By Victor J. Njogu, MPRSK | September 5, 2025
The newly elected 2025/2026 Student Governing Council and Congress of The Co-operative University of Kenya converged at the Kenya School of Government in Embu for a four-day induction workshop focused on leadership training and governance ethics from 2nd to 5th September 2025. The programme, organised by the Office of the Dean of Students, aimed to equip student leaders with the skills, values and practical tools required for effective service, combined orientation, interactive ethics sessions, team-building exercises and strategic planning. Over the course of the workshop participants were introduced to the university’s governance structures and the cooperative principles that guide CUK’s mission, explored real-world ethical dilemmas through case studies and role plays, and drafted concrete action plans for the year ahead.
Mr. Chris Kathoka, Registrar of Finance, Planning and Administration, reinforced the administrative and stewardship dimensions of leadership by outlining financial and reporting responsibilities for student bodies and calling for prudence and transparency in the management of resources. Building on this, Dr. Lucinda Mugaa, Dean of Students, led practical sessions that translated policy into practice: she walked members through the student constitution, clarified expectations for conduct and welfare, and emphasised the visibility of student leaders as role models on campus. The Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Kamau Ngamau, delivered the official induction closing address by underscoring the indispensable link between integrity and leadership. He reminded delegates that the trust of their peers is built on visible accountability and personal example, urging them to view leadership first and foremost as a commitment to service rather than an exercise in power.
Throughout the four days facilitators blended theory with hands-on engagement so that learning was active and immediately applicable. Ethics workshops posed scenarios—conflicts of interest, allocation of scarce resources, and the responsibilities of representation—and asked teams to debate, decide and reflect on the consequences of different approaches. Team-building activities strengthened collaboration between Council and Congress members, while guest lectures and focused clinics provided guidance on conflict resolution, effective communication and stakeholder engagement. Regular feedback sessions ensured that participants could translate personal insights into institutional commitments and that training outcomes aligned with the needs of the wider student community.
By the workshop’s close the student leaders had achieved a number of tangible outcomes. They adopted a shared code of conduct grounded in honesty, respect and transparency; committed to establishing monthly student forums to maintain open communication with the wider student body; and agreed to regular consultative meetings with university management to ensure student perspectives inform policy decisions. Delegates also produced preliminary strategic priorities—centred on student welfare, co-curricular development and transparent governance—and outlined responsibility matrices to support implementation. These resolutions reflect the practical orientation of the induction: equipping leaders not just to speak about ethics and service but to operationalise them in measurable activities.
The atmosphere in Embu was both purposeful and hopeful: participants left the Kenya School of Government with clearer role definitions, renewed professional standards and personal leadership goals. University leadership expressed confidence that the investment in induction would yield a student government capable of constructive partnership with administration and of championing the cooperative values that define CUK. As the new council and congress return to campus, they carry with them a mandate to translate the workshop’s lessons into everyday practice—upholding integrity, fostering inclusion, managing resources responsibly and sustaining channels of accountability so that student leadership becomes a force for positive, lasting change across the university community.
