Hekima University College Registrar Rev. Dr. George Macharia, SJ, on behalf of the Principal Rev. Dr. Marcel Uwineza, SJ, who was away on an official duty, officially opened the fourth Hekima University College Research Week, warmly welcoming participants to three days of scholarly reflection under the theme “Reimagining Resilience, Governance, and Social Transformation in a Changing World.”
In his welcoming remarks read on his behalf by Dr. Macharia, the Principal emphasized that the Research Week was not a break from learning but a vital expression of Hekima’s educational mission. “Classes have been cancelled,” he said, “because these three days of research, interaction, and debate are as formative, if not more, than classroom discussions.”
Dr. Uwineza’s message highlighted the intellectual richness of the week’s program, which included Dr. Tekla Wanjala’s insights on community healing and justice, Chris Lowney’s reflections on resilient leadership, and diverse panels engaging youth, democracy, governance, and theology. These sessions, he said, invite participants “to wrestle with the pressing issues of our time with faith, courage, and intellectual rigor.”
Dr. Uwineza urged students to approach the week with seriousness and curiosity, reminding them that “Hekima is not merely a college of teaching and lecturing, but a community committed to advancing research and forming prophets for our continent.” Quoting an African proverb, he added, “If the roots are deep, we have no reason to fear the wind,” encouraging participants to seek intellectual and spiritual depth in their reflections.
Expressing gratitude, he thanked Rev. Prof. Elias Opongo, Mr. Hezbon Awiti, and the Center for Research, Training, and Publications (CRTP) team for their dedicated efforts in organizing the event. Invoking the spirit of Fr. Pedro Arrupe, SJ, founder of the Jesuit ideal of forming “men and women for others,” Dr. Uwineza called on participants to let their research be “intelligent, discerning, and transformative, which is animated by love and service to the least of our neighbors.”
Presentations for panel discussions focused on youth, democracy, and peacebuilding; governance and political change; Gen Z, faith, and politics; contextual theology; and knowledge and linguistics. In addition to these, this year’s research week included a Q&A session between faculty members and students from both the Jesuit School of Theology and the Peace Studies and International Relations Program. This Palaver sought to explore what new paradigms of peacebuilding and theology are needed today, and how academic programs at Hekima’s Peace Studies, Theology, Leadership, and International Relations can better prepare students to respond to these crises.
As has become its tradition, the event which took place on October 22-24, 2025, culminated in the book launch. A Session meant to celebrate the work and accomplishments of HUC members who have published be it monographs or edited volumes in the last year or so. This year, three edited volumes/monographs were presented. They included Living Together Differently, which is in two volumes, volume one and two, edited by Reverend Dr. Stephen Eyeowa, SJ, and Rev. Prof. Dieudonné Mbiribindi SJ; a monograph by David Harold Barry on the Jesuit presence in South Africa, and an edited volume, the Palgrave Handbook of Peace, Conflict and Security Studies in Africa, by Professor Elias Opongo.
