Position/Status

Senior Lecturer, Department of Software Development & Information Systems Dean, School of Technology, School of Technology, KCA University

E-mail Address

smwendia@kcau.ac.ke

Academic Qualification

• Ph.D. in Computer Science,
• Msc. Information Systems (Artificial Intelligence),
• BA (Mathematics, Econ & Socio)

Membership of Professional Bodies/Associations

Profile

Dr. Simon Nyaga Mwendia is the Dean and a senior lecturer in the School of Technology. He has served in the school since 2008 where he has held several positions. He was faculty research coordinator from 2010 to 2012 and has been the Head of Software and information systems department from 2018 to 2021. In his role as the Dean, Dr. Mwendia is in charge of the management of academic programmes and both academic and administrative staff members in the School.

He has a Masters in Information Systems (Artificial Intelligence) and a Ph.D. in Computer Science from University of Nairobi. He received an in-country DAAD scholarship that enabled him to study in Germany as part of doctoral studies. His areas of interest include Data Science, mobile applications development and ambient intelligence technologies for learning support. Dr. Mwendia is a published scholar; his publications include peer reviewed journal papers, conference papers published by IEEE Xplore and ACM Digital Libraries and two book chapters published by IG Global publishers. He was also the Kenya project coordinator of Kenya-Norway mobility program with Stavanger University in Norway (KeNoMo) that started in 2017 and closed in March 2023. The aim of the project was to improve the quality and internationalization of computer science education at partner institutions including KCA University Linking Industry with Academia (LIWA) in Kenya and University of Stavanger in Norway.

Research Interest

Research Topics

• Computer Science,
• Artificial Intelligence,
• mobile applications development

Current Research Project(s)

Academic Background

Undergraduate

• Cognitive Computing,
• Machine learning,
• Artificial intelligence,
• Data Mining & Warehousing,
• Data Analytics & Knowledge Engineering,

Selected Publications( Books, Refereed publications & Non Refereed publications )

Selected Publications

• Mpia, Héritier Nsenge, Simon Nyaga Mwendia, and Lucy Waruguru Mburu ( 2022). “Predicting Employability of Congolese Information Technology Graduates Using Contextual Factors: Towards Sustainable Employability” Sustainability14, no. 20: 13001. https://doi.org/10.3390/su142013001
• Omwenga E.I, Waiganjo P.W, Kimondo H.J, Gakuu C.M, Oboko R.O, Mwendia. S.N., Libotton A.,& Eisendrath,. G.(2018).Who We Are Quality Assessment for Distance Education and e-Learning (DEeL) Programs POLICY BRIEF. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/326734552

Conferences & Chapters

 Chapters

• Mwendia, S., Wagacha, P.W., Oboko, R.(2014). Ambient Learning Conceptual Framework for Bridging Digital Divide in Higher Education, in J. Keengwe(Ed.), Promoting Active Learning through the Integration of Mobile and Ubiquitous Technologies(243-273), Hershey, PA: IGI Global. doi:10.4018/978-1-4666-6343-5.  igi-global.com/chapter/ambient-learning-conceptual-framework-for-bridging-digital-divide-in-higher-education/115479
• Mwendia, S., Wagacha, P.W., Oboko, R.(2014). Culture Aware M-Learning Classification Framework for African Countries.In S..J. Keengwe, G Schnellert & K Kungu (eds): Cross-Cultural Online Learning in Higher Education and Corporate Training (98-111). IGI Global. Pennsylvania,USA. . DOI: 10.4018/978-1-4666-5023-7.ch005. igi-global.com/chapter/culture-aware-m-learning-classification-framework-for-african-countries/92440
• Mwabela N.K & Mwendia.S.N(2019), Digitization Impact Assessment Model for Secondary Schools: Case of Nairobi County in Kenya. Advances in Science, Technology and Engineering Systems Journal Vol. 2, No. 1. Page No 194-197, DOI:10.25046/aj040326 Web link: astesj.com/v04/i03/p26/
• Omwenga E.I, Waiganjo P.W, Kimondo H.J, Gakuu C.M, Oboko R.O, Mwendia. S.N., Libotton A.,& Eisendrath,. G.(2018).Who We Are Quality Assessment for Distance Education and e-Learning (DEeL) Programs POLICY BRIEF. University of Nairobi

