File photo show the pressure vessel of a high-temperature gas-cooled reactor (HTGR) is installed at the Huaneng Shidao Bay nuclear power plant in east China's Shandong Province, March 20, 2016. (Xinhua/Guo Xulei)

NAIROBI, March 18 (Xinhua) -- The Kenyan government must allocate adequate funds to support nuclear research and innovation in a bid to hasten industrial transformation, an expert said on Thursday.

Director of the Institute of Nuclear Science and Technology at the University of Nairobi, David Maina, said Kenya should allocate sufficient funds in the nuclear technology arena if the country is to realize the target of commissioning a nuclear plant by 2027.

"There is no need to train students in nuclear science when you don't know what to do with them later. Many undergraduates study the subject but later divert to other fields due to lack of research funds to further their studies," Maina remarked on the sidelines of the Kenya Nuclear Week and Conference in Nairobi.

During the 2016 financial year, the Kenya Nuclear Energy Board got a budget allocation of 3.4 million U.S. dollars for its nuclear power development.

The director said the university offers scholarships to two students to study nuclear science, out of the 17 students who are sponsored by the government annually.

The forum brought together nuclear energy experts from Kenya, China, South Korea, and Russia to discuss issues related to nuclear energy with the aim of bringing the concerns to the front burner of the national conversation, harness the capacity, knowledge and expertise of the three leading nuclear-producing countries.