Innovation drive bears fruit

Michael Magoronga, Midlands Correspondent
THE innovation and industrialisation thrust adopted by institutions of higher learning has started bearing the desired fruits as more students are now contributing towards economic development, Higher and Tertiary Education, Innovation Science and Technology Development Minister, Professor Amon Murwira has said.

The Minister made the remarks during Kwekwe Polytechnic’s 37th graduation ceremony and prize giving day held at the institution on Wednesday.

Held under the theme “Heritage based innovations towards sustainable development”, the graduation ceremony saw a total of 1 852 students graduating with certificates, diplomas from various divisions and Bachelor of Technology which the institution recently introduced.

Prof Murwira said the country is moving in the right direction judging by the current crop of students being churned out by tertiary institutions.

“President Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa pronounced that our national vision is to become an upper middle-income economy or better by 2030. It is therefore important that we play our part to achieve this vision by providing the required and necessary national capabilities through properly configured human capital development systems,” he said.

“To this end I declare that we are bold and we are determined and we will attain our goal of an upper middle-income economy.”

Prof Murwira said students must utilise the country’s flora and fauna as well as minerals for economic development.

“We have a heritage of solar energy, wind energy, vast mineral resources, our agricultural heritage and certainly our human capital resources. In this regard, we are saying let’s apply our knowledge on our heritage in order to develop Zimbabwe,” said Prof Murwira.

He said Government will support students from polytechnics to form startups as their post qualification activity.

“This is a symbol that the Government remains committed to use education to drive our industrialisation and modernisation agenda,” he said.

Kwekwe Polytechnic principal, Mr Evans Musara said the college had undertaken a number of innovations and their impact is being felt in the community, industry and commerce.

“We continue to churn out remarkable innovations on a yearly basis and we have now moved a gear up in trying to ensure that we register patents so as to safeguard our intellectual property and mass produce for the market. These include but not limited to engine drawn ploughs, the paraplegic hand controls for motor vehicle and many more,” said Mr Musara.

“This is our contribution as we demonstrate our unquestionable resolute to implement the National Development Strategy 1 through the implementation of the Education 5.0 Philosophy through your wise counsel and guidance.”

Mr Musara said Kwekwe Polytechnic has made significant strides towards renewable energy by installing a biogas digester as well as solar energy among other innovations.

He said the college, just like any other institution, was still recovering from the effects of Covid-19 which claimed the lives of three lecturers.