2009 Gaborone Campus Master Plan
P R E S S R E L E A S E
The Council of the University of Botswana recently approved the 2009 University of Botswana Gaborone Campus Master Plan 
. This Master Plan indicates the way forward for the development of the physical layout of the Campus until 2020.
The 2009 Master Plan provides the University and the people of Botswana with an exciting plan for a university campus among the best in Africa, and is designed to underscore the University Vision which is “ To be a leading centre of academic excellence in Africa and the world�.
In addition to planning for 16,000 students by 2016 and 20,000 students by 2020, the new 2009 Master Plan addresses the need to improve the layout of the campus, and to ensure strong environmental standards are in place. There are plans to beautify the campus with an integrated landscaping strategy, and the creation of a Botanical Garden and Research Centre which will engage the University with the natural heritage of the country and with the people of Gaborone and the country more generally.
Right now at the University, there are major construction projects occurring which will have a major positive impact on the facilities available to students and staff over the next one to two years. These include two new multipurpose buildings for classrooms, labs, lecture halls and offices; a building complex for the Faculty of Engineering and a new Student Services Centre. In the south of the campus, a new building is being constructed for the Faculty of Health Sciences, and in the north of the campus, planning for a new 450 bed Teaching Hospital is in progress. These will be facilities for training doctors and other health professionals and are a vital development to the health goals of the Nation. The University is also committed to the development of sport and youth, and a new Indoor Sport, Fitness and Exercise Science Centre is scheduled to commence in 2009.
For NDP 10, the University has submitted proposals to the Government to establish on the Campus an Arts and Culture Centre in order to engage more strongly with the artistic and cultural heritage of the Nation, to build a resource for the community and to nurture artistic skills and endeavour which can improve not only society, but assist in job creation and individual wealth. The expansion of business programmes will be supported by an extension to the Faculty of Business building. Student success is strengthened by an approach where students live and learn in communities on campus, and the need for all first year students and proportions of other students to be accommodated, means that the University’s residential buildings will expand to 7,500 units by the end of NDP 11, together with an additional refectory for student catering.
During NDP 10, a distinctive feature of the campus will be the creation of a Central Plaza which will lie at the heart of the campus and be a gathering space for student life and activity.
The Botanical Garden and Research Centre will abut the student residences and the Hospital, providing a natural arboretum, and will serve as an educational tool and cultural amenity for the public as well as provide facilities for botanical research relevant to the Nation’s development needs. The garden will also include a learning centre and a green house complex to showcase botanical species and flora.
A further multidisciplinary classroom building has been identified in NDP 10 and this will provide more student and staff facilities in the University’s quest to further the quality of its research and learning and teaching.
Need to expand the Library and administration buildings has been identified in the plan. The Teaching Hospital and the accommodations for hospital staff on campus should be completed by 2013.
The 2009 Master Plan has identified footprints for development during NDP 11 in order that if necessary, the University can respond to the growing needs in the country to raise participation of people in tertiary education. The footprints identified include up to four major areas for new buildings to use as academic space, for research institutes and expanded support facilities. The plan is complete in NDP 11, with the full construction of student accommodations to 7,500 units.
The 2009 Master Plan strongly links to the University’s Strategic Plan and will enable growth to meet demand for tertiary education in the Nation; will provide high level facilities to attract leading academics and to enhance the quality of research, learning and teaching; as well as provide excellent and comprehensive student support facilities including housing, recreation, sport, health and leisure.
