RVIST Oasis of Talents, Innovations Holds 17th Graduation Ceremony

By Brenda Bungei

The Rift Valley Institute of Science and Technology(RVIST) holds its 17th graduation ceremony on the institution's vast manicured grounds.

The technical institution elevated a couple of months ago to a National Polytechnic under Technical and Vocational Education Training (TVET) now boasts a student population of 12,000.

The college has dozens of star achievements under its belt as it holds iconic Graduation Ceremony on December 15, 2023.

Established in 1979, RVIST aims at becoming a center for excellence TVET, a mandate which the management has labored for over the years.

"The Institution boasts of academic excellence with significant increase in number of students achieving high grades and excellence in various courses" The Chief Principal, Sammy Cheboiwo said.

He said construction is ongoing for new classrooms, workshops for Building and Civil Engineering students and dispensary to serve students and community.

The college is also Competency-Based Education and Training (CBET) compliant.

Its static growth has seen a number of students graduate into the labour market.

Over 3,000 graduated last year. More than 2,500 students will graduate this year.

"As we celebrate 17th graduation, we are delighted to recount dozens of achievements this year" Chemoiwo said.

Among them include 14th agribusiness expo held on October 13 and 14, 2023 at the main campus, Nakuru. Event's theme is; Re-Aligning Agribusiness to Sustainability Through Technology and Innovation.

It provided platform for farmers' access to quality information to engage in best farming practices to enhance productivity in agribusiness.

The annual event is organized in partnership with county government of Nakuru County, Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries and other stakeholders in the agribusiness industry. 

In his speech Chemoiwa highlighted objectives and positive results the expo achieved so far.

"It has equipped farmers with skills on dairy farming, feed formulation, fish farming, bee-keeping, crop production, poultry farming and farm machinery," he said.

The partnership cultivated by the learning institution has seen trainees acquire industry- ready competencies. Also trained them to be ambassadors of climate-smart practices in their respective communities.

Through research in agricultural sector, Chemoiwa said African countries will find solutions to threats of food insecurity.

He leveraged on the Expo to present institution’s commitment in promoting use of green energy to increase food production and processing.

"It introduces use of technology to help farmers reduces the cost of production, maximizing production" he said.

Nakuru County Executive Committee for Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries, Leonard Bor said county government is also committed in promoting small-scale agriculture to embrace modern system.

"I encourage all stakeholders in the value chain to adopt new practices and promote resilience strategies for maximum productivity."

The CECM said the move will address challenges of climate change, pests and diseases, enhance proper market system to combat challenges in agribusiness sector.

Another remarkable achievement at RVIST is the lead in the implementing the Jitume Initiative.

"We are a leading institution in implementing the government initiative aimed at equipping youth with digital skills" Chemoiwo said.

The digital space has so far seen youth earning decent livelihoods and become role models.

It kicked off on August 5, 2023 with 300 students, targeting to register over 1,000 students within the next year.

Under leadership of Chemoiwa, government equipped Jitume lab with 100 work stations through the ICT Authority, TVET and Konzo Technopolis focusing on Remotasks.

"The effectiveness of this training programme is evident as our trainees were already earning through Remotasks,".

Third milestone is the innovations by students who participated in the Startup Africa Olympiad 2023 for TVET students in Accra Ghana on August 29, 2023.

One student Mark Kiplel won a bronze seed capital worth 1,000 dollars.

Youthful Kiplel showcased a handwork of LEL’s incubators, modified using locally available materials utilizing both electric and solar energy to maximize hatching rate. 

"It has a capacity of 40 eggs targeting small-scale poultry farmers," Kiplel said.

Trip to Ghana later saw inauguration of Trailblazer's club in the institution that incorporated students from various professional fields for mentorship and coaching.

The club will spur innovation within the institution mainly aimed at solving social problems and spurring economic development.

Furhermore college's sports and recreation department currently have two soccer male teams which played in the FKF leagues.

Ladies’ soccer team won the FKF Nakuru County league and were promoted to the regional league. Both men and women basketball teams qualified for the finals played at the institution on 25th November 2023.

Handball teams have also been participating in Nakuru Handball Super League organized by the Kenya Handball Federation, Nakuru branch.

In drama, we emerged overall winners South Rift region level at the 2023 National drama festivals in Mombasa.

The college also joined the rest of the world in observing World Ozone Layer Day on Saturday September 16,2023.

"Objective is to find solutions to fix ozone layer and reduce carbon emissions" The event was attended by members of the community and PS for Environment, Festus Rotich.

On Friday October 20, Annual Talent show was held themed: Infusing Diversity and Inclusion to Mitigate Climate Change.

Chief Principal officially launched the well-organised event encouraging more students to participate in future.

Students showcased their prowess and talents through spoken word, singing competitions, dancing, art and design, parody, body building and flexibility.

Participants also engaged in modeling contest aimed at selecting the institution’s Mr. and Miss RVIST 2023/2024.

In an event held in Montreal Canada in April, RVIST won two International Awards on World Federation of Colleges and Polytechnics (WFCP) on Sustainable Development Goals (Gold) and Leadership in Diversity and Inclusion (Gold).

"This and many more is a huge transformation to our college," Chemoiwo said.