Working and learning at JKUAT in Kenya
Nairobi, 26/10/2015: Currently, Henning Brandt and Daniel Pal, two students in Business 
Informatics at the Flensburg University of Applied Sciences are doing their internship at the Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology in Nairobi, Kenya. In the interview below they talk about their work and their experiences in Nairobi.
How long have you been in Kenya and what are you doing there?
We arrived in Nairobi at the Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) on the 7th of September. We are currently doing our internship at the JKUTA where we are working on the setting up of the Kenyan-German Centre for Data Analysis together with the university and the CBTA in Flensburg. Our job is to organize computers and to make sure that they work. Moreover we are trying to contact German enterprises as in the future the Spring School will take place at the JKUAT.
Why did you decide to take your internship in Africa?
Actually, we met Mr. Philip Oyier, dean of the IT department at the JKUAT, during this year’s Spring School in Cameroon. There he offered us this internship. We very much enjoyed our time in Cameroon, so the decision to spend some more time in another African country was pretty easy to take.
What is it like to live in Nairobi?
The countryside is absolutely stunning, of course! You have the possibility to observe the Big Five in their natural habitat, animals we normally only know from the zoo and television. Even Nairobi has its own national park right outside the city. Lucky enough for us, the Kenyan people mostly speak English and are very friendly, helpful and always smiling.
What are the main differences to Germany?
The climate of course is quite different from Germany and especially Flensburg. The daily average temperature is about 26 degrees which is quite comfortable. The city of Nairobi is actually very European. The supermarkets here and even in the smaller cities offer almost everything you can buy in Germany although we noticed the British influence when it comes to preparing meals.
Would you recommend an internship in Kenya to other students?
Yes, absolutely! An internship abroad always is a great opportunity to broaden your horizon and a once-in-a-lifetime experience to get in touch with a different culture on a very intense level. Moreover, everybody here, students as well as teachers, have a lot of good tips on how to explore the country properly.