ICSIT sports day

The Institute of Computer Science and Information Technology (ICSIT) students were out in the fields for two days (21st and 22nd November 2009) in a row in the spirit of sports. The event saw different groups from the Institute compete in soccer. The Director, Dr. Waweru Mwangi, flagged off the event. The competition was organized by a team of students from the Institute led by the ICSIT student representative, Omondi Edward Ochieng, to break the class room monotony and bring students to a common social ground.

The winners were awarded with medals and the overall winning group received a goat for after-sports party.

Kudos to all those who participated.

Fun weekend in the wild

The endeavour group had a trip out in the wild just to have fun this past weekend. The destination was Paradise Lost, a place believed to have housed Kenyan freedom fighters many years ago.

The visit to the caves was more than one can imagine. A winding tunnel and then comes a vast space; not manmade and big enough to accommodate more than 20 people.

The boat rowing escapee was just marvelous. Given the opportunity, the event should just be a repeat every day. Those who fear water were not left out though; they played photographers for the event.

The running competition was the last thing on the menu. The team proved that they can do more than just sitting down in front of computers to develop software applications. It was fun to see the instructors compete with the students.

To all those who attended, fun is just a break from the norm.

JKUAT/MIT AITI-x Open Day Photos

Click here to view the JKUAT/MIT AITI-x Open Day photos on Flickr or view them as a slide show.

JKUAT/MIT AITI-x Open Day Photos

JKUAT/MIT AITI-x Open Day

The JKUAT/MIT AITI-x Open Day was held on Sartuday, 7th November 2009 and it marked the official close of the Mobile Application Development Course. It was held at the JKUAT Main campus off Thika Road. As part of the course, the students are required to develop mobile applications in groups. The participants presented their applications to a panel of judges which was composed of Nanjala Misiko, Dennis Gikunda and Justin from the Google Kenya office. There was a total of 12 projects presented which ranged from J2ME-based apps, SMS apps, Android apps and even one based on the Ovi platform. We will do a follow up post detailing the nature of the apps.

1st position was a tie of the College Finder and Mobichuo SMS applications. The two apps had a similar concept but each of the groups provided a different solution. The apps were to help high school leavers to find colleges/university course they had qualified for. The judges liked the extensive interactivity options of the College Finder app and the unstructured nature and robustness of the Mobichuo app in regards to input from its users. The members of the groups are as follows.

College Finder

• Ngugi N. Benjamin
• Buyu Walter
• Sang Bernard
• Nabie S. Daniel
• Antony Nzomo

Mobichuo

• Senteu Ole Nchoe
• Joy Kendi
• Fred Kithizi

The Sibasi Droid group: Amos and David with Denis Gikunda, Google Kenya (right)

JKUAT/MIT AITI-x mentioned on Google Africa Blog

Three AITI students from Jomo Kenyatta University (JKUAT) have organized a Java mobile application development course (the JKUAT Endeavor Program) at JKUAT. The course covers intermediate Java, SMS, J2ME, and Android. It also includes a mobile application development competition.

Read the full post here

JKUAT/MIT AITI-x: Competition Proposal Presentation

On Wednesday 21st October 2009, the students presented ideas for their entries to the Mobile Application Development Competition. Also present for the presentations were Mr. Ken Odhiambo, Ag. Chairman Department of Computing – JKUAT and Mrs. Agnes Mindila, a lecturer in the same department.

Senteu selling their M-Chuo idea

A total of 12 groups presented their ideas to the class. The groups were queried and adviced on how best to improve their ideas. Mrs. Agnes gave highlights to the students on presentation and public speaking skills stressing on their importance.

The presentations went on well and the project ideas were beyond what the instructors had envisioned before. Below is a montage of the presentations of the groups.

JKUAT/MIT AITI-x: Competition & Guest Lectures

All students are required to enter in Mobile Application Competition for the completion of the mobile application development course. The competition requires 2 deliverable from each entry:

• A presentation to a panel of Judges, and
• A working demonstration of your idea/service

The final presentations will be held on Saturday, 7th November 2009. We will also have guest lectures Innovation, Entrepreneurship, Marketing and Production on the same day.

All students are required to enter in Mobile Application Competition for the completion of the mobile application development course. The competition requires 2 deliverables from each entry:

 A presentation to a panel of Judges, and

 A working demonstration of your idea/service

The final presentations will be held on Saturday, 7th November 2009. We will also have guest lectures on the same day.

JKUAT/MIT AITI-x: The Android Week Summary

The Android section of the course was a success despite some few challenges. Samuel gave an introductory lecture on Tuesday 13th October. On Wednesday, the students were taken through the basic android development concepts with an emphasis on the user interface design (Layouts and Views in XML). Also included in the lecture was access and use of resources, writing event-driven applications (OnClickListeners) and use on Intents. The students were given a link to an Android e-book and demonstrated how to use the documentation that comes with Android SDK. We didn’t have a class on Thursday, 15th October 2009 because of the JKUSO 2009 elections and all labs were kept closed.

The students seem to realize the uniqueness of the Android framework; openess, equality of applications, fast and easy application development, and the numerous features. As a result we have three (3) Adroid applications entered for the ongoing Mobile Application Competition.

The New JKUSO Council

The two-week long student campaigns looking to elect one student union –the Jomo Kenyatta University Student Union (JKUSO), came to a climax Thursday, October 15, 2009 when students in all JKUAT campuses flocked the polling stations to elect their leaders who will guide them through the next 2009/2010 academic year.

By the way, the guy who rocked the yellow, convertible BWM won. He is now the Entertainment Secretary. Read the full article here.

The JKUSO Elections 2009

Today the students go to the polls to elect 36 officials of the new look central student union body; the Jomo Kenyatta University Students Union (JKUSO). The new JKUSO constitution now operational saw the demobilization of the three unions (JKUHRDA, JKUADSA, JKUITCSO) then existing under the former constitution into a single union – JKUSO. This time students in all campuses (Juja, Nairobi, Mombasa & Taita Taveta) will be voting for the same leaders. The elections have attracted over 100 candidates.

This year, the campaigns have been very big. A year ago I remember the chairperson contenders used to go round the campus in one car being hailed by their supporters. This time round, it’s a different story. The candidates are moving around in motorcades of 5 or more vehicles. Let me not even start on the number of motorcycle escorts in these motorcades. This time they have gone all presidential!

A hired matatu being put to good use!

In the past two weeks we’ve had live concerts from Mejja and Juliani (who apparently is quite short in person). These were courtesy of the candidates vying for the Entertainment Secretary position. One of them has been doing his campaigns in a yellow, sleek convertible BMW.

The Yellow Bima