Mechanical engineers are concerned with the optimal use of materials, energy, time, and individual efforts to serve societal needs through the design of machines, structures, mechanical and thermal systems, and through better understanding of dynamic processes involving these systems. They have a wide involvement in many industries including aerospace, automotive, biomechanical and biomedical engineering, construction, electronics, manufacturing, national defense, power generation, and transportation.
Within these industries, mechanical engineer might specialize in the design, analysis, automation, operation, or marketing of systems or services. The individual’s contribution may lie anywhere in the spectrum from highly theoretical to imminently practical, and often involves leadership as an engineering manager or organization executive.
The Mechanical Engineering is one of the departments in the School of Engineering, Dedan Kimathi University of Technology (DeKUT). The Mechanical Engineering department, consistent with the mission of the university, provides holistic educational training in mechanical engineering specialty and prepares the graduates for entry-level positions in industry and for the case of masters and doctoral programmes, to equip the graduates with extra knowledge and skills needed to be effective in their chosen fields. The content, depth, and structure of the curricula are continually updated and improved based on inputs from the faculty members, student body, university administration, industry stakeholders, so that it can serve the changing needs of its constituencies.
Since the inception of the program in 2009, the department has endeavored to offer quality training in the competitive field of mechanical engineering. With realization that quality engineering training is anchored upon having the right human resource and training facilities, the department is currently in the process of building a solid staff base comprising of individuals who are experts in their respective fields and also developing physical infrastructure needed to deliver on its mandate and objectives.
The department boasts of having arguably the most modern and trendy facility for training in production technology and engineering design both in Kenya and East Africa. The Advanced Design and Manufacturing and Training Centre (ADMATC) is the first of its kind in country universities and technical colleges and its the jewel of DeKUT.
Mechanical engineering is a creative blend of the physical sciences, engineering knowledge, methods, and technical skills. Mechanical Engineering courses emphasize on the application of engineering principles to analyze and solve practical engineering problems. Many of our courses have laboratories and laboratory experience is an integral part of the learning process in the program.
The primary goal of the department is to provide integrated educational opportunities to students whose technological interests and aptitudes are application oriented. The department fosters applied research, creative design, and service activities which involves students and faculty. Graduates of the department programs are highly sought after, and are recognized by industry for their practical problem solving skills.
The department currently has 150 undergraduate students and 8 Masters of Science students. Besides its internal staff, the department has visiting professors from foreign universities such as Tottori and Gifu University in Japan. The department also has active collaboration works in Research and Development with local institutions such as KenGen, Numerical Machining Complex (NMC) and KIRDI among others.