The Sustainable Energies, Entrepreneurship and Development (S.E.E.D) Centre is a 5-year joint initiative of the Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT), Kenya, in partnership with the Technical University of Munich (TUM), Germany. The SEED Project is funded by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) in line with the 7th Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) of providing access to “affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all”. The purpose of the S.E.E.D Centre is to offer higher education at the intersection of sustainable energies and entrepreneurship, conducting research to contribute to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
The set project timeline is 5 years spanning from August 2020, with a target to establish a Living Lab. The Living Lab represent a promising future of research in Sustainable Energy Development, for the Doctoral candidates, master’s researchers and senior scholars of the network. Additionally, the living labs will foster experiential and practical learning for university graduates which will enhance their employability in the labor market. In Kenya, the Living Lab will be established in Olderkesi area-Narok West Constituency. The Project aims at co-creating a renewable energy based mini-grid with the community members to address the acute energy challenges experienced in the area.
Globally, the project spans across eight universities from Africa, Asia and South America, with implementation done in their respective countries, that is: Bahir Dar University (Ethiopia), Bandung Institute of Technology (Indonesia), Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (India), Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (Ghana), Makerere University (Uganda), Namibia University of Science and Technology (Namibia), the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú (Peru) and JKUAT (Kenya).