Ndirangu, Kioni
DeKUT, Kenya
Prof. Paul Ndirangu Kioni is the former Vice Chancellor, current Head of Research-Innovation and Entrepreneurship Education (RIEEED) Office, and a Professor of Thermo-fluids in the Department of Mechanical Engineering of Dedan Kimathi University of Technology. He is working on the establishment of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa’s Origin Research and Innovation Labs Physical Hub of East Africa that is hosted in DeKUT. He was instrumental in the establishment of DeKUT, where he started working in 1999, before joining as the founding Principal and Chief Executive Officer in 2008 and becoming the founding Vice-Chancellor in 2012.
During his 14 ½ years as the head of the institution, DeKUT emerged as a leading University of Technology with a diverse range of technological programs, 26 independent research centres including the home of Semiconductor Technologies Limited (STL) being the first semiconductor technologies research and development laboratories of its kind in Africa, thus, entering the region into the semiconductors manufacturing global supply chains.
He has led, developed and promoted many programs for accelerating knowledge generation and dissemination and technology transfer in Africa. He holds a B.Sc. from University of Nairobi, and a PhD from Cambridge University. He is a professional engineer, a member of the Institution of Engineers of Kenya (IEK), and serves as the Patron of Kenya’s Council of Engineering Deans and Principals.