MOI UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF HEALTH SCIENCES INDUSTRIAL

ATTACHMENT REPORT

PRESENTED BY: MILIMO BLAIR F.A.

REGISTRATION NUMBER: SCT121-C014-0147/2017

COURSE: DIPLOMA IN INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

INSTITUTION ATTACHED: MOI UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF HEALTH SCIENCES

PERIOD OF ATTACHMENT: 8 WEEKS

ATTACHMENT START DATE: 14TH JAN 2019

ATTACHMENT END DATE: 8TH MAR 2019

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DECLARATION
I declare that this is my original work and it has not been presented in any institution for
academic purposes in regards to Diploma in Information Technology.

NAME: MILIMO BLAIR F.A

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REG. NO: SIGNATURE DATE

Supervisor’s Declaration

This attachment report has been submitted for examination with my approval as the attachment
supervisor.

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SUPERVISORS NAME: SIGNATURE DATE

Lecturer Declaration

This attachment report has been submitted for examination with my approval as the university
lecturer.

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LECTURER’S NAME: SIGNATURE DATE

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I thank God for enabling me to carry out this attachment successfully.
I also acknowledge with sincere gratitude the support of my host supervisor Mr. Mutai Hillary
for his constant guidance and involvement in all I.T department activities. Lastly, I thank my
school supervisor for his guidelines, motivation and assessment during my attachment.

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ABSTRACT
There are several factors which contribute to the need for a fieldwork component in partial
fulfilment of Diploma in Information Technology. Most students get into the universities with no
previous work experience and therefore fieldwork is necessary to ensure that these students
transform into information professionals with a basis of personal experience.
Information Technology as a discipline is essentially composed of applied subjects and problems
cannot be solved by theoretical knowledge alone. Students need to test their effectiveness in
practical situations at the field. Professions are not the reserve of education institutions and
students need to sample the atmosphere of the professions so as to observe and learn their
practices.

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Table of Contents
DECLARATION........................................................................................................................................ii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT..........................................................................................................................iii
ABSTRACT...............................................................................................................................................iv
Table of Contents........................................................................................................................................v
CHAPTER ONE..........................................................................................................................................1
1.1 History of the Organisation....................................................................................................................1
1.2 Vision....................................................................................................................................................1
1.3 Mission..................................................................................................................................................1
1.4 Core Values...........................................................................................................................................2
1.5 University Organisational Structure.......................................................................................................3
1.6 Duties of Key Personnel in Moi University...........................................................................................4
1.6.1 Ict Directorate.................................................................................................................................4
Quality objectives of the ICT Directorate............................................................................................4
Work Activities...................................................................................................................................4
Services Offered by ICT Center..........................................................................................................4
Financial Activities and arrangements.................................................................................................5
CHAPTER TWO.........................................................................................................................................6
2.1 Host Attachment Department................................................................................................................6
2.2 Services offered by the ICT department................................................................................................6
2.3 Roles of Staff personnel in Moi University...........................................................................................6
2.4 Objectives of the Attachment................................................................................................................7
2.5 Assigned Responsibilities......................................................................................................................7
CHAPTER THREE.....................................................................................................................................9
3.1 Evaluation of the Attachment Period.....................................................................................................9
3.2 Skills Learned from the Attachment......................................................................................................9
3.3 Skills Learned from the Attachment......................................................................................................9
RECOMMENDATIONS...........................................................................................................................10
CONCLUSION.........................................................................................................................................11
REFERENCE............................................................................................................................................11

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 CHAPTER ONE
1.1 HISTORY OF THE ORGANISATION
MOI UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF HEALTH SCIENCES

P.O BOX 4606 -30100,

Eldoret, KENYA.

Moi University is one of the public universities located in Eldoret. It was the second one to be
established in Kenya, after the University of Nairobi. It is one of seven fully fledged public
institutions of higher learning in Kenya. It was established in 1984 by the Moi University Act of
Parliament after recommendations from the Mackay Commission.

Moi University is proud have Four constituent colleges, namely Kabianga, Karatina, Narok and
Rongo that also offer unique undergraduate and postgraduate programmes and a total of nine
Satellite Campuses; Nairobi Campus, Coast Campus, Kitale Campus, Alupe Campus, Odera
Akang’o Campus, Eldoret West Campus, Kericho Campus, Nakuru Campus and College of
Health Sciences (CHS)

It has the following schools: Arts and Social Sciences, Aerospace Sciences, Agriculture and
Natural Resources, Biological and Physical Sciences, Business and Economics, College of
Health Sciences, Education, Engineering, Information Sciences, Law, Human Resource and
Development and Tourism, Hospitality and Events Management.

1.2 Vision
To be the University of choice in nurturing innovation and talent in science, technology and
Development.

1.3 Mission
To preserve, create, and disseminate knowledge, conserve and develop scientific, technological
and cultural heritage through quality teaching and research; to create conducive work and
learning environment; and to work with stakeholders for the betterment of society.

