Education Minister underscores communication between management and students

The Minister of Tertiary Education, Research, Science and Technology, Dr Alfred Madigele, has underscored the importance of communication in conflict resolution following days of student disturbances that led to a decision by the Chairman of the University of Botswana Council  to temporarily close the University from the 9 February, 2017 to the 5 March, 2017 with the view to bring stability and protect property.

The Minister said this after he went around campus on the 10^th February 2017 to assess the situation after students went on rampage destroying institutional property and posing a security risk to members of staff and the public. Areas affected included the bookstore, restaurants and other property. Key to the students complaints was late payment of living allowances and prices at the campus bookstore.

The Chairman of the University Council acting in terms of Sections 10(2)(d) and 12(6) of the University of Botswana Act (Cap. 57:01) took a decision to declare the situation an emergency necessitating the closure of the University to avert further and irreparable damage to property and possible injury to persons. In addition, the decision was taken in order “to [bring] the …crisis and instability under control,” said a statement from the chairman, Mr Parks Tafa.

Dr Madigele, welcomed the decision to close the University. He said it was necessary for all stakeholders in the education sector to engage each other from time to time on issues of mutual interest and to communicate information on time. He further implored tertiary intitutions to educate and appraise students on payment processes to avoid misunderstandings that might lead to conflict.

The Minister said following the student demonstrations, his Ministry would now engage all relevant stakeholders and tertiary institutions through their management and Student Representative Councils to relay important information to students which he regretted was sometimes withheld by officials. 

UB signs MoU on finacial sector stakeholder training

The University of Botswana (UB) and Botswana Institute of Bankers (BIOB) signed a memorandum of understanding with Frankfurt School of Finance and Management on March 16, 2017. The overall purpose of the collaboration is to establish a multiplier mechanism to institutionalise and assure training and capacity building measures are provided on continuous basis to financial sector professionals.

This comes after the Frankfurt School together with UB and BIOB assessed the potential for collaboration in offering new certificate programmes in areas such as Small and Medium Entrepreneurship, Finance and Banking for newcomers, beginners and professionals of micro-finance and financial institutions. Other areas include business development for micro, small and medium entrepreneurs interested in developing their professional career skills.

 

The Deputy Dean of the UB Faculty of Business, Professor Motsumi Ndala Marobela, BIOB Executive Director, Mrs Lydia Sejo Andries, and the Frankfurt School Team Leader, Mr Rainer Fitz, signed the MoU on behalf of their institutions. Speaking thereafter, Professor Marobela thanked Mr Fitz for having identified UB and BIOB as institutions to collaborate with in leading Financial Stakeholder Training in southern Africa.

 

Professor Marobela said such would lead to the strengthening of the relationship between Botswana and Germany after the recent collaboration between the two countries in tourism.

Mr Rainer Fitz said the first round of training would be offered for free to bankers and relevant financial institutions, hence heads of institutions would have the possibility to send two persons. Thereafter, he said there would be fees at an acceptable local market price so that it becomes a sustainable business.

 

Regarding the time frame, Mrs Andries advised that the accreditation process should be taken in account since it had a huge impact on the action plan and delivery of the programmes afterwards. She added that they should also understand materials for the programmes and link such to local context to bring on board local businesses.

UB houses first Paediatric Cancer Centre in Sub-Saharan Africa

The University of Botswana will house the first ever children’s cancer and haematology centre in Sub-Saharan Africa. President Lt. Gen Dr. Seretse Khama Ian Khama announced when he launched construction of the Centre at a ground-breaking ceremony held at the University of Botswana Academic Teaching Hospital on February 21, 2017. 

 

The Centre, which will be known as the Botswana Baylor Paediatric Cancer and Haematology Centre of Excellence, is a collaboration between the Government of Botswana, Baylor Centre of Excellence Trust, Baylor College of Medicine International Paediatric AIDS Initiative, Texas Children’s Hospital and the Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation.

