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Meet MSM's faculty members: introducing Julius Gatune Kariuki

02-12-2019

Maastricht School of Management provides scientific knowledge allowing managers and entrepreneurs to make evidence-based decisions. To achieve our mission we encourage and support our faculty members in a broad range of areas. MSM’s faculty members are passionate about what they do and tenacious in finding solutions to the toughest business challenges. Each month MSM will highlight one of its faculty members and this month the spotlight is on Julius Gatune Kariuki.

Let me introduce myself…
My name is Julius Gatune Kariuki (Kenyan) and I am Senior Project Consultant at MSM’s International Projects Department (IPD) . In this position, I am looking at ways to leverage a Triple Helix model to build innovative capacity and catalyze the development of solutions to various development challenges. I hold a PhD in Policy Analysis from Pardee RAND Graduate School in Santa Monica, California and a Master in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Nairobi.

In the past, I have worked for several institutions and companies in various positions. I have worked as Senior Policy Advisor for the Africa Center for Economic Transformation (ACET) in Accra and as management consultant at McKinsey & Company in Johannesburg (South Africa). Besides this, I have worked on a number of projects for the Frederick S. Pardee Center for Study Longer Range Futures at Boston University and the Frederick S Pardee Centre for International Futures at the University at Denver. The aim of these projects was to investigate and explore the major drivers of the future of Africa.

MSM’s sharp focus on innovation is what I find so attractive about working for MSM…
I have worked in various international environments and I very much value the international environment provided by MSM. The global reach of MSM through its international programs and projects gives me the opportunity to interact with and gain insight from such a diverse group of people. My belief is that the barriers of development are well known, but what is not well known are the solutions. This requires imagination and innovation. MSM’s sharp focus on innovation is what I find so attractive about working for MSM.

The research areas I focus on…
My research focus is on leveraging the Triple Helix model to drive Local Economic Development (LED), economic transformation policy, foresight and future modelling, agricultural value chains, extractive resource management and institutional strengthening.

A few of my most recent working papers & publications are:

The work landscape is changing rapidly and threatening many jobs and economies..
In the past year, I have been traveling a lot for MSM in relation to the future of work in Africa. As we seek to create opportunities through industry, university, research and government, key questions are: what is industry? and how is the industry evolving? The answer to these questions is key to develop triple helix platforms that are dynamic and resilient. The development in Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) has a huge impact on the nature of industry. Machines can be encroaching on many domains that in the past were thought as exclusively human, the sharing economy blurs several boundaries and what was valued as social capital gain more and more prominence. The result is that the working landscape is changing rapidly and threatening many jobs and economies. These changes are being referred as the 4th industrial Revolution (4IR).

Leveraging the 4th Industrial Revolution in Africa…
For my research activities on the future of work in Africa I led a multi-country study sponsored by the African Development Bank (AFDB) to gain understanding on Africa’s readiness for 4IR, presenting opportunities to drive economic transformation and supporting the AFDB in their strategy to navigate Africa towards the 4IR. At MSM, we already did a study for VSO Netherlands (Voluntary Service Overseas) to help them rethink the strategy in creating future opportunities in Africa. Building on this experience, I was invited to participate in various workshops, panel discussions and conferences to share my views and experiences on leveraging the 4IR in Africa:

The key takeaway from my participation in these sessions is that 4IR is still an evolving story. We need to gain even more knowledge about the meaning of 4IR and especially for Africa. This because the African economy is largely informal and this structure requires a different approach and strategy.

Where I will be speaking in the near future…
I will participate in a huge gathering of Futurists organized by the UNESCO in Paris for the first Global Futures Literacy Design Forum on 16 December 2019j. The Forum will bring the general public together with leading Futures Literacy (FL) practitioners, designers, facilitators, teachers and researchers. The Forum has two primary objectives. One is to prepare the ground for a UNESCO Ministerial Summit on Futures Literacy in late 2020 and second to build awareness and networking related to the development and diffusion of FL.

In my spare time you can often find me…
Reading! And especially history. I believe that it has expanded my perspective as history has many surprises and lessons. If we are facing development issues, always know that there is a useful historical analogy that can provide good insights.

Related links:
Fostering Cross-Sector Collaboration to Promote Innovation in the Palestinian Water Sector
Training and exposure visit on strategic leadership and SGBV Investigative procedures
Meet MSM's faculty members: introducing Angelo Corelli

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