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A STUDENT from the National University of Science and Technology (Nust) has developed a protective smart helmet for miners following a rise in accidents.

Miss Benette Kadeya (23) designed the helmet after witnessing a miner die on a work placement.

Figures from the Zimbabwe Chamber of Mines show that 110 accidents caused 120 deaths between January and July last year.

The report further highlights the prevalence of these incidents in large-scale mining operations, which contribute 18 percent of the reported accidents.

While the deceased miner wore protective clothing, Miss Kadeya put emphasis on its limitations in preventing fatalities, particularly due to delayed response times.

Miss Kadeya’s helmet features location tracking, mobile alerts, an object detection component and automatic light-switching. The safety features aim to prevent accidents and

improve response times. The helmet was showcased at the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair.

Aligned with the Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education, Innovation and Technology Development’s Heritage-Based Education 5.0 initiative, Miss Kadeya exemplifies the

Government’s vision: Students and academics actively innovating to address pressing national challenges.

Her prototype, if adequately funded, has the potential to revolutionise the mining sector by prioritising worker safety.

 “What we realised is that in the mining environment, there is limited safety for miners, especially with the traditional safety helmet. Using the old helmet there is no communication,

no location and no one knows where you would really be when you are underground.

“So I have built a safety helmet for mine workers with increased safety features. The helmet has a location tracker, meaning someone on the surface is able to track the miner

underground. The person who would be on the surface will be using a user interface tracking what the miners are doing underground using a cellphone application,” said Miss

Kadeya.

She said when it gets dark, the safety helmet automatically switches on.

“It also has an object detection component. If an object is about to fall, let’s say a metre away, it alerts you on time, so that you can move to a safer position. Again if you get stuck

underground you can press a notification alarm so that people on the surface can easily locate you.

“I devised this safety helmet as I used to work at a mine and there was a fatal incident that happened when I was on site. The guy fell, but he was not seen on time. So this is what

inspired me to create this safety helmet to ensure that it is adequate for workers.”

Nust marketing and communication director, Mr Thabani Mpofu, said the innovation confirms that higher and tertiary institutions have fully embraced Heritage-Based Education

5.0.

“This is in sync with Education 5.0; it encourages students and academics to go beyond just researching. The innovation proves that students at the university have really adapted to

Education 5.0, and it is a clear demonstration that Education 5.0 is solving real problems in the communities,” said Mr Mpofu.

He stressed the need for increased funding for innovative ideas, lamenting that many promising inventions remain undeveloped due to financial constraints.

“Partnerships can also work where they can address a particular problem within a particular field, with corporates and even the non-governmental organisations working in that

particular field so that we support those innovations and help them to become businesses.

“We call on the public and private sector to join students and academics in universities in terms of financing innovations. A lot of projects are being done by students, but sometimes

these projects don’t materialise because of lack of finance,” he said.

Mr Dosman Mangisi, secretary-general of the Junior Chamber of Mines, welcomed the innovation, highlighting its potential to significantly improve safety within the mining

industry.

“Our thrust is to reduce fatalities within the mining sector and we need to build bridges and incubate ideas that will promote zero fatalities in the mining sector. We welcome the

innovation whose impact may even be felt beyond the borders of Zimbabwe. We are recording most of these mining accidents incidents within the small scale and medium mining

operations in places such as Gwanda, Esigodini, Mazowe, Kadoma and Chegutu, among other areas. So the innovation will increase safety and assist the mining sector,” said Mr

Mangisi.

He applauded the surge in industry adoption of higher education innovations, a direct result of Education 5.0.

“The graduates are bringing solutions to the challenges in the industry so what the industry, including the mining sector, needs is to embrace the graduates as they can bring

innovations that will be beneficial to the sector,” he said.

Nqobile Tshili, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

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In yet another scientific breakthrough, the National University of Science and Technology (Nust) has developed an artificial intelligence-generated application that provides farmers with knowledge and solutions for almost all major crops.

The App Crop Doctor Solutions which can be used on mobile phones provides information about all major crops,as well as details about diseases, insects, and nutrient deficiency of crops for the benefit of farmers.Last year another student from the institution developed an almost similar app, which mainly targeted youthfulfarmers.

