Online Reporter
Wallace Ruzvidzo-Herald Reporter
GREAT Zimbabwe University (GZU) is starting to manufacture drones that use artificial intelligence systems, with the first batch expected to be ready in January next year as the establishment of innovation hubs by the Second Republic continues to bear fruit.
The university’s Vice Chancellor, Professor Rungano Jonas Zvobgo, announced the development at the institution’s 19th graduation ceremony on Friday.
“The university translated ideas into tangible and commercialisable solutions. Our focus was on key sectors such as food security, agriculture and energy,” he said.
The manufacturing of drones by GZU is in tandem with the Second Republic’s call for home-grown solutions.
President Mnangagwa spearheaded the establishment of innovation hubs in tertiary institutions to produce startups that provide focused solutions to the country’s needs as well as produce goods and services.
The hubs have become important vehicles for finding solutions to the country’s problems, generating higher-level manufacturing, and spurring economic growth in line with national goals, including the attainment of upper-middle-class economic status by 2030.
Drones are now in use in a number of other industries, including agriculture, mining, geographical mapping and disaster relief, among other sectors in the country.
President Mnangagwa has continued to reiterate that as the Fourth Industrial Revolution transforms the world, it is critical that all socio-economic sectors adapt accordingly.
“Cyber-physical systems have proliferated in all facets of society and economic activity within Africa and beyond, anchored on Artificial Intelligence and innovation,” said the President at the 57th Plenary Assembly Session of the SADC Parliamentary Forum.
In separate interviews, analysts told The Herald that the initiative by GZU was not just a milestone in higher education but a strategic pillar in Zimbabwe’s industrialisation and modernisation agenda under Vision 2030.
Harare-based commentator Mr Dereck Goto said the undertaking by GZU was an enabler of national transformation.
“What we are witnessing is a practical manifestation of the Education 5.0 philosophy championed by President Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa, which moves beyond theory to innovation, industrialisation, and community impact.
“Drones powered by artificial intelligence have applications that cut across multiple sectors, from precision agriculture, mineral exploration, and infrastructure monitoring to disaster management, wildlife conservation, and even health logistics in remote areas.”
