those who sow with tears will reap with songs of joy.
Those who go out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with them.

The chorus:
“Those who were sowing in tears, will sing when they reap, …

So let me now tell you about what we have been doing and what we value at MIC. The question is: “What do we have on our hands and in our hearts today?”

• MIUC registration: 502 students
• The Semester has been running without major hiccups/harms, except when our Water pump was down!
• We have held all the meetings as scheduled (God knows how many I have attended and those I missed), including consultative meetings
• We thank God that the BoG meeting was held on 16th November (the last one was in January 2019)
• The 25th Graduation Ceremony with 141 graduates and today DRS (numbers) and Life Skills Graduates (numbers)
• MIUC Cultural Week that culminated with a big function whereby MIUC hosted high personalities of this lovely country Kenya, His Excellence Hon. Kalonzo Musyoka and Dr. Ezekiel Mutua (KFCB)
• Academic Research and Innovation Workshop for students (23rd November): it was highly involving, enriching, …
• Pastoral activities: i.e. Thursday Academic Masses that have been conducted with songs of praise, colors and
• College Communication systems: I personally have written letters to you (2)
• HULT Prize event at MIUC: I liked the assertiveness and proactiveness of the leadership of the group
• Marketing strategies:
  • KTNews and KTN Home programmes: to be used on our socio-Media
  • MIUC Website has been updated: a special thank you to Mr. Alphonse Kinyua
  • Brochures / Pamphlets advertising MIUC premises to Institutions that want to use our facilities, … and many more.

“History” is a discipline of great importance and, one great man called Thomas S. Monson, once he wrote, “The past is behind, learn from it. The future is ahead, prepare for it. The present is here, live it.” So, in fact, the study of history is important because it allows one to make more sense of the current world.

You remember that on 25th September 2019) I shared with you about a “Vision” and some Strategies.
The vision was about redesigning MIUC Academic Handbook. In this exercise, we are responding to the call of the Commission of University Education (CUE) to align our MIUC Academic Handbook to CBC, particularly to the ESDs and GCEds and beyond.

At this juncture, let me believe that the Course Outline (s) of the Teaching Unit (s) you have done in the course of this Semester that is ending provided you with:

• Key concepts / Core concepts / Key Takeaways of the Unit (s). As active infobits … you can use them,
• “Cross-disciplinary Skills or Transversal Competencies,” related to Personal Life skills and Social skills in particular,
• ABCs of life (real life), meaning specific Values-based strategies, Behaviors & Attitudes that needed for personal growth among others.

In doing this, we are slowing responding to the call to teach the new generation of Kenyans, “to enable every Kenyan to become an engaged, empowered, and ethical citizen. This will be achieved by providing every Kenyan learner with world class standards in the skills and knowledge that they deserve, and which they need in order to thrive in the 21st century. This shall be accomplished through the provision of excellent teaching, school environments and resources … pedagogical tools … (Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development [KICD], 2017, p. 10)”

My stand on this debate is clear, we are moving from pure “Content-Based Instruction (Learning Content)” to the provision of “Related Skills” and Competencies for real life.

I do know that things didn’t work according to my original plan for acceptable reasons! However, for the sake of coherence and consistency between what we say and what we do, the Management has organized a Workshop for Lecturers on 8th January 2020 (full time and part-time) that will instill in the Infobits and Skills Facilitators the taste of running CBC at the Tertiary level, at MIUC in particular.

On the academic side, because that is the core business of MIUC, let me congratulate you for striving to

• Attend lectures and MIUC activities
• Observe the discipline of MIUC: i.e. Dress code
• Involve yourself in College activities (i.e. Cleaning up Karen)
• Strength the bond of unity and service among us, etc.

Not perfect, though. But, you / we are perfectible. All in all, I would say, “you are good, great (achievers), amazing Active Infobits and Skills / Competencies Constructors and Facilitators” … The smile is on your faces, everyone can see … and for me, your Principal, the smile is much more within me and my heart is happy. Psalm 57:7-9 says it all with other words,

“My heart is ready, O God; my heart is ready, And I will sing! Yes, I will sing praise!
Wake up, my glory! Wake up, harp and lyre; I will stir the sleepy dawn with praise!
I will offer You my thanks, O Lord, before the nations of the world; I will sing of Your greatness no matter where I am.”

The dream I have is that MIUC form graduates who are marketable. Graduates who are real “infobits and Competences Constructors.”

• Infobits Constructors in the sense that you have the knowledge (Declarative Knowledge) and that you have the
• Skills / Competencies Constructors in the sense of developing more Procedural Knowledge and Conditional Knowledge.

All these will be evaluated through what is called “individual e-Portfolios.” Our next Academic Research and Innovation Workshop will deal with this aspect so that you start building up your personal e-Portfolios. An e-Portfolio contains

• Developmental e-Portfolio (Work in progress)
• Show Case e-Portfolios (Student work)
• Hybrids e-Portfolios

My Developmental Portfolio
(…)

For that matter, I have contacted institutions that will employ you …

With these academic working conditions and clear evidences of your academic standards, I hope you will be employed and you will employ others.

To conclude, I cannot guarantee to resolve every difficulty but we will put our heads together and find solutions.

Information
1. KENET Meeting in Mombasa

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year 2020

Br. Dr. Albert NZABONALIBA (fms)
MIUC Principal
Tel (WhatsApp): +254 720 947 037