Story by Fungai Jachi
THE National Development Strategy 1 (NDS1) recorded notable achievements in the higher and tertiary education sector by realigning learning towards industrialisation, innovation and practical skills development under the Heritage-based Education 5.0 philosophy.
Key milestones included the establishment of innovation hubs, the promotion of entrepreneurship and the modernisation of vocational training, initiatives that have contributed to driving economic growth.
Under NDS1, the Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education Innovation Science and Technology Development has registered a number of achievements, which include setting up seven Innovation hubs that transformed academic research into market-ready products.
“We constructed and operationalised seven innovation hubs, five agro-industrial parks as physical anchors for production, value addition, and rural industrialisation. We also had tangible commercialisation. We registered a record one hundred and eighty-two commercialised intellectual properties during NDS1, and this led to market products in various areas in the country, like the Mutoko biodiesel, Mathura wine in Mwenezi, and this shows we are moving ideas from the lab to the marketplace,” Minister of Higher and Tertiary Education, Innovation, Science, and Technology Development, Ambassador Frederick Shava said.
Apart from innovation hubs, more than 49 000 artisans and technicians were certified, feeding into the nation’s aspirations to improve its human capital.
“We have some kind of skills revolution as we managed to certify over 49 000 artisans and technicians, reconfigured 90 % of the qualifications to industry needs, and increased the STEM enrolment to 45 %, directly boosting the national skills base,” Ambassador Shava said.
The government has been deliberately focusing on increasing the uptake of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) subjects to drive national industrialisation.
The initiatives aim to transition Zimbabwe towards an upper-middle-income society by 2030 through fostering a knowledge-driven economy.
