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President Mugabe caps Ms Prisca Mbwana who graduated with a first class BSc Honours Degree in Hospitality and Tourism at Chinhoyi University of Technology yesterday. Looking on is vice chancellor Professor David Simbi

Walter Nyamukondiwa Chinhoyi Bureau
President Mugabe yesterday conferred degrees to 1 679 graduands at the tenth Chinhoyi University of Technology graduation ceremony. The graduates excelled in undergraduate and postgraduate degree programmes in Agricultural Science and Technology, Creative Art and Design, Business Science and Administration among others.

CUT vice chancellor Professor David Simbi said the university and others offering technology-driven programmes, were key in the successful implementation of Zim-Asset.

“Our ability to move Zim-Asset forward lies in us being able to realise the potential in science, technology and engineering innovations,” he said.

VC Simbi said engineering, technology and innovation were drivers in value addition, which is one of the four clusters in the Zim-Asset economic blueprint.

VC Simbi said there was need to include science-driven programmes in the higher education curricular.

“The importance of these as value addition drivers is too often realised at graduate level, hence our desire to include this in our higher education architecture, particularly in agriculture production, agro-processing and manufacturing sectors of the economy,” he said.

He bemoaned the lack of learning infrastructure and learning space.

He said the university had managed to set up state-of-the-art laboratories under unfavourable economic conditions.

The university has managed to attract 55 PhD holders and is pursuing staff development programmes aimed at equipping junior staff members.

Prof Simbi said the university would soon introduce full-time graduate studies aimed at supporting the productive sectors of the economy.

Funding, he said, was needed to support the Invasive Species Research and Management Unit to spearhead cutting edge research on the water hyacinth, which was suffocating the water sources and the chain fruit or jumping cholla, which was spreading in the dry districts of Matabeleland.

Research is also being undertaken on the Australian Red Claw Crayfish in Lake Kariba, which is suspected to be causing the depletion of the kapenta fish stock.

He said the nation should promote graduate research in technology, engineering and business solutions for home-grown solutions to economic and social challenges facing the country.

CUT council chairperson, Dr Robson Mafoti, congratulated Prof Simbi for receiving the Zimbabwe Institute of Management Manager of the year award in the public sector.

The graduation ceremony was also attended by Higher Education, Science and Technology Development Minister Dr Olivia Muchena, among others.