THE Namibia University of Science and Technology (Nust) and University of Namibia (Unam) have signed an agreement to collaborate in various areas to the benefit of students, staff and Namibia at large.
Nust’s marketing and communications department in a statement issued on Wednesday said the agreement will enable the two universities to share resources and to sustain high-cost programmes and facilities, foster constituent services, and penetrate new markets.
The acting vice chancellor of Nust, Andrew Niikondo, said the two universities’ collaboration objectives are to reduce duplication and redundancy, gain access to Namibia Students Financial Assistance Fund (NSFAF) funding, recruit international students, engage in advanced research, and utilise high-cost facilities.
He also remarked: “In some instances, the national and international funding agencies encourage strong partnerships among local universities as evidence of economic collaboration to eliminate unneeded expenditure and achieve economies of scale and cost savings.”
Niikondo further noted that the two universities have existing partnerships in areas such as agriculture, and that their latest agreement is an extension of this collaboration.
Unam vice-chancellor Kenneth Matengu also remarked that the two universities are collaborating on innovation, including a partnership with the Namibia Business Innovation Institute for the manufacturing of respirators and surgical masks.
“We encourage more products in project development and market place innovation,” Matengu said.
Nust’s communications department also said the parameters of the agreement, which was signed on Tuesday, vary in scope and levels of implementation. The cooperation deal between the universities will be at discipline level in the fields of computer science, engineering and medicine, and also at the level of service provision, in respect of libraries and science laboratories.
At an institutional level the universities will cooperate on research and quality assurance.
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