Prof. Robert Gateru is the holder of a PhD in Microelectronic Engineering & Semiconductor Device Physics from the University Of Surrey (UK), Masters in Microelectronic Engineering & Semiconductor Device Physics from the University of Cambridge (UK) and BSc.(First Class Honours) in Physics from the University of Nairobi.
He is a seasoned academic, with over 10 years of teaching and administration experience in various universities; he serves on a number of Boards, including the Rural Electrification Authority, LIWA (Linking Industry With Academia) Kenya Trust, and the Rift Valley Institute of Science & Technology.
He is a Fellow of the Cambridge Commonwealth Society, a Senior Member of the Institute of Electrical & Electronic Engineer (IEEE), which is the world’s largest technical professional association. He is also a Founding Member of the Physics Society of Kenya where he serves in the Executive Committee. He has served in the Editorial Board of the International Journal of Professional Practice and Chaired many Conference Steering Committees. Selected awards that Prof. Gateru has received include the Distinguished Scholar Award by the ICT Association of Kenya, the Africa HR Leadership Award for Outstanding Contribution to Training & Development, and Kenya’s Top 40 Under 40 Men (2012) recognition by the BUSINESS Daily.
He has won numerous grants, most notably a KES 46 Million grant from the World Bank through the Government of Kenya for establishment of the Kenya Centre of Excellence for BPO Training. He has published widely in international journals and presented in conferences across the world.
Prof. Gateru joined Riara University from Kenya Methodist University (KeMU) where he was the Principal of the Nairobi Campus, a position he has held from 2010. He has also worked as founding Dean and Associate Professor in KeMU’s Faculty of Computing and Informatics as well as Head of Department for the same institution. Prof. Gateru has previously served as the Founding Dean of the School of Science, Engineering and Technology at the Kabarak University where he also served as Head of Department for Computing, Mathematics and Physical Sciences as a Senior Lecturer.
Prof. Wanja Mwaura-Tenambergen is an Associate Professor of Health Systems Management. Her main interest is in health financing under the aspect of improved access to primary care health services, especially in rural areas of low- and middle-income countries. Prof. Tenambergen is an accomplished and visionary leader in higher education. With over 15 years of experience, she has held various administrative roles and has consistently demonstrated a commitment to academic excellence, innovation, and student success.
Prof. Tenambergen holds a PhD and Master in Public Health (Health Financing) both from Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok Thailand, MSc. in Management and Organizational Development from the United States International University-Africa, Nairobi Kenya, and a Bachelor of Arts from Kenyatta University, Kenya.
Prof. Tenambergen previously served as the Chairperson of the Department of Health Systems Management in Kenya Methodist University (KeMU), where she spear-headed the development of training curricula for undergraduate, masters and PhD studies in health systems management in Kenya. She was the country coordinator for the collaborative projects between Kenya Methodist University (Kenya), Neu Ulm University of Applied Sciences (Germany), University of Western Cape (South Africa), and Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences (Tanzania), to develop multiple country training programs in
health information management and health data analytics with the support from the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) financed by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation.
Prof. Tenambergen served as the Director of Research, Innovation and Extension in KeMU where she guaranteed the quality of research in the university for students and faculty. She has been involved in numerous research projects. She previously held the position of Director
of University Advancement and Marketing and was member of the Governing Board of the Directorate of Quality Assurance and Performance in KeMU. As a respected scholar in her field, Prof. Wanja has published extensively on topics related to strengthening the management of health systems.
Prof. Tenambergen has deep passion to improve learning and teaching in higher education. Her vision is to provide relevant inputs to the advancement of higher education through transformational teaching & research methods. She is the current Chairperson of the Association of Faculty Enrichment in Learning and Teaching (AFELT). She advocates for creating partnerships with organizations and the community to advance quality in learning, teaching and research. She believes that teaching and learning has be closely linked to the problems in the community and their solutions.
Prof. Tenambergen’s leadership style is characterized by collaboration, transparency and focus on evidence-based decision making. She believes in fostering a culture of shared governance and always seeks inputs from faculty and students to inform strategic planning processes.
Dr. Evans Ombima Amata holds a PhD in Business Administration (Finance) from the Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, a Master of Finance and Control, and a Bachelor of Arts in Rural Industries and Management (First Class Honors) from Gandhigram University. He is a CPA Finalist and holds several professional certifications in Case Writing, Research Grants writing, and Proficiency for Trustees Development Program, among others.
Dr Amata is a seasoned academic with a combination of both academia and management related experience. As an Academic, he has successfully supervised, examined and mentored more than 100 students at Masters and PhD level. Dr Amata has published widely in refereed journals and presented academic papers to several local and international conferences. He has been a convener of several International conferences among them the 4th International conference on HRM, cohosted by Daystar and Nottingham University, UK, in 2015 and 2nd Joint Annual Research Ethics Conference, co-hosted by Daystar University and NACOSTI in 2022. His academic interest is in corporate finance, Behavioral finance, Financial Economics, Investments, Portfolio management, and management accounting. Professionally, Dr Amata has practical competencies and rich experience in strategy formulation, monitoring and evaluation, pension scheme management, research grant writing and business coaching. One of his accomplishments in management was in serving as the chair of the Daystar University Staff Provident fund and steered the fund from a value of Ksh 200 million in 2012 to Ksh 1.25 billion in 2023. He is one of the founding directors of the Daystar University Enterprises Ltd, which has grown and expanded into 5 business lines (Transport, Cleaning, Business centers, catering, and Poultry farming). He is a senior partner with the grassroots Development consultants.
Dr Amata, has a wealth of experience in academia having taught for over 26 years at the University level. He started his teaching career as an instructor and consultant at the Kenya School of Monetary Studies in 1996, where he trained practitioners in the banking industry and prepared students for the London based professional banking examination (The Association of Chartered Institute of Bankers). He joined Daystar University in 1999 as an assistant lecturer and rose through the ranks to become a senior lecturer. At Daystar University, Dr Amata served in several executive positions which includes, Acting DVC (Finance Administration and planning), Acting DVC (Academics Research and Students Affairs), Dean, School of Business and Economics, Chairman of the Daystar University Staff Provident Fund , Director, Daystar University Enterprises Limited(DEL) , Chairman of the strategic planning committee, Chairman of the Daystar Multi-Purpose Sacco Ltd , Chairman, Economics department, Coordinator collaborative academic programs, and coordinator continuing education.
Dr Amata has a rich experience with the industry, having successfully accomplished several consultancy assignments for various organizations in the areas of strategy formulation, business coaching and market research. His accomplishments include, having developed and delivered strategic plans for various organizations both in the public and private sector, consulted for a national wide business startups project through KPMG, coached more than 20 business startups nation-wide under the Green Innovation (GIA I &II) Awards initiative, sponsored by the National Environmental Trust Fund (NETFUND) and organized a nationwide Christian businesses boot camp for business startup and accelerator in collaboration with Agora Enterprises (USA) . His career objective is to contribute to the transformation of society through innovation, academic research, and generation of entrepreneurial, financial, and managerial solutions for societal problems.
