Embracing Education 5.0

By Angeline Zimbwani Mikiri 

Masvingo Polytechnic College is moving with the times. 

The college which held a colourful and well organised 28th graduation ceremony recently has adopted Education 5.0. This equips students with skills that empower them to provide innovative solutions to developmental challenges through transformative science and technology, and knowledge application that delivers goods and services.

In his speech at the graduation ceremony, the Principal, Engineer  Callisto Muzongondi  highlighted that "It is our conviction as an institution that it is through collaborative research, innovation and industrialisation that we can meaningfully contribute to the countrys bid to attain a prosperous upper middle income economy status by 2030."

Collaborative research can be defined as research involving coordination 

between the researchers, institutions, organisations and communities. This coordination brings distinct expertise to a project. Innovation is the practical implementation of ideas that result in the introduction of new goods and services.

Industrialisation is the process of transforming the economy of a nation or region from focusing on agriculture to a reliance on manufacturing. Mechanised methods of mass production are an essential component of this transition. 

For this to be achieved, the business community must work hand in glove with various tertiary institutions which must be strong towers, where communities must run to for solutions. The business community must go to the tertiary institutions when they come up with their innovations. 

They need to see if these innovations and inventions inventions can be useful to their work.

When inventions and innovations by colleges are embraced by industry and the society, growth is inevitable and more problems are solved.

After leaving the colleges, students should think about how to help their communities to solve challenges they face. More emphasis should be put on ways to formulate winning strategies for 

growth. Mentorship programs like confidence building and personal development should be mandatory in addition to their skills. We are coming from backgrounds marred by negativity and I believe the students should start seeing themselves as winners at the end of the day, not victims of a society that is not providing them jobs and comfort. They should create jobs for themselves and others in line with Education 5.0.

Students should also adapt to the trends in industry so they can be employable. They must learn and understand, and acquire the skills needed by employers in this digital age. Polytechnics and vocational training colleges have the mandate to contribute towards the economic development of the nation. Colleges should be aware of trends in industry so that they move with times. They need to engage the captains of industries, community leaders, and technopreneurs so as to keep abreast with the current settings. This is important for the sake of relevance. In his speech, the Minister of Higher and Tertiary Education, Innovation, Science and Technology Development, Hon Prof Amon Murwira highlighted that we should determine our own destiny.

"Let us take responsibility of ourselves. The education system has given us a chance to come up with our own innovations, hence strategic thinking is critical. Lets us be creative enough to build our own economy." 

I agree with the minister, and what needs to be done is to commercialise innovations brought about by colleges. Creating markets for these products and services will ultimately create a thriving industry for our nation. Our mindsets must shift from relying on other nations to solve our problems, and rather, we should develop our own economy and be in charge of our own destiny. This is an effective way of embracing Education 5.0. 

*Angeline Zimbwani Mikiri is the Advisory Council Chairperson of Masvingo Polytechnic