Kisumu: Jaramogi Oginga Odinga University of Science and Technology (JOOUST) has launched a data centre to enhance health, climate, and environmental research work in the Lake region. The data centre, based at the JOOUST Kisumu campus, has been equipped with Sh6 million in funding provided by the Belgian government through the Vlir-OUS programme.
According to Kenya News Agency, the data centre is part of a 10-year cooperative effort between JOOUST and Belgian (Flemish) universities. This partnership aims to strengthen research capacity in natural resource management, agri-food systems, health, ICT, and climate change resilience projects. JOOUST Director of ICT, Prof. Solomon Ogara, stated that the data centre will gather census-based data from the field, serving both as a repository for researchers worldwide and as a disaster recovery centre to ensure the sustainability of projects.
During the launch, JOOUST Deputy Vice Chancellor Prof. Aggrey Thuo emphasized the data center’s role in digitizing research data and supporting research and administrative activities. Prof. Thuo highlighted the collaboration’s success in bridging local resource gaps and expressed optimism about securing funding for the programme’s second phase, despite concerns over potential budget cuts by the Belgian government.
Prof. Jan Danckert, Vice Chancellor of Vrije University of Brussels (VUB), praised the mutual collaboration, describing it as a win-win situation for both JOOUST and VUB. He noted that the data collected by JOOUST is beneficial for research conducted by Belgian professors and students. Prof. Danckert urged the Belgian government to implement budget cuts gradually, allowing universities to adapt and seek new funding sources to maintain stability.
Through the 2022-2032 collaboration between JOOUST and Belgian universities, JOOUST received a grant of Sh898 million. However, anticipated budget cuts are expected to reduce this funding by Sh7.5 million annually. Flemish coordinator Prof. Ann Van Griensven expressed satisfaction with JOOUST’s investment of the funding and the progress of sub-projects. Prof. Griensven emphasized the importance of the newly launched data center, highlighting the significant amount of data collected and project milestones achieved, which would not have been possible without it. She stated, “If we collect data but we cannot make it available for use by researchers and the community, then our efforts will be pointless.”
