dyton mupawaenda
Sifelani Tsiko-Innovations Editor
The second Presidential Innovation Fair designed to showcase the strides that Zimbabwe is making through innovations anchored on the Heritage Based Education 5.0 philosophy will be held in the first quarter of this year.
The inaugural Presidential Innovation fair was held in April 2023 in the capital.
The Higher and Tertiary Education, Innovation, Science and Technology Development Ministry said the Presidential Innovation Fair is now an annual event.
“It is proposed that the 2024 Presidential Innovation Fair be held in the first quarter of the year, preferably before the end of March, subject to confirmation by the Office of the President and Cabinet (OPC),” the ministry said.
“The 2024 Presidential Innovation Fair will be held at a venue neutral to the participating institutions.”
This annual showpiece will bring together higher and tertiary education, innovation, science and technology institutions, government and private institutions, students both in local institutions and abroad, and private individuals both based locally and in the diaspora to exhibit innovations that are market-ready or are already at commercialisation stage and making significant interventions to meet the needs and challenges of the Zimbabwean citizens.
The 2024 Presidential Innovation Fair aims to build and reinforce a thriving innovation ecosystem through exhibitions and expos of current work from Higher and Tertiary Education, Innovation, Science and Technology institutions, government and private institutions, students both in local institutions and abroad, and private individuals both based locally and in the diaspora.
It also aims to attract venture capital from both local and international players and to create an environment that permits ideas sharing, benchmarking and standardisation of innovation initiatives within the various institutions. The ministry also said the fair aims to recognise innovation efforts within the Zimbabwean context.
Recognition will be given to institutions and individuals leading in the innovation landscape through the Presidential Innovation Awards.
The Presidential Innovation Awards seek to encourage high-level and quality innovation within the institutions and by individuals.
The Second Republic has been working round the clock to transform higher education in Zimbabwe to promote the production of qualified specialists and technicians especially in the natural and applied sciences, engineering and technology, the medical and health sciences, and agriculture, among other critical sectors.
The Government largely sees tertiary education a key driver of economic growth and poverty reduction as it plays a critical role in training a qualified and adaptable labour force, generating new knowledge through basic and applied research and promoting use of new and emerging technologies.
President Mnangagwa has spearheaded the adoption of the Heritage-based Education 5.0 model in the country’s institutions of higher learning to help promote research and innovation in the utilisation of local resources.
Education 5.0 is based on teaching, research, community service, innovation and industrialisation and it seeks to move the nation forward toward an innovation-led and knowledge-driven economy.
This new model, which was adopted four years ago, aims to produce graduates who solve national problems instead of just being job seekers.
In 2018, President Mnangagwa spelt out a clear vision for higher and tertiary education in which he noted that the human capital development sector was key to national development.
Education 5.0 learning model has started bearing fruit as most tertiary institutions have begun to articulate President Mnangagwa’s call for technological development to drive the country towards Vision 2030 of an empowered upper middle income economy.
The President has repeatedly urged higher and tertiary education institutions to play a more significant role in national development and provide the essential knowledge and skills needed for production of quality goods and services for the
industrialisation and modernisation of the nation.
“Given the shift from concentrating on the teaching of theory to practicals and entrepreneurship, our various institutions of higher and tertiary education should be torch bearers of innovation aimed at producing quality goods and services. Nyika inovakwa nevene vayo/llizwe lakhiwa ngabanikazi balo,” he remarked at the inaugural Presidential Innovation Fair last year.
Online Reporter