In the latest application, Nust director of communication and marketing Mr Thabani Mpofu said besidesMbenefiting farmers the app will also benefit the whole agricultural and livestock sectors.

Mr Mpofu spoke to Chronicle about the application during the just-ended Zimbabwe International Trade Fair. He said the application was developed by a Nust student, Nkosikhona Dube who could not be contacted as he was said to be out of the country.

“The information about the disease, insects, and nutrient deficiency of crop information will be available by sharing an image of the plant or crop.

“The application was developed by our very own student, with the aid of his team. His name is Nkosikhona Dube and he has won several accolades,” he said.

Mr Mpofu said the application is available online and has various features for all major crops.

“The need to disseminate knowledge on smart agriculture and climate-smart agriculture has led to the development of the Crop Doctor Solutions to publish magazines to help farmers better understand this topic and share their stories,” said Mr Mpofu.

He said Dube and his team continuously research and develop modules being used in the mobile application for disease identification. “The application is fully developed and has features that include market updates, Government schemes, and knowledge centres. It also imparts knowledge regarding crop variety, production, and protection,” said Mr Mpofu.

He said Zimbabwe has about 7,1 million smallholder and communal farmers occupying a total of 21 million hectares of the 33,3 million hectares used for agricultural purposes.

“In general, communal and smallholder farmers occupy areas of lower natural potential for agriculture in terms of rainfall, soils, and water for irrigation.Farming

“These areas are of lower economic potential because of the distances from markets and poor communication and social infrastructure. Fully optimising and improving the yields in these areas will go a long way in attaining SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals) number 1 and 2,” said Mr Mpofu.

He said equipping farmers with technology and knowledge was developing a crowd farming platform which is under trial with two farmers, one based in Seke and the other one in Kwekwe.

Mthandazo Ncube who was studying Computer Science at Nust developed an app, which mainly targeted youthful farmers said he believed he would revolutionise farming. His application Easy Farm was to make farming easier through the provision of farming data to farmers.

Ncube said his application mainly targeted youthful farmers who always want to be on their cellphones to improve crop production. He said instead of holding meetings to educate farmers, the information was now being sent to farmers through cell phones.

Ncube said his application educates farmers on how to effectively and efficiently work on the land to boost production, provides detailed information about farming opportunities in each of the country’s provinces and crops that are recommended to grow in a particular province.

Peter Matika This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

“THINK in other terms” is the motto for the National University of Science and Technology (Nust) and unbeknown to many the university was groundbreaking as it revolutionised university learning in the country. Led by the late national hero Professor Phineas Makhurane as the Vice Chancellor, Nust was the first university to introduce industrial attachment in Zimbabwe.

Industrial attachment is the process where students at universities and colleges conduct internships in the industry before completing studies.The success of industrial attachment saw other Zimbabwean higher and tertiary institutions introducing theprogramme which has become mandatory for all students before they exit university.

Students undergoing a four-year degree programme, undergo industrial attachment in their third year before returning to complete their studies and graduate with an Honours Degree.For those doing a five-year programme, they usually go for attachment in their fourth year.

Higher and Tertiary Education, Innovation, Science and Technology Development Permanent Secretary Prof Fanuel Tagwira said: “Before industrial attachment was introduced by Nust, what happened is that students would simply do three years of theory, write their exams and go. The first time they got in contact with the real world of work, was when they had been offered a position,” said Prof Tagwira.

“So Nust revolutionised education by way of industrial attachment. It is not that they were the first to introduce industrial attachment as this was already done in developed countries. But they were the first to be bold enough to say we want our students to do a full year of industrial attachment before they graduate and that was (late) Prof Phineas Makhurane.”

He said the benefit of industrial attachment is that it has enabled students to have practical experience of what the industry expects from them while they also get to appreciate what employers want. Prof Tagwira said some of the graduates are identified and employed when they are on attachment.

