Guguni Wycliffe Nyabade tells us how delighted he was to attend the 2017 KTH Global Development Hub, based in KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, (Sweden) The Class of ‘17 Bachelor of Commerce – Business Administration graduate was among four Strathmore University students who participated in the project.

The Global Development Hub project focuses on developing coordinated education and innovation activities for global development. By means of partnership between KTH and selected sub-Saharan African universities, students and teachers collaborate in tackling local challenges such as clean water and access to energy, and researching for global solutions.

Guguni applied for the scholarship with the help of Strathmore University, following his interest for sustainability among/between various societies. Through this project, Guguni wanted to expand his learning on solving community problems.

The hub project ran for roughly five months, from August2017 to January 2018. Classes were divided into two parts of the semester, each two and half months. Students from various universities in Sweden participated in the project, working on prototypes, testing and reports.

“I was involved in a project to improve water quality in Stockholm, through engaging citizens in the area as participants. We used a design-thinking method approach to provide effective solutions to this. Every single individual in a country has the responsibility of taking stock of the water they use and how they dispose of the waste. Taking care of water is the responsibility of every citizen towards contributing to a better world,” Guguni said.

The design-thinking method is a skill Guguni is keen on adopting, in an effort to solve problems in a more in-depth way here in Kenya. The technique is user-centered, which is important in finding more effective solutions.

Guguni is set to travel to Ecuador for a boot-camp to further the Entrepreneurship in Developing Countries course he undertook as an additional course while in Stockholm. He is set to learn about value-chains for local farmers and how they produce food and get their products to the market. He will be among students from Stockholm University, Karolinska Institute and Stockholm School of Entrepreneurship, as the only Kenyan.

Guguni also took a course in Digital Marketing while in Stockholm where he worked on a digital marketing strategy for a beverage brand in Germany – Vinamy wines. He also took a project on communities living in South America producing hand-made crafts from locally founded materials.

For Guguni, this programme was a life-time experience where his skills and knowledge were sharpened. He encourages more students to send out applications to learn from different cultures and enjoy different experiences.