UON rank 7 in Africa in webometrics

[RV Pundit]

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That is impressive. Last year it was 9th and before then i think 13th.
http://www.nation.co.ke/news/University-of-Nairobi-Webometrics-Ranking-Education/-/1056/2621108/-/aituciz/-/index.html

[Kim Jong-Un's Pajama Pants]

Just looking at criteria, volume of research alone will guarantee that the a South Africans remain at the top.  It would be interesting to see the raw data they use.

[RV Pundit]

I think it's fairly decent ranking given whatever metrics you chose; that list will remain more or less the same.

Just looking at criteria, volume of research alone will guarantee that the a South Africans remain at the top.  It would be interesting to see the raw data they use.

[Ka-Bella]

UofN has great potential, it simply suffers from the typical baafrika disease that I have recently diagnosed as a general comfort with disorganization and inefficiency...the Kenyan way, lol! The library in parklands kwanza basement could give you homa with those old reference books the British left here back in the 70s when they were leaving the education system. It used to be mostly suitable for providing many open, quiet spaces to study, but up to date books and journals? ICT services? Ha! Maybe that has changed. What do they do with their money? That is a serious question.

Research is always crucial in all the important world rankings. Harvard will therefore remain King for decades.

[veritas]

Outdated? Don't all libraries have outdated books?

Universities with large endowments and political affiliations fare well in rankings. Just because they currently write history books don't mean they write the future. I doubt universities will function as universities decades from now. Right now it's an old boys club that needs to be replaced with something organic, realistic, grassroots aka more African more cultural more global less ambition more transparency more thought more human. More likely though they may become technology gene hubs where people receive science related instructions/treatment should these imperialists get their way. I pray not.

[Ka-Bella]

Outdated? Don't all libraries have outdated books?

Universities with large endowments and political affiliations fare well in rankings. Just because they currently write history books don't mean they write the future. I doubt universities will function as universities decades from now. Right now it's an old boys club that needs to be replaced with something organic, realistic, grassroots aka more African more cultural more global less ambition more transparency more thought more human. More likely though they may become technology gene hubs where people receive science related instructions/treatment should these imperialists get their way. I pray not.

The problem is not the presence of out-dated books. It's the absence of up-to-date ones.

[veritas]

They have computers and access to the world wide web.

[Ka-Bella]

The world wide web is NOT anywhere near sufficient, I'm afraid. Not in my field. And I'm sure not in surgery too. You still need good old fashioned reference books.

[veritas]

How did you know I was doing surgery research?

Radical surgical techniques get updated too quick for textbooks. The best surgeons in the world share their art through conferences and word of mouth. They cure cancers shrouded in secrecy the same way a hoodoo guy rattles his staff to the gods. They literally cure people through miraculous feats.

They can't do research though. I'm collaborating with one of the most radical cancer surgeons in the world, he just gave me photos of what he sees in surgery, like here there see the cancer spots etc. I was like hmm... ok... I have to figure out how to write up technically yet appealing for a funding body.

What is your field?

[veritas]

At my alma mater you can't even borrow the really good recent books since they now put them behind a paywall after certain chapters. E.g. http://www.eblib.com/ It was extraordinarily frustrating particularly from 2014 to find the best latest medical reference books, I kid you not, behind a paywall. Library didn't even bother buying print copies or paying for the online version. Publishers are certainly finding other ways to make money from the academia.

[Ka-Bella]

At my alma mater you can't even borrow the really good recent books since they now put them behind a paywall after certain chapters. E.g. http://www.eblib.com/ It was extraordinarily frustrating particularly from 2014 to find the best latest medical reference books, I kid you not, behind a paywall. Library didn't even bother buying print copies or paying for the online version. Publishers are certainly finding other ways to make money from the academia.

I know what you mean...and some of those books are damn expensive! Sheesh!! Some books (kwanza Medicine) are like a thousand bucks ($). I also do not get some schools would not subscribe for ALL the relevant good journals/reviews. Are they so expensive for a school/research institute?  A good school does that if it is serious about its profile as a research institution, no need to make things more difficult than they have to be for your academics and students. On that front, I won't criticize UoN, I think they have a good number of (online) subscriptions at least for law, (print is something else)...though who am I to say? It's been a while. Moreover, I was not particularly keen on them books back in my undergrad days so I wouldnt really rely on my memory here...passed only by God's grace and good old-fashioned Kenyan study by displacement method. Cram the last 3/4 days before the paper and immediately (after the paper, that is) forget nearly everything you ever knew about that subject. 

I knew you're involved with something to do with surgery from something you said back in the day on the old nipate.

[veritas]

Sames ! I didn't cram though. Skipped most of my lectures unless the lecturer was cute I went to half the lectures, then rocked up to the exam and guessed the answers best I can. I failed a lot of subjects but noone gave a shat. I'm hesitant to go back to uni because I may have to actually work, as in write a real thesis and pretend like I care. Are you still at uni?