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1.4 Core Values
The following are Moi University’s core values;
i. Integrity- The University shall be honest, truthful and reliable in the provision of
services to its customers.
ii. Excellence and Professionalism - Moi shall put emphasis on expertise and
professionalism in the conduct of its activities and provision of service to all
stakeholders.
iii. Innovativeness and creativity - The University shall endeavor to utilize the latest, up-to-
date and most appropriate technology in achieving its objectives.
iv. Patriotism and being mindful of others - The university shall on a continuous basis
enhance patriotism and a sense of responsibility for others in its systems and practices.

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1.5 UNIVERSITY ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE
ICT Directorate
Organizational Structure

VICE CHANCELLOR

Inter-school ICT
Committee
ICT Director

Deputy Director Deputy Director

maintenance and Information
operations Systems Support

System ICT Planning and Maintenance Database End-User ICT Information Web
Administrator Development and Operations Administrator Support Trainer Systems Support Master

Assistant Assistant Assistant Assistant Assistant Assistant Assistant Assistant

Technical Staff Pool

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1.6 DUTIES OF KEY PERSONNEL IN MOI UNIVERSITY
1.6.1 ICT DIRECTORATE
Quality objectives of the ICT Directorate
1. To provide solutions by ensuring that 80% of complaints regarding ICT are given
technical support service as soon as they are reported.
2. To identify training needs, resources and conduct at least three training sessions in year to
equip the end-user with relevant and practical ICT skills to facilitate effective and
efficient use of ICT resources.
3. To study and cost-effectively develop 70% of requests for application systems within six
months and come up with reliable Management Information Systems applications in line
with the priority of educational and management needs of the university.
4. To manage, control and maintain ICT infrastructure in the university in order to ensure
that Moi University digital network service (LANs and WANs) operates 24/7 in all
departments of the university.
5. To formulate and operationalise ICT policies and advise University Management on all
ICT matters and ensuring that ICT-related Policies are implemented.
6. To initiate at least one collaboration in ICT every five years to enhance networking,
service delivery and ICT awareness among stakeholders.

Work Activities
i. System Administration
ii. ICT Training
iii. Planning and Development
iv. Operation and Maintenance
v. Information Systems support
Services Offered by ICT Center
i. Email services to Moi University.
ii. Internet access to Moi University.
iii. Data Communication Infrastructure and backbone network maintenance.
iv. Information and Communication Technology training to end -users.
v. Database administration and software development.

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 vi. Information and communication technology consultancy.
vii. End user support and help desk services.
viii. Management of information systems (MIS)
ix. Maintenance of Moi University Website
Financial Activities and arrangements
Funds allocated to Universities depend largely on the size of the national budget and the state of
national economy amongst other factors. The directorate thus gets most of its funding from the
allocation within the central vote of the University for capital expenditure such as staffing and
other activities of the Directorate.
The students also pay connectivity fee which assists in paying for the internet bandwidth,
currently provided by KENET.
The Directorate also gets its funding from donors. At the moment VLIR IUC program has a
partnership with Moi University. Some of the funding goes towards implementation of ICT
projects.

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 CHAPTER TWO
2.1 HOST ATTACHMENT DEPARTMENT
I was attached to the I.C.T Department of Moi University, College of Health Sciences.

2.2 Services offered by the ICT department

1. Internet access to all MTRH offices.
2. Hardware repair and maintenance.
3. Internet Infrastructure (backbone network) installation and maintenance.
4. Training end -users on Information and Communication Technology.
5. User request and problems ticketing.
6. Database administration.
7. Software development (Developers).
8. Software implementation and testing.
9. Inspection of new computing devices.
10. Information and communication technology consultancy through IT support.
11. Management of information system.
12. Data entry, verification and maintenance
13. Data backup.

2.3 Roles of Staff personnel in Moi University

A. Network administration personnel
1. Manages network communication in the University, make network equipment selection
and installation using correct tools as well as maintenance.
2. Information transmission and network configuration.
3. Troubleshooting network problems, i.e. IP address activation, UTP cables termination
etc.
B. Technical support personnel
1. Provides technical support to the system on software, hardware and network
configuration.
2. Helps in installation & maintenance of effective checks and control user rights.
3. Provides monitoring of computer components performance.

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 4. Provides advice to the management on the procurement and purchases of standardized
quality equipment that can perform effectively.
5. Performs routine maintenance and repair of computer software and hardware.
6. Trains users on how to use, handle and protect computer systems from damage i.e.
viruses’ power failures.

C. Programming Personnel
1. Develop programs for the University.
2. Maintain the programs by debugging and updating.
3. Advises the organization on the best programming software’s and techniques to adopt.
4. Develop the systems in line with the organizations’ objectives
5. Prepares and develops systems for organization.
6. Develops forms for organization for data entry according to users’ requirements.
7. Managers the systems for organization’s data.

