About the Centre
Welcome to the Centre for Science and Technology Studies (CSTS). The Centre is a brain child of Prof. Dr-Ing F.W.O Adoul, the Vice Chancellor of the Technical University of Kenya. In Adoul’s thinking, students who are enrolled in science, engineering, and science-related disciplines, especially in Kenyan universities, are usually in class drilled almost exclusively in the technical aspects of their respective disciplines. Such students then often graduate from their respective academic fields of study as erudite technicians — with little knowledge on how science and technology can be applied to improve the human condition.
What the programs students are enrolled in lack, in their curricula, is an interdisciplinary orientation that would otherwise allow students to gain knowledge on how science and technology interact with the human person. And such knowledge would often be gained through a broad range of study—including philosophy, history, political science, sociology and the human aspects of science, and technology.
The Centre was therefore established in-order to help equip students of the Technical University of Kenya with such “soft” inter-disciplinary knowledge in science and technology. Utilizing interdisciplinary approaches, the Centre aims to primarily understand how the advancements in science and technology impact human lives and livelihoods and how, in turn, diverse human societies/cultures have respectively influenced — positively, negatively or otherwise — the evolution of science and technology. CSTS also encourages the integration of historical outlook, economic considerations, ethical deliberations, sociological perspectives and policy informed contexts in the science and technology curricula while also facilitating collaborative interdisciplinary, inter-sectoral, and inter-generational research contexts and learning environments.
Objectives
- To further increased the awareness of the history and philosophy of science and technology
- To seek an in-depth understanding of how the application of science has improved or impeded human lives, livelihoods and the environment.
- To provide complete and accurate information on and about landmark developments in science and technology in Kenya, in the African continent and beyond
- To popularize the up-take of science and technology by organizing exhibitions, seminars, guest lectures, science camps and related activities
- To enhance and sustain a culture of scientific inquiry, creativity and innovation by organizing outreach programs for primary and secondary students, young entrepreneurs, technicians and Jua-kali
Academic Programs
| Program | Eligibility | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| Post-Graduate Certificate in Research Methods | A holder of at least a first degree of the Technical University of Kenya (TU-K) or equivalent from another recognized university or institution, or any other qualifications recognized by Senate. | 3 Months |
| Critical & Creative Thinking | All first year students of the technical university of Kenya | 1 Term |