Zimpapers Logo

Higher and Tertiary Education, Science and Technology Development Minister Dr Olivia Muchena (far left) with her Permanent Secretary Dr Washington Mbizvo (centre) and Professor Christopher Chetsanga (far right) during a Science and Technology Expo at the University of Zimbabwe yesterday. — Picture by John Manzongo

Innocent Ruwende Senior Reporter
Vice President Joice Mujuru yesterday challenged researchers in higher and tertiary institutions to come up with research outputs which are relevant to national development.
In a speech read on her behalf by Higher and Tertiary Education, Science and Technology Development Minister Dr Olivia Muchena at the first joint edition of the Research and Intellectual Expo-Science, Engineering and Technology (RIE-SET) Week, VP Mujuru said researchers must undertake studies that aim to solve problems facing the country.

“Modern higher and tertiary education institutions can no longer afford to be ivory towers. They have to be seen to be relevant in the national development discourse and agenda. At the end of the day, we are concerned with practical purpose of their research.

“Quality higher education must have a purpose, to the researcher and to society. Quality innovative research must solve problems faced by society,” she said.

She requested the Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education, Science and Technology Development to come up with a national research agenda which addresses some of the urgent needs of the country. VP Mujuru also said research applications in the national development agenda should be guided by the Zim-Asset national economic blueprint.

Dr Muchena said VP Mujuru could not attend the official opening due to a family bereavement.

“Vice President Mujuru wanted to be here but she was hit by a double tragedy. Today they were supposed to bury their relative but the plane which crashed at Charles Prince Airport (Harare) claimed another Mujuru,” she said.

In her speech Dr Muchena said the expo provided a platform for sharing knowledge, networking and collaborating by stakeholders in higher and tertiary education in Zimbabwe, Government and state agencies, industry and commerce, strategic regional and global bodies, local civil society networks, public schools and all higher and tertiary institutions in Zimbabwe.

“Our researchers in various institutions of higher and tertiary education need to be relevant and facilitate the realisation of the goals set for science and technology under the Zimbabwe Agenda for Sustainable Socio-Economic Transformation Programme (Zim-Asset).

“It is my hope and expectation that this expo will not be another talk show and we must emerge with a concrete roadmap of research and science and technology that proffers solutions guided by the Zim-Asset economic blue print, reflecting the strong need to fully exploit the internal relationship and linkages that exist between various facets of our economy,” she said.

She said higher and tertiary education institutions have a big role to play in coming up with innovations that can help the industry retool, enhance the country’s competitiveness and stimulate various forms of productivity.

Dr Muchena said she was pleased to observe that since the first expo, which was launched by President Mugabe in 2011, the first two volumes of a scholarly journal have been published containing a selection of research papers.

She launched The journal of Zimbabwe Studies: Science, Technology and Health and The Journal of Zimbabwe Studies: Arts, Humanities and Education. The four-day fair, which opened on Wednesday this week, aimed to showcase creative activity and scholarship in institutions of higher learning.