Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) is a public university

University

A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university is an organisation that provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...

 near Nairobi

Nairobi

Nairobi is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The city and its surrounding area also forms the Nairobi County. The name "Nairobi" comes from the Maasai phrase Enkare Nyirobi, which translates to "the place of cool waters". However, it is popularly known as the "Green City in the Sun" and is...

, Kenya

Kenya

Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...

. It is situated in Juja, 36 kilometres North East of Nairobi, along Nairobi-Thika

Thika

Thika is an industrial town in Central Province, Kenya, lying on the A2 road 40 km north east of Nairobi, near the confluence of Thika River & Chania River. Thika has a population of 200,000and is growing rapidly, as is the entire greater Nairobi area...

 Highway. It offers courses in Engineering

Engineering

Engineering is the discipline, art, skill and profession of acquiring and applying scientific, mathematical, economic, social, and practical knowledge, in order to design and build structures, machines, devices, systems, materials and processes that safely realize improvements to the lives of...

, Science

Science

Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...

, Architecture

Architecture

Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...

 and Building sciences. The university has a strong research interest in the areas of biotechnology

Biotechnology

Biotechnology is a field of applied biology that involves the use of living organisms and bioprocesses in engineering, technology, medicine and other fields requiring bioproducts. Biotechnology also utilizes these products for manufacturing purpose...

 and engineering.

History

The university was started in 1981 as Jomo Kenyatta College of Agriculture and Technology (JKCAT), a Middle Level College by the Government of Kenya with the assistance from the Japanese Government. Plans for the establishment of JKCAT started in 1977. In early 1978, the Kenyan president, Jomo Kenyatta

Jomo Kenyatta

Jomo Kenyattapron.] served as the first Prime Minister and President of Kenya. He is considered the founding father of the Kenyan nation....

, donated two hundred hectares of farmland for the establishment of the college. The first group of students were admitted on 4th May 1981. The new president Daniel Arap Moi

Daniel arap Moi

Daniel Toroitich arap Moi was the President of Kenya from 1978 until 2002.Daniel arap Moi is popularly known to Kenyans as 'Nyayo', a Swahili word for 'footsteps'...

 formally opened JKCAT on 17th March 1982. The first graduation ceremony was held in April 1984 with Diploma Certificates presented to graduates in agricultural engineering

Agricultural engineering

Agricultural engineering is the engineering discipline that applies engineering science and technology to agricultural production and processing...

, food technology

Food technology

Food technology, is a branch of food science which deals with the actual production processes to make foods.-Early history of food technology:...

 and horticulture

Horticulture

Horticulture is the industry and science of plant cultivation including the process of preparing soil for the planting of seeds, tubers, or cuttings. Horticulturists work and conduct research in the disciplines of plant propagation and cultivation, crop production, plant breeding and genetic...

. On 1st September 1988, Daniel Arap Moi, declared JKCAT a constituent College of Kenyatta University

Kenyatta University

Kenyatta University, located in Nairobi, Kenya is the second largest public university in the country . The University is located in Kahawa, about from Nairobi's city centre, along the Nairobi-Thika road.- History :...

 through a legal Notice, under the Kenyatta University Act (CAP 210C). The name of JKCAT officially changed to Jomo Kenyatta University College of Agriculture and Technology (JKUCAT). It was finally established as a University through the JKUAT Act, 1994 and inaugurated on 7th December 1994.

Boards, Colleges, Faculties, Institutes, Schools and Campuses

Currently Jomo Kenyatta has the following campuses, schools, faculties, institutes and colleges:

• Board of Postgraduate Studies
• College of Engineering
• Faculty Agriculture
• Faculty of Science
• Institute for Biotechnology Research
• Institute of Computer Science & IT
• Institute of Energy & Environment Technology
• Institute of Tropical Medicine and Infectious Diseases
• School of Architecture & Building Sciences
• School of Human Resource Development
• School of Civil, Environmental and Geospatial Engineering
• School of Electrical, Electronic and Information Engineering
• School of Mechanical, Manufacturing and Materials Engineering
• Main Campus - Juja
• Karen Campus
• Taita Taveta Campus
• Nairobi Campus
• Nairobi CBD
• Mombasa CBD
• Nakuru CBD
• Kisii CBD
• Kitale CBD
• Arusha Centre

Accommodation and Catering

There are two students' dining cafeterias. The university offers accommodation to students at subsidized rates.

Library

The university has a library that has a seting capacity of 600 students and it is stocked with a book stock of 80,000 volumes.The library also offers other essential services like; online services, reference, interlibrary loan, user-education, orientation, online information services, photocopying, binding and repair.

Regional institutions

In February 2010 JKUAT was selected as the host for the East and Central Africa regional institute of the Pan African University.
The post-graduate Institute on Basic Sciences, Technology and Innovation would be hosted at the Main Campus in Juja, with the first students admitted in September 2011.
The decision that Kenya would host the regional institute had been made in July 2010 after a protracted dispute over who would become host for the region.
JKUAT hosts the African Institute on Capacity development (AICAD).