“You will find out that many of our students, when they come back from industrial attachment, there is an element of understanding of the connection of what they are learning and what is happening in the real world of work. It also helps students to develop the mental transition from being an academic person to being a practical person. It helps them to understand what they would have learnt and how you apply it to the actual work that happens in industry,” said Prof Tagwira.

 “Even for the employer it helps them to see in students that have come for attachment and what benefits they bring to their companies. We find that many students get jobs when they go for industrial attachment.”

He said while it is not the ministry’s position that lecturers have to go for attachment, it is encouraged that they familiarise themselves with industry trends.

“You find that when an academic member of staff has never worked in the industry, never attached to the industry many a time they remain attached to the theoretical level and they are not able to connect what they are teaching to what is happening in the industry,” he said.

Nust communication and marketing director Mr Thabani Mpofu said the concept of industrial attachment was introduced when the university started in 1991 to address the skills gaps.

“The university negotiated the model with major employers of professionals in Zimbabwe, marking the first phase of the introduction of industrial attachment. It is a concept inspired by the skills gap the country experienced post-independence, particularly in the science and engineering fields,” said Mr Mpofu.

“Normally, graduates go through graduate training programmes after graduation, but in our situation back then, the graduate would be the sole professional in her/his field within the organisation. This prompted Nust to introduce industrial attachment, as an academic-industry training programme to capacitate our graduates with practical skills.”

He said after the university introduced the programme, employers started preferring Nust-trained graduates when recruiting. Mr Mpofu said the industrial attachment programme has a major value-addition to degrees. He said students who go for attachment are expected to go beyond problem identification and analysis and focus on problem-solving, evaluation of the results and their validation against the original goals.

Mr Mpofu said industrial attachment set the stage for the successful implementation of Heritage-based Education 5.0 where there is a connection between expectations of the industry and delivery from universities. “Industrial attachment provides an enabling environment for cross-fertilisation between employers and universities in benchmarking competencies of graduates against perceived needs. It also prepares the same graduates for entrepreneurial pursuits, if they are so inclined. This is especially relevant within the Education 5.0 context,” said Mr Mpofu. — @nqotshili

ZIMBABWEAN model, Jemima Mandemwa finished fourth at the Miss Environment International that was recently held in Mumbai, India. Mandemwa, a final year student at the National University of Science and Technology flew Zimbabwe’s flag at the international beauty pageant that seeks to bring awareness on environmental preservation. The 21-year-old did tremendously well to finish fourth in a competition that was won by Kayra Wouters of Belgium. “Congratulations to our Queen for making it to the top 5 for the Miss Environment International beauty pageant!! The first ambassador for Fauna and Flora,’’ read a post on Mandemwa’s Facebook page.

Zimbabwe were one of the 20 countries represented in this popular pageant. Mandemwa won the right to represent the country after she won Miss Environment International Zimbabwe held in Bulawayo in December where she saw off competition from 13 other contestants.

It was the second time that Mandemwa got to fly the Zimbabwean flag at an international completion after she finished as the second princess at the Miss Super Globe held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates in 2019. Mandemwa’s trip to India was funded by Nigel Shamu, the Miss Environment International Zimbabwe licence holder. In December, Shamu told this publication that he was funding Mandemwa’s plane ticket, dresses and registration. @Mdawini_29

Destiny Mlilo started his life-long ambition of being a medical doctor on Tuesday as part of 60 first-year School of Medicine students at the National University of Science and Technology (Nust) in Bulawayo whose enrolment increased from 25. Mlilo and his fellow students are studying for a Bachelor of Medicine and a Bachelor of Surgery at Nust, under the Faculty of Medicine. Under the programme, 62 percent of the students are female and 38 percent male. 

The aspiring medical doctors are learning at Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo Ekusileni Hospital, formerly Ekusileni Medical Centre in Bulawayo. The School of Medicine is still housed at Mpilo Central Hospital, but Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo Ekusileni Hospital is being transformed into a Nust-run specialist training institution. The latest group of students are the first to be enrolled after the faculty was granted medical school status last year after meeting international standards. 

Mlilo was two years old, growing up at Ingwizi Growth Point in Mangwe District, 80KM from Mphoengs Border Post, when the Faculty of Medicine at Nust was introduced in 2005. The faculty would thereafter, per intake, enroll not more than 25 of the sharpest minds from all over the country to study to become doctors.

