‘Knowledge that cannot be changed into goods, service irrelevant’

GOVERNMENT has said the country’s education system should produce graduates that are able to turn knowledge into tangible goods and services.

Addressing participants at a research conference in Kariba, Higher and Tertiary Education, Science and Technology Development deputy director Mr Christopher Mudzingwa said knowledge that could not be transformed into goods and services was irrelevant.

Mr Mudzingwa said technical and vocational training institutions should be enablers of knowledge generation, adding that polytechnics should champion the establishment of industrial parks.

“The solutions to productivity, value addition and beneficiation should be proffered, in the process addressing the huge national import bill with positive indications such as improved liquidity within the economy,” he said.

“Research must result in quality products which can be commercialised to increase the income streams for the polytechnics and in turn increase international profile for the country in terms of production of quality products.”

Mr Mudzingwa said research was at the heart of creating new technologies and products and polytechnics should serve as centres of science and engineering.

He said research should lead to the development of tangible goods and services through addressing industrial problems which would subsequently have an impact on the country’s macroeconomic framework.

Mr Mudzingwa implored lecturers to be abreast with rapidly changing technological environment, while also calling on the country to be in sync with global trends.

He said polytechnics and universities should take advantage of the high performance computer (HPC) based at the University of Zimbabwe to enhance research.

Universities and polytechnics, he said should be guided by the African Union Vision 2063 and draw inspiration from the Sadc industrialisation strategy.

Dr Mudzingwa said Government had already set the tone by allocating one percent of the country’s GDP to research and development in line with SADC stipulations.

Speaking at the same occasion, Mutare Polytechnic principal Ms Poniso Watema said her institution would endeavour to provide solutions that revitalise the country’s industries.

“It is high time that as a country we emphasise the importance of promoting an innovation culture in our institutions of learning and the country at large,” she said.

“Innovation should be about the process of translating an idea into goods or services that create value for which customers will pay.

Without cutting-edge research and technological innovations, she said, the country only stands to gain development with diminishing returns through building infrastructure, improving macroeconomic stability or improving human capital.

Ms Watema said world economic gains over the years were hinged on inventions such as the steam engine, generation of electricity and more recently the digital revolution.

The conference was running under the theme “Industrialisation and Modernisation through STEMbased Research and Innovations for Socio-Economic Transformation of Zimbabwe” and sought to promote linkages between polytechnics, universities and industry.

It also sought to unlock human potential in wealth creation, industrialisation and modernisation of the country in line with President Mnangagwa’s vision of achieving a middle-class economy by 2030.