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President Caps 506 Graduands…

...As HIT Confers Him with A Doctor of Technology Honorary Degree

HIT 10th Graduation CeremonyThe President and Chancellor of the Harare Institute of Technology Dr Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa capped 506 graduands soon after he was conferred with an honorary Doctor of Technology Degree Honoris Causa in recognition of his commitment to science and technology development at the Institute’s 10th Graduation Ceremony held on Friday 18 October 2019.

Of the 506 graduands, 199 were females constituting 39 percent while 309 were males. The graduates were drawn from the Schools of Engineering and Technology, Industrial Sciences and Technology, Business and Management Sciences as well as Information Science and Technology. 18 students graduated with first class degrees. However, one of the graduates was conferred with a degree posthumously.

In his citation for the honorary Doctor of Technology Degree Honoris Causa, HIT Vice Chancellor Engineer Quinton Kanhukamwe said the President was honoured for his efforts in the development of the country through technological advancement. “His Excellency and President, Cde Mnangagwa has demonstrated the tenacity of focus in the economic development of this country that is premised on the conviction that Zimbabwe can be catapulted to be an upper middle income economy by 2030 through heritage-based technological advancement,” Eng Kanhukamwe said.

Eng Kanhukamwe added that the decades of experience that the President has acquired in the administration of the affairs of the State in different portfolios under his belt, have helped to shape his clarity of vision and the huge strides he is taking to transform Zimbabwe into a prosperous and modern economy. “Under the President’s tutelage, universities now play a critical role in the scientific and technological advancement of the nation. He recognised that universities are central to industrialisation and modernisation of the country,” said the Vice Chancellor.

In his acceptance speech after being conferred with an honorary Doctorate of Technology Degree (Honoris Causa), President Mnangagwa challenged the Harare Institute of Technology (HIT) and other local universities to become centres of economic revival leveraging on technology. He emphasised that Zimbabwe should not be left out in the Fourth Industrial Revolution, which has become central to economic growth in most parts of the world.

HIT 10th Graduation Ceremony“I am humbled by the honour and this is a recognition of the role science, technology and innovation play in the country’s current development agenda. As the world rapidly moves into the Fourth Industrial Revolution, my Government has noted how technology is affecting and redefining cultural, economic, social and human endeavours.

“This is the foundation upon which global economic giants are emerging and we should not be left behind. As such I charge universities to champion economic growth through production of relevant and innovative intellectual property which can be commercialised,” President Mnangagwa said.

The President urged HIT to use its mandate to develop in various technological fields such as “nanotechnology, Big data, Internet of Things, Artificial Intelligence and bioinformatics” among others. “You, as the premier tech-institution in our country must not shy away from embracing mega trends which will leap forward our modernisation and industrialisation agenda. Innovations from this institution must have radical impacts and make our country a front runner in new innovations and technologies in the various aspects of our economy,” the President said.

President Mnangagwa challenged HIT to lead the country in its quest for economic transformation through import substitution, reverse engineering as well as the production of software and business applications. “I further commend and congratulate you for providing solutions such as the ERP software being used by some Rural District Councils in the country. The Tap and Go application developed for Zupco as well as the manufacturing of transformers by this institution, will undoubtedly go a long way towards transforming our transport and energy sectors. You are indeed in sync with your motto, ‘Designing the Future,’” President Mnangagwa said.

He also implored HIT to promote national self-reliance in strategic skills development that would enhance beneficiation of the country’s natural resources. “You must thus, continue working towards the establishment of a fully-fledged science industrial park and the Export Processing Zone, to explore new frontiers of knowledge in the 4th Industrial Revolution.

“I also urge you to also ensure that your technopreneurship thrust is broadened to hatch and incubate hi-tech SMEs as well as move the nation towards the comprehensive adoption of ICTs across all facets,” President Mnangagwa said.

HIT 10th Graduation CeremonyIn his official address on the graduation ceremony, HIT Vice Chancellor Engineer Quinton Kanhukamwe said the institution was reviewing its curriculum in line with the country’s needs. “HIT has heeded the call and continues to interrogate its curriculum for relevance and responsiveness not only to the present but future needs as well. Education 5.0 is well situated within our programme frameworks as we escalate the development and commercialisation of technological solutions that are responsive and address national needs,” he said.

Eng Kanhukamwe added that HIT has introduced new postgraduate degree programmes that include Master of Technology in Machine Design, Master of Technology in Cloud Computing, Master of Technology in Strategy and Innovation, Master of Technology in Information Technology, Postgraduate Diploma in Medical Ultrasound and Postgraduate Diploma in Medical Dosimetry.

“These programmes respond to national and strategic priority areas and are aimed at providing practical hands-on technological expertise to industry and commerce and the health sectors of our economy. Our research projects are aimed at making contributions to national development and in the context of the obtaining temporary economic challenges, we have absolute conviction that this is the time to proffer home grown solutions responsive to the needs of the various sectors of our economy,” Eng Kanhukamwe said.

The Vice Chancellor also said some of the projects undertaken this academic year include an application of dry/fine grinding as an optimisation tool for gold recovery process by small scale miners in the country, flyash brick machine project, propagation and characterisation of indigenous plant resources for value addition and production of pharmaceutical products, food products and biochemical inputs.

“HIT places a high premium to intellectual property registration and to date, we have registered seven patents, 39 utility models, eight industrial designs and 33 copyrights,” he said.

HIT 10th Graduation Ceremony“We have also established four start-ups through our Technology Transfer, Licencing and Commercialisation Centre (TTLCC), which emanated from the commercialisation of our intellectual property. These are Indocast which deal refractory materials, ferrous and non-ferrous casting and fabrication, Gensys which is into transformer production, Matsimba that is into production of fuel tracking system and fleet management and Instibytes which is into the design of software application packages,” the Vice Chancellor said.

Eng Kanhukamwe added that HIT will continue to seek collaborations with local and international institutions that include Soonsil University of South Korea, Indian Institute of Technology and the Turkish Government which has funded the first phase of the establishment of the digital forensic laboratory at HIT.

In its quest to join the fight against corruption, HIT unleashed its first graduating class of 15 Forensic Accounting and Auditing degree graduates. “The fight against corruption is everyone’s responsibility and refreshingly, HIT has joined the fray. This year, we are unleashing the first of what I believe will be the anti-corruption bull-terriers in the form of the first class of the Forensic Accounting and Auditing degree programme graduates. I am told that almost the whole class is already employed by various auditing firms,” Eng. Kanhukamwe said.

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