Sebastian Rönsch

My first impressions as a physics exchange student in Nairobi

April 2005

<>It was late in the evening when I arrived at the airport in Nairobi. During the thirty minutes drive from the airport to my new home many thoughts were passing through my mind. I thought for example about the other students, lecturers, the university, Nairobi, etc. How will everything be? But the first thing I had to do was to wait for the next morning because it was already late. The next morning came and after this arrived also the following days. Especially during the first time I remember thankfully my new Kenyan neighbours in the student hostels. They introduced themselves to me in such a big number that I was not able to keep all their names in my mind. All of them were very friendly and helped me a lot during the first weeks.

On this part of the world many things follow a different way than I know from home. I am glad to be able to experience this different life. For the most Kenyans to be a student is one of the biggest things in life. Only a very small part of the population has graduated from university. It is something very special to be a university student. The scientific quality among lectures at the University of Nairobi differs a lot. Some of them are even better and more motivated in teaching than some of my lectures at my home university. Also the way of teaching is different from the way I know. I am glad to have the possibility of experiencing this.

The university is close to downtown Nairobi. I never before saw so many contrasts in such a small area. The huge gap between poor and rich is amazing. Sometimes it is enough to cross a road and change from an extremely rich and clean place to a very poor area. For most Kenyans this coexistence supposed to be part of their normal life.

Every physics student in the fourth year has to do a small research project. I chose to do something with solar cells. The topic of my project is: "TiO2 dye sensitized photo electrochemical solar cells prepared by sol gel, pressing and vacuum techniques: A comparative study". The Physics Department at the University of Nairobi invests a lot of its capacity in research with solar cells. Every project has to be supervised. Fortunately I found a very nice supervisor, Justus Simyu. All the time he takes time to listen to my questions. The staff at the Department is friendly and helpful all the time, as well. I am sure this project will enlarge my knowledge about the physical problems of solar cells and it will be good for my future studies, too. Now I have a first idea about life and studying in Kenya and I am looking forward to the next months.

Sebastian Rönsch, April 2005
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