Story by Wellington Makonese
THE Harare Institute of Technology’s innovation and technology-driven entrepreneurship thrust is paying dividends after graduates from the institution established companies that are contributing to the country’s industrialisation.
Science, Engineering, Technology and Innovation, the mainstay of the heritage-based Education 5.0 model, are advancing industrialisation in the country after the government’s deliberate move to anchor development on innovations.
The Harare Institute of Technology (HIT)is taking the lead in innovations, with graduating students having partnered with the university in establishing viable business entities.
“We have formed a company after graduating here, we are producing these medical equipment, the breakthrough,” said HIT graduate, Clint Mukarakate.
Motivated by the need to provide clean energy, another graduate, Admire Busha is producing modern biogas digesters that are already on the market.
“In 2017, I realised that electricity is a challenge and I thought of how to cook without it, that’s why I have produced these efficient bio-digesters that can be used at home. The difference with any other is that it requires less waste, it is cheap and can work on any platform,” said Bosha.
The government is keen on financing innovations that provide solutions to local needs.
Minister of Higher and Tertiary Education, Innovation Science and Technology Development, Professor Amon Murwira said, “National strategic intent is to industrialise through modern ways, the kind of education that we are giving here is production oriented. Every industry is because of the innovations that are there. The graduates are following the philosophy of education 5.0 and have start-up companies. Education 5.0 is a method that has yielded results and has worked for industry elsewhere, but here we are using it at an accelerated pace. What we need to do as the government is to provide an enabling environment and financing for the innovations. What we are seeing are steps towards that goal and we are reaching that goal.”
Start-up companies that are fruits of the heritage-based Education 5.0 model at HIT include Tora Construction, Sunchoice which is into renewable energy and Power Tinters which produces agriculture supplements.
The institution is also into lithium batteries production, cotton value chain optimisation, and transformer manufacturing, which have created employment.
Apart from the Harare Institute of Technology, other institutions are providing solutions for the nation, with number plates now being produced at the University of Zimbabwe, while the MSU Pathology Centre is a highlight of specialised medical service provision by an institution of higher learning.
