BIUST receives windfall to support graduate training

BIUST:

BIUST has recently received the funding, although the award was announced a long time back. The delay was due to COVID- 19 related constraints. We have accepted graduate students who are working on:

• Agriculture and hydrological drought in Bo

tswana

• Identification of indigenous plant species using morphology and molecular methods and their response to climate change in Botswana, which includes conducting veldt assessment, diversity, abundance, and distribution of indigenous plant species • Extraction of vital protein from chicken feathers and their potential as animal feed. BIUST is also in the process of procurement of high- performance workstation with several processors for climate modelling. Some of the equipment will be used in connection with research that deals with assessment of land cover change, water quality, water resource availability and climate change, all which are the focus of OR Tambo African Research Chair initiative at BIUST. For example, we will study the impact of land use and land cover change, invasive species as well as climate on the water quality in Botswana based on satellite remote sensing and the spectroradiometer measurements.

BG: Kindly share any top three ( 3) lessons/ tips from implementing the SGCI projects and suggestions for SGCI future projects.

BIUST: Top lessons from implementing this project by BIUST include: a) The need for effective planning, budgetary

control, and teamwork b) The need for effective leadership and management. Leading by example and from the front is one of my greatest takeaways c) Understanding of the Botswana and Zimbabwe coal characteristics and possible applications singularly and through blending

Our suggestions for future research projects are:

a) An increase in the budget to allow the project to have a life cycle of 3- 5 years instead of two years. This will allow the development of the project from research to possible commercialisation. b) To allow researchers to work through milestones in parallel than in series especially for short cycle ( 2 years). However, this will require the release of funds in bulk rather than after the successful completion of the first or another milestone. c) To increase project budgets and project life

cycle.