Winter School in Kenya develops agricultural innovations for smallholder farms
From 10 to 21 March 2025, a Winter School took place at Jaramogi Oginga Odinga University of Science and Technology (JOOUST) in Kenya as part of the FAMFISK project funded by the Bavarian State Chancellery.
The two-week programme combines international expertise, academic exchange and practice-oriented innovation support - with the aim of sustainably improving the mechanisation and productivity of smallholder farmers.
At the heart of the programme is the concept of Maschinenring Foundation, which focuses on shared agricultural technology solutions. Under the management of Prof Dr Christopher Obel Gor, 21 JOOUST students are working on solutions to the challenges faced by local farmers at Maschinenring Kakamega. With the help of design thinking, functional prototypes are to be created that directly help in agricultural practice - for example in the areas of soil management, organic fertiliser and crop loss prevention.
A particular highlight of the Winter School were the interim presentations on 21 March, which were attended by high-ranking guests: Prof Dr Carsten Lorz, Vice President for International Affairs and Diversity, and Martin Schüßler, representative of the Bavarian State Ministry of Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Tourism, were visiting to find out about the students' progress.
Two excursions to the surrounding agricultural areas were also central elements of the programme, during which the students were able to talk directly to the farmers. The findings from these encounters formed the basis for the project work. The Winter School was supported by a number of international partners: Maschinenring Foundation with Hanne Conrad-Nielsen, Bildungswerk der Bayerischen Wirtschaft(bbw) with Lea Hillenbrand and Ignaz Völk, as well as Eva Zech, FAMFISK project coordinator at HSWT.
Local expertise was also strongly represented: Bridgit Adhiambo, HSWT graduate and now Managing Director of Maschinenring Kakamega, accompanied the programme and ensured that the projects were embedded in practice.
The training programme takes place for a total of around 10 weeks and also included a one-week internship before the active phase in preparation for the Winter School. The final presentations of the developed prototypes and solution ideas are planned for April 2025. The Winter School is thus another important building block in the endeavour to involve Senegalese and Kenyan universities of applied sciences in the development of regional machinery rings in the long term. Such formats promote the linking of professional practice and academic education and thus strengthen the innovative power in both countries.
The following articles provide further impressions and highlights from the Winter School programme:
Opening Winter School 10. 03.2025: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/hswt_the-vice-chancellor-prof-emily-akuno-officially-ugcPost-7306278180082888704-g_iw?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop&rcm=ACoAACzrifUBcIBmraOLF-QO8qrhPEIEi3CXSjc
Visit by Prof. Dr. Carsten Lorz and Martin Schüßler (Bavarian State Ministry of Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Tourism) from 19 March to 21 March 2025: https: //www.linkedin.com/posts/prof-dr-carsten-lorz-1bb3941ba_make-farmers-great-again-the-second-part-ugcPost-7310319202798596097-XiI_?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop&rcm=ACoAACzrifUBcIBmraOLF-QO8qrhPEIEi3CXSjc
Bridgit Adhiambo from MR Kakamega (and HSWT Alumni) reports on the programme:
The Maschinenring Foundation on the first two weeks of the Winter School:
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![Ein Studierender stellt seinen Prototyp vor einer Gruppe im Stuhlkreis im Grünen vor.]()
The prototypes are to be used directly in agricultural practice. -
![Mehrere Studierende sitzen im Stuhlkreis während eine Studierende einen Prototyp präsentiert.]()
Students developing the devices. -
![Eine Gruppe von Studierenden sitzt vor einer Wand mit Notizen und Plakaten und diskutiert.]()
Design thinking served as an important tool for the development of functional prototypes. -
![Gruppenbild vor einem Gebäude der Partnerhochschule in Kenia.]()
Group photo with the colleagues from the Maschinenring Foundation, bbw and HSWT who traveled from Germany. -
![Mehrere Personen sitzen in einem Klassenzimmer an der Partnerhochschule in Kenia während am Ende des Raumes eine Person steht und spricht.]()
The Winter School took place on the premises of Jaramogi Oginga Odinga University of Science and Technology (JOOUST) in Kenya.
