KWEKWE, Mar. 5 (NewsDay Live) – Kwekwe Polytechnic, recently crowned winner of the 2025 Multi-purpose Wheelchair Presidential Innovation Award, has been commended for advancing innovation and industrialisation, with government urging tertiary institutions to accelerate commercialisation of research outputs.
During a tour of the college this week, Higher and Tertiary Education, Innovation, Science and Technology Development minister Frederick Shava said the institution exemplified Zimbabwe’s Heritage-Based Education 5.0 model and was contributing meaningfully to the National Development Strategy 2 (NDS2).
He described the award as proof that Kwekwe Polytechnic ranks among the country’s leading centres of excellence in innovation.
“My interaction with the academic community reaffirmed the institution’s significant contribution to government’s innovation and industrialisation agenda under Vision 2030,” Shava said.
He reiterated that tertiary institutions must anchor national development through science and technology, in line with directives from Emmerson Mnangagwa.
“As mandated by His Excellency, higher and tertiary institutions must serve as engines of innovation,” Shava said.
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He cited the registration of five student-led companies and the deployment of smart traffic lights in partnership with Kwekwe City Council as examples of the college’s applied innovation.
Shava also praised the institution’s exchange programmes with counterparts in China and Namibia, saying they strengthen Zimbabwe’s international development partnerships.
He welcomed the integration of Artificial Intelligence into the curriculum and adoption of advanced ICT tools, describing them as critical to modernising teaching and learning.
Shava underscored the ministry’s commitment to the Inclusive Education Policy, commending the college for providing assistive devices for students and staff with disabilities, upgrading hostels, and training 268 community members in Gokwe under the Integrated Skills Expansion Programme.
“These initiatives equip citizens with practical skills to create jobs and contribute to the economy,” he said.
He also applauded the “work for fees” programme and urged the institution to expand enrolment under the scheme.
Shava said the Gokwe campus and clinics built in Sanyati and Zhombe demonstrate how education institutions can drive community transformation through improved access to essential services.
He encouraged the college to accelerate programmes supporting rural economic development.
The minister noted that the institution had diversified its income streams, generating ZiG 3,166,096 in 2025, revenue that has funded vehicle procurement, hostel upgrades and staff incentives to curb brain drain.