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Walter Nyamukondiwa Chinhoyi Bureau
There have been calls for the country’s education system to embrace computer-aided design to effectively implement the STEM initiative. This will ensure the country closes the technology and engineering gap, which will spur economic development.

Speaking at an AUTOCAD Quiz competition here, Belvedere Teacher’s College principal Mrs Juliana Mbofana said computer-aided designing is the future of making things which should start at an early stage of a child.

“With the way technology is going, there is no way you can do without AUTOCAD in designing certain materials,” she said. “We offer subjects like technical graphics, wood technology, building technology, clothing and textile technology.

“We even offer information communication technology to student teachers. “With the STEM programme, AUTOCAD is the system and in actual fact, it does champion all the ideas in STEM which is to have stemitised students. Students who can take technology and use it in their day-to-day lives.” Mrs Mbofana said for the teachers to move with the times, they had to embrace AUTOCAD in designing.

The AUTOCAD programme is a computer-based design software provided by Autodesk of South Africa and is distributed locally by Advanced Design Systems (ADS) and seeks to replace the manual drawing board. ADS Zimbabwe technical director Mr David Ngandu said the ideals of STEM could be realised through computer-based designs.

“Unless we can start to design as a nation, we cannot make the things that we end up buying from other countries,” he said. “We do not want to mine and send raw materials, but we want to make and send finished products.” Mr Ngandu said the programme had initially been embraced by trust schools, but efforts were under way to engage Government, so that it is used by all students.

Knowledge of the system makes students proficient in chosen areas of specialisation, including architecture and engineering and they become marketable across the globe. The programme is targeting children from Form 1 up to tertiary level. Schools such as Prince Edward, Hilcrest, Gateway and Lomagundi College participated in the quiz.Engineer Marshal Hove said AUTOCAD shortened the time frame for projects.