Vice-Chancellor Professor Clare Pollock and the ECU delegation during their visit to The Kenya High School in Nairobi.
Edith Cowan University's (ECU's) Vice-Chancellor Professor Clare Pollock visited Nairobi on 2 and 3 November to mark 30 years of ECU's engagement in Kenya. Deputy Vice-Chancellor (International) Jake Garman joined Professor Pollock in Nairobi for a program developed and led by Wilson Msiska and Africa-based colleagues from ECU's International Office.
Professor Pollock's visit provided an opportunity to formalise partnerships with Strathmore University and The Kenya High School. ECU and Kenya Medical Training College (KMTC) discussed expanding pathways for Kenyan health professionals to pursue further study in nursing and allied health.
ECU's first study abroad agreement in Africa was signed with Strathmore University, giving their students the opportunity to spend a semester studying overseas, and ECU signed a Letter of Intent with The Kenya High School, one of Kenya's leading national girls' schools, to establish a study tour program for students from The Kenya High School.
ECU signed a study abroad agreement with Strathmore University.
"These partnerships reflect our commitment to doing more than welcoming Kenyan students to Perth. We want to build lasting relationships that benefit students and institutions in both countries," Professor Pollock said.
Kenya has been one of ECU's top five source countries for international students since 2023. ECU's involvement in Kenya began in 1996. In 2018, then Vice-Chancellor Professor Steve Chapman visited Kenya, signing memorandums of understanding (MOUs) with the University of Nairobi and Kenyatta University to support research collaboration and staff exchange. At that time, more than 5,000 Kenyan alumni had graduated from ECU.
Since 2024, ECU has expanded its institutional engagement through the Africa Schools Network, now comprising more than 35 schools, and its partnership with KMTC.
In August 2026, students and teachers from The Kenya High School and Nairobi School participated in the inaugural ECU and Edith Cowan College Africa Schools Study Tour in Perth.
Thirty years of engagement celebrated at the Gala dinner.
These connections create significant opportunities for student mobility, academic collaboration and ECU's wider presence in the region. Some of these partnerships are relatively new, but they are already delivering results.
During the visit, Professor Pollock joined alumni and parters in Nairobi for a gala dinner celebrating ECU's 30 years in Kenya. The evening featured the ECU@30 Awards. At the dinner, ECU announced that it is developing the ECU Kenya Alumni Network to help graduates in Kenya stay connected with one another and with ECU.
This milestone event reflects the significant impact and legacy of ECU's 30 years in Kenya, the progress being made, and what this opens up for ECU across Africa. With ECU's enduring commitment to transnational education and global partnerships, the potential for future collaboration presents an exciting pathway to broaden access, inspire innovation and create shared success for education partners in Kenya and across Africa well into the future. In many ways, ECU's next chapter in Africa is just beginning.