2.4 OBJECTIVES OF THE ATTACHMENT

1. To apply the knowledge gained from the studies in school to solve problems that
occur in the practical sector.
2. To perform duties assigned by the ICT personnel of the university.
3. To gain experience in an ICT centre thus procedures, policies and standard operating
procedures.
4. To perform basic general duties that relate to professional and practical sector of ICT
in the university.
5. To learn networking skills from crimping and creating patch cables, working with
routers, switches and bridges.
6. To learn maintenance and repair of computer systems, laptops, printers and scanners.
7. To carry out procedural steps in installation of systems, setup and deployment.
8. To interact with ICT users and ICT profession personnel.

2.5 ASSIGNED RESPONSIBILITIES

The following are some of the duties that I was assigned during the attachment period

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1. Installation of software including Operating Systems, antiviruses and Microsoft Office
suite.
2. Installation of operating systems, printers and scanners.
3. Inspection of new computing devices to ensure they were delivered as ordered.
4. Maintenance of computer systems and hardware, and repair of computer systems.
5. Networking and installing networking within the university, thus network cabling (cable
replacement) and creating a Local Area Network.
6. Troubleshooting network problems and assigning of IP addresses.
7. Formatting computer hard disks and partitioning.
8. Carrying out of repairs on computer motherboard and replacement of faulty power
supplies
9. Replacement of faulty computing components such as computer screens, mouse,
keyboards and hard disks.
10. Managing Databases thus updating the database.

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 CHAPTER THREE

3.1 EVALUATION OF THE ATTACHMENT PERIOD

Attachment is the beginning of the road that will take me to the point I want to be at after my
graduation. Attachment is a practice I need to perform, because it prepares me for the business
life that I aim at.

3.2 SKILLS LEARNED FROM THE ATTACHMENT

1. Networking, network administration, installation, configuration and troubleshooting
network devices such as switches and routers.
2. Having constant interaction with dozens of electronic components and equipment enabled
me to learn a lot about the diagnosis, repair and use of various electronic equipment.
3. Installation, maintenance and repair of computers, both hardware and software
components.
4. System administration of web systems. Moi university has employed a vast network to
enable in management of data. Data storage equipment in its day to day running
including a large server, switches, routers, computers among other machines hence time
spent in the data department enabled me to learn a lot about system administration.
5. Tasks carried out at during my attachment period was often collaborative with fellow
students on attachment and Moi University employees. It helped build my believe in team
work.
6. As a result of the highly collaborative assignments, my communication skills were
greatly enhanced.
7. Diagnosis of hardware and software problems, working in the programming department
and interaction with end-users helped me develop my problem solving and detection
skills.

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3.3 SKILLS LEARNED FROM THE ATTACHMENT
1. High costs of software and hardware; buying of original software in Kenya and
international market is expensive, costs surpass hardware costs in some cases, thus the
university encourages the use of open source software.
2. Changes in technology; technological advancement in ICT is rapid, computers bought ten
years ago are becoming obsolete now in terms of processing speed, storage capacity,
ability to work with current Information systems (people, hardware software and
processes) which require high capacity of both processing and outputs.
3. Procurement policies; procurement process takes time from the time the proposal is made
to the time the goods are purchased and delivered take a long time, this affects the speed
at which projects are implemented.
4. Frequent power blackouts affect the provision of services by the ICT center because most
of the equipment and services depend on electricity. Lack of enough UPS is also a
challenge and a generator for the entire university.

RECOMMENDATIONS
From my personal experience at the university I recommend the following:

1. Cable Management: All data cabling should be below the ceiling, both ends of the cable
should be labeled and tagged for proper identification.
2. Training program should be started for both academic and administrator staff
3. I strongly recommend that the university should use licensed antivirus
4. Most of the computers used have lower space in terms of memory (RAM) and hard disk
space hence cannot support heavy applications. The machines should be upgraded if not
replaced with new machines.
5. Hardware identification should be with the appropriate, fully qualified server names, and
all equipment’s within the cabinets. If implement in this way the hardware is easily
identifiable.
6. The University should put in place standby generators to allow continuity of the
University Operations in case of power shortages. The generators can also be
supplemented with uninterruptable power supply (UPS)

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 7. Most of the employees have no backup system for their computer work which is
essential, in case a machine is faulty and need formatting or it’s beyond repair, all the
data is lost. The University should instill the importance of backup to its employees.

CONCLUSION
After going through the whole period of attachment as an attachee I’ve observed so many
professional activities and learnt as well. This attachment was very fruitful to me because I had
to cover many different fields. I also learnt new concepts and new ways of working. During this
attachment period I acquired practical experience to complement the theoretical content of my
study in information technology tasks, wireless local area network (WLAN) and network
security of the campus data center. To conclude, I think that this attachment was very beneficial
to me as I learnt a lot, and it made me discover nature of work in the real world.

REFERENCE
www.mu.ac.ke

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