The KENFIN-EDURA collaboration strengthened the role of the partner institutions in societal development and improved the higher education and research in the areas of health promotion and healthy lifestyles.

Key information  

Building Higher Education and Research Capacity to Address the Physical Activity and Nutrition Transition in Kenya: the Kenya-Finland Education and Research Alliance (KENFIN-EDURA)  

Project Budget: €468 829 with MFA funding, total project budget €586 036
Project Duration: 1.3.2017-31.12.2020
Coordinating Institution: University of Helsinki, Department of Food and Environmental Research, Division of Human Nutrition
Partner Institution(s): Kenyatta University, Department of Recreation Management and Exercise Science
Affiliate Partners: Haaga-Helia University of Applied Sciences, Department of Sport and Leisure Management

Project description and Key Results

The KENFIN-EDURA collaboration aimed to strengthen the role of the partner institutions in societal development and improve the higher education and research in the areas of health promotion and healthy lifestyles.

The project aimed at strengthening the role of higher education and academia in Kenya by developing new study programmes, increasing multidisciplinary cooperation within the curriculum, training teachers and researchers with specific training, exchange visits and several “learning by doing” approaches in the new curriculum, and developing and improving the use of modern, mobile technologies as pedagogical tools in teaching and practical health promotion.

The ambitious project plan was successfully completed but some of the most important project results were not included in the plan -they can be described more as spin-offs. These include the Food Atlas, and the Atlases for physical education. The Food Atlas is a tool to estimate portion sizes as a part of dietary intake assessment in research or at clinical practice. There were no such tool available in Kenya.

The Food Atlas received a warm appreciation by both academic, governmental, and NGO stakeholders in Kenya. This success inspired the KENFIN-EDURA Physical Activity team, and particularly our KU partners to plan a similar atlas to be used at schools in Kenya.

Please read article on the experiences in the project written by the project coordinators. 

See KENFIN-EDURA's website