News

Barely a week after President Mokgweetsi Masisi met his South African counterpart, Mr Cyril Ramaphosa on April 12, 2018, a meeting during which the two vowed to strengthen bilateral relations between their countries, the University of Botswana and Central University of Technology (CUT) in Bloemfontein were already trying to turn such into reality.

Consequently, CUT Vice Chancellor and Principal, Professor Henk de Jager, remarked that UB’s two-day visit to CUT on April 16, 2018 was symbolic of the two presidents’ calls for their countries to cement further their bilateral relations.

Professor de Jager described his meeting with UB Vice Chancellor Professor David Norris as perfect timing because, interestingly, they immediately acted on the two heads of state’s call for action. He said that Professor Norris brought along a high powered delegation was clear sign of UB’s strong commitment to working together with CUT.

The UB delegation also comprised Acting Deputy Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, Professor David Sebudubudu, Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, Dr. Oathokwa Nkomazana, Dean of the Faculty of Science, Professor Julius Atlhopheng, Dean of the Faculty of Engineering and Technology, Professor, Benjamin Bolaane, Head of the Department of Industrial Design & Technology, Professor Richie Moalosi, and Executive Assistant to Deputy Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, Mrs. Matshediso Zungu.

The two universities subsequently entered into a three-year agreement through which they committed themselves to jointly leveraging their capabilities in promoting scholarly activities and international understanding in different areas of academia and entrepreneurship. To start the ball rolling, officials of the two institutions agreed to seek collaborations in areas of engineering and medicine.

The CUT Vice Chancellor and Principal said collaboration with UB would promote diversity in both institutions and further stimulate development in the southern African region. Professor de Jager highlighted CUT’s keenness on taking its internationalisation process and partnerships policy to a higher level. Therefore, he noted it was against such background that CUT saw potential in collaborating with UB given again that focus was primarily on the SADC region and eventually the rest of Africa.

The two vice chancellors are fairly new in their posts. Professor de Jager noted that such brought new energy to their partnership. He called for vigorous action instead of letting such agreements gather dust after signing.

“We got what we had planned to get after coming here,” observed Professor Norris at the end of an exciting visit which was characterised by a tour of CUT’s high-tech facilities and in-depth briefings on researches and projects the university was undertaking to impact on society. A visibly excited Professor Norris said they chose to visit CUT because of its strong experiential training as well as its ability and capacity to turn its research findings into products.

He said given Botswana was not a highly industrialised country, UB had a critical role to turn its research findings into products to drive Botswana’s industrialisation process. “And we can learn something from you,” he remarked.

Meanwhile, Professor Sebudubudu also impressed upon officials of the two universities to implement whatever they would have agreed upon as their collaboration moved into other areas as well. Professor Sebudubudu observed that there was a lot the two institutions could reap out of the agreement. He appreciated CUT’s quality of work and its work ethic, noting that collaboration with UB could produce top notch graduates.