HARARE, Aug. 15 (NewsDay Live) — The University of Zimbabwe (UZ) conferred degrees on a record 7,132 graduands at its 45th graduation ceremony on Thursday, with President Emmerson Mnangagwa presiding as Chancellor.
The ceremony was held under the theme “Critical Human Capital for Zimbabwe’s Industrialisation and Competitiveness”.
Higher and Tertiary Education, Innovation, Science and Technology Development Minister Frederick Shava, his deputy Simelisizwe Sibanda, Minister of State for Harare Metropolitan Province Charles Tawengwa, Harare mayor Jacob Mafume, university heads, diplomats and other senior government officials attended the ceremony.
UZ vice-chancellor Professor Paul Mapfumo said the graduating class was 53% female and 47% male, making it the largest cohort in the university’s history.
Of the graduates, 496 were capped in person, including 321 who attained First Class or Distinction honours, 25 DPhil and six MPhil graduates, 45 UZ staff members and 34 graduates living with disabilities.
Among the graduates was Deputy Chief Secretary for Presidential Communications George Charamba, who received a Master of Arts degree in African Economic History and Knowledge Systems.
Thirteen foreign students from Cameroon, Somalia, China, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Pakistan, Malawi and Equatorial Guinea also graduated, alongside students from partner institutions including the Pan African Minerals University of Science and Technology and Great Zimbabwe University.
The university said it produced 1,140 medical practitioners during the year, including 203 medical doctors, 37 medical specialists and 114 pharmacists.
The graduates also included students from engineering, law, agriculture, computer science and other disciplines.
Six students received the Dr Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa Chancellor’s Awards for outstanding academic performance.
Arthur Mapato and Blessing Kugwa were named the best overall undergraduate male and female students respectively, receiving US$1,000 each.
Four other top-performing students in law, engineering and life sciences received US$500 awards.
Mapfumo said the university had made significant progress since its previous graduation ceremony in August 2025, including registering 75 start-up companies and publishing more than 2,000 scholarly articles.
He said the university had also commissioned the UZ Industrial Incubation Centre and Specialist Medical Centre and completed its Strategic Plan for 2026-2030.
Work was also continuing on four major infrastructure projects, including a Quinary Hospital and new student accommodation.
During the period under review, UZ was ranked 13th in Sub-Saharan Africa by Times Higher Education and 23rd by QS World University Rankings, according to Mapfumo’s address.
The university said the latest graduation reflected its efforts to develop human capital capable of contributing to Zimbabwe’s industrialisation and competitiveness.