As head of ICT at Machakos University, Jacqueline Madara has led major digital transformations. She believes the future of work depends on professionals who actively adapt and integrate technology into their roles.
Jacqueline Madara, head of ICT at Machakos University, believes the traditional landline phone is the gadget that has evolved and would last for a long time. For example, there was a specific period where offices at Machakos University had the landline that gradually disappeared with the emergence of mobile phones, forcing staff members to rely exclusively on their personal mobile phones to contact vendors, resolve system errors and manage student emergencies. With tight budgets, the allocated monthly airtime budget routinely depleted within the first two weeks, professionals found themselves funding official university business directly from their own pockets, creating an unsustainable environment where professional boundaries rapidly dissolved.
“In the line of duty, you are forced to make several calls, to the vendors, the clients, sorting issues from students and staff, you end up exhausting your own personal budget, and not to mention that eventually your mobile number became a public line being escalated all over. So, if there’s anything I would miss the most if it’s phased out is the handset and public phones. I missed it so much that it was a relief when we brought it back," she recalls.
Finding her voice
Jacqueline, who oversees the technological infrastructure at the institution, deeply missed the foundational principle of maintaining a dedicated professional communication channel. This system had successfully protected her personal number from circulating endlessly among the student population.
As a result, the university went back to using landlines. The phones returned in an improved form through VOIP technology, successfully restoring the internal communication system.
As a driver of digital transformation across East Africa, the Head of ICT continued cementing her reputation as one of the technology professionals who have broken gender barriers in the industry. She is also a member of Organization for Women in Science for the Developing World (OWSD).
Her extensive recognition includes being named among Top 100 Cybersecurity Women to Watch in Africa 2024, an award spearheaded by Acyberschool to recognise and empower women shaping Africa’s cybersecurity landscape. She also received the CIO Bronze Mark of Excellence, ranking just behind gold winner Deborah Ngina Mutungi of Sarova Hotels.
“In 2025 I was bestowed The Africa Chief Information Officer 2025 title, recognised as an innovative leader who has spearheaded initiatives to enhance university wide digital security, automate key processes, and implement AI-driven solutions to improve service delivery,” she says.
She attests to the fact that her late father introduced her to the tech world early in life, having bought for her once a set of screwdrivers as a birthday gift, always telling her that the sky is never the limit. Seeing no boundaries Jacqueline started her career as an untrained tutor of data communication & networking, database management systems at Machakos Technical Training institute before its upgrade to become Machakos University.
“When the university came, reality hit me that I am not a teacher, and the skills I have are not even teaching because they are the hands-on skills part, so I requested to transfer from academia to ICT support,” she explains.
Leading from the front
That profound professional pivot followed her earlier academic achievements, which commenced with a diploma through IMIS via correspondence under the Strathmore University umbrella, leading directly to a Bachelor of computer systems from the University of Sunderland. Jacqueline initially applied this knowledge during her first professional role at Migori School of Guidance and Counselling, where she developed human resources and payroll software that the institution continues to operate today. After returning to her studies to complete a second degree in education, she formally transitioned away from the classroom in 2012 to become a system administrator, dedicating the next 12 years to steadily expanding her responsibilities before officially taking over as the head of the department to implement robust digital defences.
“When it comes to cybersecurity, you cannot handle it as a human aspect alone, and you must incorporate AI in it because currently attacks are coming in as AI bots, meaning if you do not have an AI tool to counter that, you would lose it,” she notes.
Her integration of these artificial intelligence tools extends far beyond institutional security firewalls, fundamentally reshaping the modern academic experience through blended learning environments divided equally between physical and virtual participation. Jacqueline supported 50 percent virtual courses by installing smartboards and intelligent meeting room cameras that automatically sense physical movement and precisely zoom in on active speakers.
“I apply these identical efficiency principles to my administrative duties, actively refusing to take manual minutes during meetings when intelligent transcription applications can seamlessly record conversations and immediately highlight critical action points for the leadership team. AI is really embedded within the management level, the academia level, and the security part within the ICT infrastructure, and if a tool is there to take notes for me, summarise them and give me the action points, I will opt for that AI tool and use it,” she states.
Her strong support for modern technology shapes her clear view about concerns over automation and job losses in changing industries. Jacqueline firmly dismisses the notion that machines independently orchestrate mass redundancies, arguing instead that professionals render themselves obsolete by stubbornly refusing to understand or integrate the very tools designed to enhance their daily output.
“I illustrate this continuous evolution by pointing to the historical necessity of the post office box, which gave way to electronic funds transfers, just as modern mobile money has removed the frustrating delays of traditional banking transactions. The person who is going to lose their job is the one who does not want to embrace technology, because AI is coming in as an enabler of what we do. If I don’t recognise that, somebody else will implement it and eventually phase me out,” she says.
Challenging imposter syndrome
To further demonstrate how intelligent systems amplify rather than replace human expertise, Jacqueline carefully examined how the technology is being used underneath, with examples of how Harambee Stars’ 2024 CHAN playing skills on the football pitch was, all the way to the quarterfinals.
“Thanks to their preparations, they used AI for performance tracking and scouting during their practice sessions. They outfitted the athletes with specialised vests containing embedded biometric sensors during their training sessions to continuously harvest critical performance metrics. This advanced equipment monitors each player’s pace, endurance levels and the point at which they begin to fatigue, and sends that information directly to the coaching staff. It tracks how long a player can sustain performance and when they start to slow down, allowing the system to recommend substitutions, so a player can rest and return later in the match,” she details.
By providing highly accurate physiological insights, Jacqueline notes that the technology allowed the manager to make vastly superior strategic decisions without ever threatening the fundamental necessity of either the coaching staff or the athletes on the field. She actively uses this sporting example to reassure anxious professionals that technological advancement represents a powerful tool for amplification rather than a direct threat of replacement.
“Individuals who secure their long-term career relevance are those who actively figure out how to leverage new digital systems, rather than those who waste their energy insisting that automation should not exist in the first place. Of course, there are processes that will be replaced, but AI will not phase out everybody, and if the process owner embraces AI and moves with it, they will become relevant,” she observes.
When the immense pressure of managing these complex technological ecosystems and navigating difficult stakeholder expectations becomes overwhelming, Jacqueline relies on a remarkably straightforward decompression routine, stepping into a shower and deliberately listening to old school gospel music from her childhood. Once her mind is clear, she turns her focus toward her alternative career interests, expressing absolute certainty that if she wasn’t in the tech field, she would have practiced law.
“I ultimately found a fascinating intersection between my academic interests by pursuing postgraduate studies in forensic cybersecurity, while also drawing on my background in human behaviour from co-authoring a guidance and counselling textbook that is used in regional schools. I would really love to understand what motivates somebody to actually do hacking, because it is work, thinking, scheming and planning. So, why not convert that knowledge into employment and perhaps bring that person back to the norm,” she concludes.
