Prof. Totolo to stir the BIUST’s ship for the next five years
Over the years Professor Otlogetswe Totolo has evinced to be a staunch, diligent and highly strategic visionary, who leads by example. Displaying the true warm colours of a veracious and result-oriented leader with love for the BIUST community and the country.As a result, the salient soldier has been re-appointed as BIUST Vice Chancellor for another five-year term in the office, effective 1st March 2021 to 28th February 2026.This re-appointment follows professor Totolo’s previous formidable and successful term despite the challenges that they faced.
How would you define your past term as the Vice-Chancellor of BIUST?
As a specialised STEM University, the Botswana International University of Science and Technology (BIUST) is primarily tasked to be the catalyst for transformation and innovation, with the aim of producing technological tangible products and services as well as striving for job creation, import substitution, use of available raw materials and skills and knowledge transfer. I deeply share BIUST’s values, mission and vision to have products and services in the market which are developed by BIUST researchers.
The development and implementation of the BIUST Strategic Plan 2016 to 2023 was a major achievement.The Strategic Plan includes:
i. the Entrepreneurship Strategy which is aimed at fostering an enterprising culture, developing and maintaining the supporting infrastructure needed to turn BIUST into a STEM and entrepreneurial university; ii. developing the Academic Size and Shape Strategy to align BIUST programmes with the labour market demands; iii. Development and implementation of Research and Innovation Strategy; iv. developing and implementing University statutes; v. as well as the successful accreditation of BIUST as a training and educational provider by the Botswana Qualifications Authority (BQA).
I take pride in our University as it continues to be an impactful academic and research institute in Africa and the world. During my past term, the University was appointed to host as the National Coordinator for the African Very Long Baseline Interferometry Network (AVN) initiative which is a precursor to the Square Kilometer Array (SKA). In addition, it is housing facilities that will be used to develop capacity to operate and maintain an antenna for the telescope. BIUST is also hosting the SADC Satellite Receiver to enhance Botswana’s Geo-Information System through the Monitoring for Environment and Security in Africa (MESA) project.
As a research intensive University, we have increased the field-weighted research impact from 0.7 in 2016/17 to 0.9 in 2019/20, and research publication per academic staff has increased from a ratio of 0.5 in target to 0.8 against the target of 1.13 in 2019/20.
Where is the University today versus where you thought it would have been five years ago?
As the country positions itself to transition from a natural resource to a knowledge-based economy, BIUST has strategically set itself to grab opportunities on offer and respond to the new and emerging demands of Botswana’s transformation agenda. This will ensure that BIUST assumes the leadership role at the apex of the tertiary education system especially in the areas of research, engineering and innovation. In that way, BIUST does not only engage in research and innovation but commercialisation of its products and services in accordance with its international stature.
The University sits at the core of the national business discourse through research and development in collaboration with a variety of relevant key stakeholders.
Through industry partnerships, BIUST has been able to undertake various projects aimed towards the intended goal of building a university of industries working with entities such as the Botswana Defence Force, Local Enterprise Authority (LEA), Morupule Colliery, Debswana Mining Company, Botswana Oil Ltd, Special Economic Zone Authority, ATIKA University, Japan, iThemba Labs, National Astronomical Research Institute of Thailand, to name a few.
BIUST has an obvious and vested interest in building these linkages and partnerships. For the University, they ensure relevance for its academic programme; opportunities for its students to obtain industryready skills and to promote the application of its research in a ‘real and live’ industry setting.
As a global university, BIUST has a total of 31
signed effective collaboration agreements with International Strategic partners. Some of the institutions that BIUST has signed Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) with include; Joint Institute of Nuclear Research in Russia, the University of Wisconsin (USA), Central University of Technology, South Africa, and Botswana Institute forTechnology Research and Innovation.
The BIUST Outreach and Engagement services take the University to the people and bring the people to the University.Through this policy, BIUST trained and graduated 91 Youth Development Fund Beneficiaries and 42 Palapye Rovers Scouts in entrepreneurship to support their business initiatives, whilst 765 Primary and Secondary school teachers were trained in Introduction to Computing (COMP 101) at BIUST as well as 50 trainers-for-trainers. BIUST has also trained 489 Mathematics and Science primary and secondary school teachers on the Problem-Based
Approach to teaching STEM subjects. In addition, STEM Circuses have already reached 170,000 pupils and students across the country.
Has the institution been consistent with the strategy?
We have followed the Strategic Plan to the latter until last year, 2019/20, when we produced a Mid-Term Review for 2019/20 t0 2022/23. The mid-term review took effect where we have fine-tuned our vision, mission, goals, and key performance indicators.
What have been the biggest challenges you have had to overcome in the past five-years?
The last five years have had a few challenges. BIUST being a fairly new institution is still in the construction stage, a project as it were, therefore lack of adequate facilities has been a challenge.The institution has thus experienced budgetary constraints to undertake certain capital projects. Recruitment of high-caliber international researchers and lecturers has also been a challenge due to our being in a village without as much facilities as they would be accustomed to in town and city places they work in.
Additionally, the manifestation of poor interest in prototypes amongst some section of o population to historically low investment science, technology, engineering and mathemat (STEM) has consequently resulted in the lo production of homegrown prototypes resulti in a few home grown products and services.
BIUST was established to address such stereotyp and change the mindset of Batswana towar science and innovation as a step towar self-sufficiency and industrialization.
What goals do you have for the instituti in the next five years?
My immediate goal would be to commercial our research output to prototypes and ultimat products that would compete with others in t market. It is my intention to do this with the indus on a partnership basis.You would remember that most recently, kickstarted the satellite launch throu which we are to launch a satellite into space collect much needed-research data for Botswa I intend to see this happen within this period
Where do you imagine BIUST cou be in the next five years?
BIUST would be a fully-fledged research-intens institution that solves everyday challenges, a is responsive to societal needs.