The Technical University of Kenya (TU-K) was established through the elevation of The Kenya Polytechnic University College (KPUC) to full university status. TU-K was established as the first Technical University in Kenya line with the provisions of the proposed Universities Act, 2012. The technical university is a new type of university in Kenya, whose mandate shall be to offer higher education and research in technology. The technical university, as a concept, is being created in Kenya with the objective to be a technological force behind the Vision-2030 drive and the general economic development of the nation. This has come about from the realisation that most countries that have been able to make major technological breakthroughs were heavily propelled through this by their technological universities.

As an institution of higher learning, TU-K shall offers undergraduate degrees at the Bachelor’s level. In this respect it will be noted that in the education of technical personnel at the university level, institutions of higher learning in Kenya have consistently over the years only focussed on the training of professionals at the level of engineers, architects, surveyors, planners, and estate managers. The education and training of the technologist has however been totally neglected in this structure. Given that the technologist is usually the ‘driving engine’ in the actual industrial production, it should be no surprise that Kenya has been unable to make serious breakthrough in industrialisation. To this extent in addition to producing graduates at the fully professional degree level, TU-K continues in the tradition that has been set by KPUC in offering as well degrees aimed at producing technologists.

TU-K continues to produce technologists with the objective to bridge the gap between, say, the engineer and the technician. Traditionally the engineer (or equivalently architect, surveyor, planner, or estate manager) is trained to be concerned with the conceptualisation, innovation, and design of new artefacts and systems. The technologist on the other hand is normally concerned with the actual production of artefacts and the implementation of systems.TU-K offers the degree of Bachelor of Technology (B.Tech.) for those aiming to be technologists. Parallel with this however, TU-K also offers the full professional degrees in various fields. For instance, it is intended to offer degrees such as Bachelor Engineering (B.Eng.), Bachelor of Architecture (B.Arch.), and Bachelor of Commerce (B.Com.).