Conferences

• Mburu, L.W., Karanja, R. and Nyaga, M.N. (2020)A Knowledge-as-a-Service Support Framework for Ambient Learning in Kenya. Proceedings of the 13th IADIS International Conference Information Systems, 1-4 April 2020, Sofia, Bulgaria. iadisportal.org/digital-library/a-knowledge-as-a-service-support-framework-for-ambient-learning-in-kenya
• Mwendia(2018), Evaluation Model for Improving Ambient Learning Systems Towards Achieving Sustainable Development Goal Four, Paper presented at the 5th International Conference on soft Cmputing and Machine Intelligence (ISCMI2018),Nairobi, Kenya: IEEE URL: https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/8703251
• Karanja, R., & Mwendia,.S.N.(2018), Ambient learning – Knowledge as a Service Model: Towards the Achievement of Sustainable Development Goal four, paper to be presented at the IST-Africa 2018 Conference Proceedings, Gaborone, Botswana: IEEE URL: https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/8417360
• Mwendia, S., Oboko, R., Waiganjo, P., 2016. Dynamic Heuristics – Greedy Search: A Mobile Information Retrieval Algorithm for Ambient Learning Systems,Nairobi, Kenya:  ACM  URL: dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/2998581.2998586
• Mwendia, S.N., Manske,S.& Hoppe,U.(2014), Supporting E-Learning in Computer-poor Environments by Combining OER, Cloud Services and Mobile Learning. Paper presented at the 22nd ICCE2014 Conference, Nara, Japan. (545-550), ICCE 2014 Organizing Committee, Japan ISBN 978-4-9908014-1-0 URL: repository.kcau.ac.ke/handle/123456789/715
• Mwendia S.N, Buchem I.,2014,’Open mobile ambient learning: The next generation of mobile learning for mobile-rich but computer-poor contexts, Paper presented at UNESCO Mobile Learning Week 2014,Paris-France: UNESCO URL: unesco.org/new/fileadmin/MULTIMEDIA/HQ/ED/pdf/R9WAMB2-SimonNyaga-KCAUniversity.pdf. unesco.org/new/en/unesco/themes/icts/m4ed/unesco-mobile-learning-week-2014/symposium/breakout-sessions/open-mobile-ambient-learning/
• Mwendia, S., Waiganjo, P., Oboko, R., 2013. 3-Category Pedagogical Framework for Context Based Ambient Learning. Paper presented in: IST-Africa 2013 Conference Proceedings. Nairobi, Kenya. IEEE, ISBN:978-1-905824-38-0. Can be retrieved from: ieeexplore.ieee.org/

Research Grants

• Norwegian Partnership Programme 2016-2021 for Global Academic Cooperation(NOPART).   Project number NORPART-2016/10063. Web link: http://kenomosite.org
• KENET travel Grant – IST Africa 2018 – Conference DAAD PhD in-country scholarship grant (July 2012-Dec 2014)
• DAAD Short term research in Germany (Sep 2013-Feb 2014)
• DAAD In-Country/In-Region PhD Scholarship Programme for 2012

Thesis

• Mwendia,S.N.(2016). Ambient Learning Model for Research Project supervision Support: An application of Mobile phone – centric ambient intelligence Technologies in ‘mobile rich’ Universities(Doctoral Thesis). University of Nairobi. Web link: https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/a1e7/a9601dc43f67ab9931b9023129e6e3d7b6f9.pdf
• Mwendia S.N(2008). Cased based reasoning system for marketing strategies support(Masters Thesis). University of Nairobi. Web link: http://erepository.uonbi.ac.ke/handle/11295/22077