 

“It is without doubt that the Centre, which will be constructed on this very ground, will make Gaborone both a national and regional hub for paediatric oncology, training, research and care, using the Centre of Excellence model that we have come to know so well,” said President Khama.

 

He said the project represented a critical expansion of the country’s health service delivery and a welcome development to the region as well. “Our young doctors, scientists and other health professionals will be trained and capacitated in a state of the art facility by skilled staff,” he added.

 

President Khama reckoned that the Centre was poised to be a high point of the country’s health agenda as the country moved into the next decade of development. In addition, he said the Centre must be seen as an excellent example of an all-encompassing approach to managing cancer and haematology in children. That, noted the President, would be done with the best available evidence in clinical care and top notch expertise in an environment that engendered compassion, humaneness, empathy and respect for the delicate lives the Centre’s staff would be handling.

 

The Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation Senior Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer, Mr Emmanuel Blin, said the initiative to construct an oncology centre and to train staff was the beginning of the largest and most comprehensive oncology network to treat paediatric cancer in southern and eastern Africa. The initiative, he said, was more urgent to avert the loss of an estimated 90 per cent of children diagnosed with cancer in southern and eastern Africa. “This is not acceptable but beginning today this will change,” he observed.

 

As such, Mr Blin said while awaiting construction of the oncology centre, the Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation would commit US$50 million over the next five years to train oncologists. He said the Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Children’s Hospital would contribute another US$50 million as well.

Exchange Students drilled on Basics of studying Abroad

The University of Botswana Office of International Education and Partnerships (OIEP) in collaboration with Botswana Investment Trade Centre (BITC) on December 2, 2016 drilled 10 UB study exchange programme students on the basics of studying abroad. The students will be abroad for the spring semester (January to May 2017) and were selected from various disciplines based on their academic performance. They will be studying in different universities in the United States of America. At the end of their study, the students are expected to have broadened their academic horizons and gained experience of different cultures and learning environments. OIEP Study Abroad Coordinator, Ms Buzwani Charity Mocheregwa, said the students were selected on merit, all having attained a GPA above 4.5. Ms Mocheregwa advised the students to maintain the same academic record because they were not only representing themselves but UB and Botswana as a whole. She also explained that the study abroad programme was a full scholarship from OIEP and the Botswana Government. The students, said Mocheregwa, would receive US$500 book allowance and a monthly US$400 living allowance for the duration of their stay. “You are not going to spend anything for your going abroad. All the expenses will be handled by OIEP. That means your tuition, housing, meals, air tickets, living allowance and medical insurance,” she said. OIEP Deputy Director, Ms Kaboyaone Hiri-Khudu, congratulated the students for having been selected for the programme and reminded them that they were going out there to represent UB and Botswana. Therefore, she impressed upon them to be in their best behaviour as well as to market Botswana well. Ms Hiri-Khudu also encouraged the students to take their traditional attire with them, and anything that could sell Botswana and UB in case they were asked to showcase their cultures. “Always remember where you come from and see to it that you earn a good name fairly,” said OIEP Acting Director, Dr Gangappa Kuruba. He advised the students to interact with peer groups and network with other people for it would also be rewarding academically. However, he reminded them to authentically represent Botswana culture and heritage in whatever they would be doing. BITC Brand Botswana Manager, Mr Thuso Palai, said the aim of Brand Botswana was to galvanise Batswana around a single identity. Mr Palai said it was also to stimulate stronger communities, culture and heritage to instil a greater sense of pride and community engagement in the country, as well as to position Botswana internationally as an attractive place to visit, work and invest. Consequently, he advised the students to tell a positive story of their country to the world, and lure people to come to Botswana because they had a responsibility to achieve such through whatever they would communicate which reflected their place of origin. “We have been working with the Embassy of United State of America, the British High Commission, and UB included, for the past two years because they have a lot of exchange programmes and you are the ones who will be our marketing agents to promote our country so that people get to know about us and to come and invest in our country,” he said.

