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University of Botswana (UB) Vice Chancellor, Professor David Norris, has appealed to the Chinese Embassy to assist in establishing a collaboration with Chinese universities to provide PhD training for UB staff.

The Vice Chancellor made the request during a visit by Mr. Fan Yong, the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the People’s Republic of China to Botswana and China’s representative to the Southern African Development Community (SADC).

In his appeal, Professor Norris highlighted that 54 percent of UB’s academic staff currently hold PhDs. However, as the University was undergoing a transformation into a High-Performance Organisation (HPO), he underscored the need for the remaining 46 percent of staff to pursue PhD qualifications in order to enhance the institution's academic and research capabilities.

This potential collaboration with a Chinese university, he added, would play a crucial role in supporting UB’s strategic goal of academic excellence and global competitiveness. Professor Norris expressed appreciation for existing collaborations between UB and Chinese investors particularly in innovative fields such as biodiesel production and the development of liquid nitrogen and oxygen.

He highlighted the University's desire to expand such partnerships especially in cutting-edge areas such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), machine learning as well as data analysis. In addition, Professor Norris pointed out that China could play a key role in helping UB develop programmes that could address critical national challenges such as waste management and recycling, water management, harvesting and conservation.

He explained that UB as a national institution should take a leading role in these areas given that they were key to Botswana's development agenda. The Vice Chancellor underscored UB's role in spearheading Botswana’s economic diversification efforts to ensure that the country's economy did not remain overly reliant on diamonds. He indicated that UB should take a leading role in fostering innovation and promoting industries that contribute to a more diversified and sustainable economic future.

Professor Norris also expressed his appreciation for the Chinese Embassy’s funding which he said was instrumental in establishing the UB Innovation Centre. He expressed confidence in the Centre’s performance, stating that it had already surpassed expectations by delivering good results and positioning UB as a key player in driving innovation and development.

In his response, Mr. Fan Yong thanked Professor Norris for the fruitful meeting and reaffirmed the Chinese Embassy’s commitment to deepening relations with UB. He emphasized that the embassy is keen on expanding collaborations that will assist Botswana in realizing its broader developmental objectives.