Antony Chawagarira
MASVINGO — Midlands State University (MSU) students have emerged as winners of the National Scholastica Innovation Competition at the 19th Sanganai/Hlanganani/Dzimbahwe World Tourism Expo, showcasing the growing role of technology and student innovation in Zimbabwe’s tourism sector.
The students were crowned winners on Thursday after their innovation, TourSafe, impressed the judges with its potential to enhance traveller safety through digital technology.
TourSafe is an integrated, intelligent application designed to improve tourist safety by combining GPS tracking, geofencing, real-time risk information, artificial intelligence, and an emergency SOS function.
The innovation brings together students from tourism and hospitality management, as well as data science and informatics, demonstrating the potential of interdisciplinary approaches for developing solutions to challenges facing the tourism industry.
The winning team comprises Mudiwa Madzore and Nikinicole Chabata, who are studying for Bachelor of Commerce Honours degrees in Tourism and Hospitality Management, as well as Vitalis Masamba and Peter Gumunyu, who are pursuing Bachelor of Commerce Honours degrees in Data Science and Informatics.
The team’s victory earned them US$1,200 from the Minister of Higher and Tertiary Education, Innovation, Science and Technology Development, Dr Ambassador Frederick Shava, while the Minister of Tourism and Hospitality Industry, Barbara Rwodzi, awarded the project US$3,000 in seed funding for implementation.
Each team member also received lunch vouchers and two meters of the National Fabric.
The achievement came as MSU’s exhibition stand attracted attention from Dr Shava, who toured the stand during the tourism expo and interacted with the innovations showcased by the university.
TourSafe’s success highlights the increasing convergence of technology, tourism, and higher education as Zimbabwe seeks to develop locally driven solutions capable of supporting economic growth and industrialisation.
For MSU, the achievement also reinforces its emphasis on research and innovation, particularly efforts to transform ideas developed in the classroom into practical solutions with applications beyond the university.
The National Scholastica Innovation Competition was part of the activities at the Sanganai/Hlanganani/Dzimbahwe World Tourism Expo, which is taking place in Masvingo and bringing together tourism operators, investors, exhibitors, and other players in the sector.
The victory gives the MSU students both financial resources and the opportunity to further develop TourSafe into a functional solution capable of contributing to safer and more secure tourism experiences in Zimbabwe.
