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Cletus Mushanawani, Harare Bureau
PRESIDENT Mnangagwa will today cap 1 719 graduates at Bindura University of Science Education’s 17th graduation ceremony in Bindura.

The university, which has produced 11 756 graduates to date, has five faculties, Faculty of Agriculture and Environmental Science, Faculty of Commerce, Faculty of Science, Faculty of Science Education and Faculty of Social Science.

At this year’s graduation, President Mnangagwa is expected to cap 878 male and 841 female graduates.

The graduation ceremony will be President Mnangagwa’s second visit to the institution after he officiated at the ground-breaking ceremony of the National Sports Academy early this year.

In a statement, Bindura University of Science Education, said they scored a number of outstanding research initiatives in 2018.

“Bindura University is leading a national project to the tune of 38 387 euros under the Biodiversity Information for Development (BID) programme.

“The programme seeks, among other goals, to catalogue, digitise and publish species records for non-timber forest products.”

The university also signed the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) Memorandum of Understanding on behalf of Zimbabwe and represents the country on the International Governing Board.

It also received a grant worth $350 000 from the Regional Universities Forum for Capacity Building in Agriculture (RUFORUM).

“The grant will allow the research team to expand work on use of tied contour rain water harvesting system in small grain and legume production for improved household food security, nutrition and income-generation in semi-arid smallholder farming areas of Zimbabwe.

“The university received funding from the International Foundation for Science for the expansion of work in flood recession cropping in Muzarabani area.

“It also received international recognition when the Institution was nominated to host the African Alliance for Disaster Research Institutes (AADRI).

“The alliance seeks to deepen the understanding of disasters and find implementable solutions to achieve disaster resilience; for example, human technical system and infrastructure resilience, survivability and well-being, by integrating knowledge and technologies from around the continent,” read the statement.

This year the university also introduced new programmes that include Masters in Climate Change and Sustainable Development, Masters in Economics,

Masters in Purchasing Supply and Chain Management, BSc in Electronic Engineering, BSc in Optometry, BSc in Animal Health and Production Extension, BSc in Culture and Heritage Studies, BSc in Agricultural Engineering and Mathematics and a Postgraduate Diploma in Infection Prevention and Control.

The university has also forged partnerships with the University of Mauritius, Biomedical Research and Training Institute, University of Johannesburg, Codeco (Pvt) Ltd and TelOne.

The areas of cooperation include staff and student exchanges, research and commercialisation of technology, among others.