Since 2005, the university has been under the Medical and Dental Practitioners’ Council of Zimbabwe supervision.

The last born of three children, Mlilo lives with his parents at Ingwizi while his sisters live with their families in Bulawayo. He said he was excited to be part of the latest intake of students after attaining 23 points at A-Level at Bhulu High School in Mangwe District.

“Although Bhulu High School had limited resources, especially in sciences, I attained 23 points, as I did, Maths, Physics, Chemistry, Biology and Geography.

“The reason I went on to do sciences at high school and medicine as well as surgery at university, is because I want to be a general practitioner (GP). This is because I feel it  will be an inspiration to locals from my area.

What I will do is to show that nothing is impossible, and that the belief that sciences are difficult and are for affluent schools and not for the rural schools like Bhulu High, is not true,” said Mlilo. He said he wants to go to his community and serve it when he is done with his studies.

“In my area, there are a few doctors. For example, there is one clinic serving a wide area. And the local hospital, Brunapeg has only one doctor. So, with me being in this programme, I feel that I can help lower the patient-to-doctor ratio, by being a doctor and inspiring other rural children to do so,” said Mlilo. 

Another student, Asa Mpala, grew up in Bulawayo and learnt at Empandeni High School where she attained 16 A-Level points after she wrote Maths, Physics, Biology and Chemistry. She has nothing but praise for Empandeni High School which she describes as a “very good school”.

Mpala said attending medical school has always been her dream. “This has been my ambition and is something that I always wanted. Being a doctor will mean everything to me because I have lost loved ones, and I have seen people die in front of my eyes. So, I feel there are a few doctors in the country and I want to fill that gap,” said Mpala.

Her classmate, Dezel Toma, who lives in Cowdray Park in Bulawayo, said she is the first child in her family’s lineage that has enrolled to be a doctor.

 “My home area is in Chivhu and unfortunately there are some from there who think that girls can’t do sciences and I want to prove them wrong. In my family, I am the only person who is studying to be a doctor ever since. So, it’s a proud moment for my family and my parents,” said Toma.

Toma learnt at Mpopoma High School and attained 17 A-Level points in Maths, Physics, Chemistry and Mechanical Maths. She said her ultimate goal is to serve her community. “I want to serve the community and not only prove the people wrong. There are a lot of things I can do to help the community through the knowledge that I would have gained at Nust.”

The class representative Daniela Manzini from Gweru said she has been praying and working hard in school for the opportunity to study and become a doctor. 

 “Every time l was asked what l want to be when l grow up, the easy answer was a doctor, but as l grew up l realised being a medical practitioner might actually be my calling. My desire to help people, my passion for medicine and how l like to help people especially my siblings with their wounds are some of the reasons why l always prayed and worked hard for this day to come. Being admitted into Nust is a dream come true for me,” Manzini said.

She attended Chikumbiro Primary School in Mkoba 6, Gweru and Mkoba 1 High School where she attained 14 points in Mathematics, Chemistry and in Biology.

Manzini said she was inspired by her grandmother and parents. “My grandmother and my parents inspired me to take up this course, as their hard work and nurturing shaped me to be this ambitious young lady who wants to make them proud.

“As a first-born child, l want to inspire my siblings. Also my friends, churchmates, the young ones from my community and every girl child out there,” said Miss Manzini.

Daniela Manzini First year medical school Nust Class representative aspiring doctor Nust director of communication and marketing Mr Thabani Mpofu said Nust was motivated by a skills audit that showed that there was a 95 percent shortage in the medical field, prompting the institution to upscale training of medical personnel.

He said the approval to increase the medical school intake followed successful assessments by the Medical and Dental Practitioners’ Council of Zimbabwe and the Zimbabwe Council for Higher Education (Zimche).

“The entities were satisfied with the quality of our graduates, teaching and learning facilities and teaching staff qualifications and capacity. We are happy that we have doubled our contribution towards Government efforts to reduce the doctor-to-patient ratio,” said Mr Mpof