The University of Zimbabwe (UZ) has conferred degrees on 7,132 graduands at its 45th Graduation Ceremony, with the institution placing strong emphasis on producing skilled human capital to drive Zimbabwe’s industrialisation and modernisation agenda.
📰 For this and more exclusive stories, read our weekly digital print edition.
Read E-PaperPresident Emmerson Mnangagwa, who is also Chancellor of the country’s State universities, presided over the graduation ceremony.
Of the 7,132 graduands, 5,677 received Bachelor’s degrees, while 1,337 were awarded Master’s degrees. A further six students graduated with Master of Philosophy (MPhil) degrees, while 25 received Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degrees.
Women accounted for 53 percent of the graduands, while men made up 47 percent.
The graduation ceremony is being held under the theme, “Critical Human Capital for Zimbabwe’s Industrialisation and Competitiveness,” reflecting the university’s focus on developing skills aligned with the country’s economic transformation agenda.
Under the Heritage-Based Education 5.0 model, UZ is strengthening its faculties and transforming teaching, learning and assessment approaches to equip students with practical, entrepreneurial and innovation-driven skills.
The university has also expanded its Research-Innovation-Industrialisation Ecosystem, which seeks to turn academic research and innovation into products and services that can contribute to economic development.
According to the institution, 75 start-up companies have so far been established and registered at various stages of development. These enterprises have produced more than 350 goods and services, with some beginning to enter both local and international markets.
UZ has also commissioned a Specialist Medical Centre and an Industrial Incubation Centre, both equipped with modern equipment, while several other development projects are at different stages of completion.
The graduation ceremony also marks progress in regional and national skills development, with students from the University of Zimbabwe-Pan African Mineral University of Science and Technology (UZ-PAMUST) among those graduating.
The institution is also celebrating the first cohort of Biomedical Science graduands from Great Zimbabwe University.
Arthur Mapato and Blessing Kugwa emerged as the top performers, receiving the awards for Best Overall Male and Best Overall Female graduands respectively.
The graduation highlights the growing role of universities in producing not only graduates, but also innovators, entrepreneurs, researchers and professionals capable of contributing to Zimbabwe’s industrialisation and Vision 2030 ambitions.
