Harare, (New Ziana) – The University of Zimbabwe on Monday launched its annual Research and Industrialization Week, more than 300 exhibitions and a Psychology Clinic at the campus.
The objective of the week-long event is to showcase emerging technologies and innovations towards industrializing and modernizing the country. Higher and Tertiary Education, Innovation, Science and Technology Development Minister Fredrick Shava officiated at the launch of the event, which is running under the theme “Promoting Innovation Ecosystems to Advance Value Chains for Zimbabwe’s Industrialization”,
“The week-long event showcases a plethora of innovative models, designs, and prototypes spanning various sectors, including agriculture, engineering, food and nutrition, tourism, mining, information and communication technology (ICT), manufacturing, and healthcare,” he said.
The event is a unique platform for communicating and showcasing innovative demand driven research outputs, innovations and intellectual creations delivered by the students, staff, graduate interns, emerging and senior researchers, industry and community based innovators in collaboration with diverse partners, toward industrialization and modernization.
“The youth are the direct beneficiaries of the clinic as they stand to benefit from the numerous services offered including direct mental health services and awareness, community outreach programs and consultation and referral services,” said Shava.
The psychology clinic will operate as a mobile clinic, enabling provision of affordable services to the country’s mental health hotspots such as mining areas, and to local communities.
It is a practical industrialization model for the social sciences, which empowers people and supports communities through proactive mental health resources and would be replicated across the country.
“The University of Zimbabwe is on the top in implementing the Zimbabwe’s heritage based Education 5.0 which puts emphasis on education which delivers products, goods and services,” said Shava.
The theme of this year’s industrialization week resonates with the 44th Ordinary Summit of SADC Heads of State and Government’s main theme, “Promoting innovation to unlock opportunities for sustained economic growth and development towards an industrialized SADC.”
It also resonates with the 7th SADC Summit Public lecture on building research capacity and innovation ecosystems for a sustainable industrialized SADC economy which President Mnangagwa delivered at the campus.
Speaking at the same occasion, UZ Vice Chancellor Paul Mapfumo said innovation is a technical term which feeds into all disciplines, stimulating and harnessing the power of informed and economically meaningful creativity.
“Innovation is a journey of processes and systems that yield positive economic outcomes and open new economic possibilities and markets. As the University of Zimbabwe we advance the concept of Innovation Market place as an anchor for our knowledge driven and innovation-led economy,” he said.
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