UB unveils experimental Biodiesel Vehicle

The University of Botswana took its research programme to loftier heights when it launched an experimental vehicle that uses biodiesel fuel on November 14, 2016. The vehicle uses blended fuel (B10) which is 90 per cent petroleum diesel (50PPM) and 10 per cent biodiesel produced by University of Botswana researchers. The launch was a sequel to a feasibility study on the production and use of biofuels in Botswana carried out in 2007. According to Professor Baleseng Moseki of the Faculty of Science, the aim of the research project was in part to produce biodiesel fuel from Jatropha. The study indicated potential in producing and using biodiesel in the country and further highlighted Jatropha as the most promising feedstock for biodiesel. Consequently, in 2010, the Ministry of Mineral Resources, Green Technology and Energy Security carried out a social impact study to investigate the possible effects of Jatropha farming on local farmers. Thereafter, the ministry through the UB Office of Research and Development and Department of Agricultural Research of the Ministry of Agriculture, set in motion a five-year research project in 2012 for future extension of knowledge and establishment of a nationwide biofuels industry in the country, especially biodiesel production from Jatropha. The research project, entitled Research on the Information Based Optimization of Jatropha Biomass Energy Production in the Frost and Drought Prone Regions of Botswana, is expected to come out with ways of establishing technology for Jatropha cultivation, variety selection and biofuel production. It is co-funded by the Government of Botswana and the Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA). Launching the experimental vehicle, Deputy Vice Chancellor Academic and Student Affairs, Professor Martin Mokgwathi, said the vehicle was one of the key milestones of the research project. Professor Mokgwathi said it was also testimony that UB was Botswana’s premier research institution especially that its research projects were bearing fruit and beginning to benefit society. Dr Clever Ketlogetswe from UB’s Department of Mechanical Engineering observed that research on biofuel was aimed at demonstrating a positive development towards cleaner fuel. Thus the experimental vehicle produces relatively low pollutants, particularly carbon dioxide which contributes to global warming. Therefore, if blended fuel was used on a large scale in the transport sector it would result in huge reduction in Botswana’s carbon print, said Dr Ketlogetswe. “We have performed several laboratory tests to assess the quality of the biodiesel produced by the UB research team. All the tests were performed according to international standards, and we are satisfied with our results. We then took a decision to perform road tests,’’ said Dr Ketlogetswe. Dr Ketlogetswe noted that they decided to use a Toyota vehicle because of its relatively huge market share, and that on road tests it would achieve their expectations with the results expected to stimulate development of appropriate policy and guidelines on the use of blended fuel in the country. Should the findings not reveal any defects, the research team will increase the percentage of biofuel from 10 to 15 per cent while continuing with investigations. He also stated that the research team was expanding investigations to include other biodiesel feedstock, including the use of beef tallow to produce biodiesel. “We believe that the use of beef tallow could stimulate rapid development of biodiesel fuel in Botswana and it has relatively high yield as compared to plant oil. The yield is approximately 93 per cent compared to between 40 to 60 per cent of Jatropha oil plant,” said Dr Ketlogetswe. Meanwhile, Dr ketlogetswe said production of biodiesel fuel on a larger scale in Botswana could have a direct bearing on employment creation and poverty reduction, particularly in rural communities where small scale farmers could benefit from cultivating and selling of Jatropha seeds for biodiesel production. The Department of Energy chief energy officer, Mr Kentsenao Molosiwa, acknowledged that the 2007 feasibility study to assess the potential for production and use of liquid biofuels in the transport sector indicated the possibility of producing feedstock for biodiesel and sorghum for ethanol production. Mr Molosiwa further stated that a 2010 social impact study to investigate the possible effects of Jatropha farming on local farmers also indicated that Batswana were knowledgeable in the cultivation and use of Jatropha for biodiesel production. Hence, the Jatropha research project’s five outputs are cultivation, breeding, post-harvest processing, non-oil biomass utilization and environmental, social and economic evaluation,’’ said Mr Molosiwa.