Antony Chawagarira
BINDURA — President Emmerson Mnangagwa is set to commission the Bindura University of Science Education (BUSE) Industrial Park and BU Mall on Friday as the institution accelerates the implementation of the government’s Education 5.0 model.
The president, who is also the university’s chancellor, will commission the facilities during BUSE’s 25th graduation ceremony.
Ahead of the commissioning, BUSE Vice-Chancellor Professor Eddie Mwenje yesterday led members of the university council on a tour of the Industrial Park and BU Mall to familiarise them with the various sections of the facilities.
The BU Mall represents the university’s drive to move beyond traditional teaching and research by commercialising innovations and creating opportunities for students and the institution to participate in the national value chain.
Among the products associated with BUSE’s innovation drive are Palpo devices, Masawu juices, energy bars, cosmeceuticals, and other products manufactured at the university.
The developments are expected to strengthen the university’s contribution to entrepreneurship, industrialisation, and Zimbabwe’s economic development in line with the country’s Vision 2030 aspirations.
The establishment of BUSE can be traced back to the Zimbabwe-Cuba Teacher Training Program launched in the mid-1980s to train Zimbabwean student teachers in science education in Cuba.
The program was relocated to Zimbabwe in 1995 for economic reasons, leading to the establishment of a college in Bindura under the auspices of the University of Zimbabwe.
The institution admitted its first intake of 125 students in March 1996 before attaining full university status following the passage of the Bindura University of Science Education Act in February 2000.
It became the country’s third state university, holding its inaugural graduation ceremony in 2003, when 140 graduates were capped.
BUSE has continued to expand its academic programmes and innovation portfolio over the years. In 2018, the university established Zimbabwe’s first School of Optometry, further broadening its contribution to the country’s skill development.
The institution has also produced graduates who have achieved international recognition. In 2019, BUSE alumnus Tatenda Magetsi was awarded a prestigious Rhodes Scholarship to study at the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom.
The commissioning of the Industrial Park and BU Mall is therefore expected to mark another milestone in BUSE’s transformation into a university that combines teaching, research, innovation, industrial production, and entrepreneurship.
The developments are in line with Education 5.0, which seeks to equip higher and tertiary education institutions to contribute directly to national development through teaching, research, community service, innovation, and industrialisation.
