President Emmerson Mnangagwa has commissioned the University of Zimbabwe’s Industrial Incubation Centre and Specialist Medical Centre, describing the two facilities as milestones in the country’s drive to build a knowledge-based economy through innovation and higher education.
Speaking at the commissioning ceremony on Monday, the President said the projects demonstrated the impact of Zimbabwe’s Heritage-based Education 5.0 Model, which seeks to align teaching, research and innovation with national development goals.
“The commissioning of these two signature developments validates the success of the Heritage-based Education 5.0 Model that continues to position our higher and tertiary institutions as critical cogs in the ongoing industrialisation, modernisation and development of our economy,” Mnangagwa said.
He said universities were increasingly becoming centres of innovation capable of generating technologies, businesses and skills needed to support Zimbabwe’s industrialisation agenda.
President Mnangagwa hailed the establishment of the Industrial Incubation Centre saying it provides a platform for transforming innovative ideas developed by students and researchers into commercially viable enterprises.
According to the President, the facility represents the final stage of the university’s innovation pipeline where start-up companies are prepared to enter the marketplace.
“This is after ideas commence and are nurtured in the laboratories and workshops, moving through the Innovation Hub for prototyping, product development and Start-up registration,” he said.
He noted that many of the start-up companies housed at the centre are led by students, with innovations originating from final-year projects, academic research and other scholarly work.
President Mnangagwa said the Government would continue supporting innovation and entrepreneurship through its Education 5.0 policy, pledging continued backing for projects with commercial potential.
“Under my Administration, promising innovations will continue to be granted Innovation Hub Status and supported by Government,” he said.
The President said investments in innovation infrastructure and specialised healthcare facilities were essential to developing home-grown solutions to national challenges while creating opportunities for young entrepreneurs and researchers.
The newly commissioned Industrial Incubation Centre is expected to support the commercialisation of locally developed technologies and nurture emerging businesses while the Specialist Medical Centre is set to strengthen healthcare services, medical research and specialist training at the country’s oldest university.
The projects form part of the Government’s broader strategy to position higher and tertiary education institutions as engines of innovation, research and economic transformation under the Heritage-based Education 5.0 framework.
