NUST Grooms High School Learners
The competition, in which a large number of local high school learners participated, was held as part of NUST efforts to grow its relationships with the high schools in Namibia and to encourage them to cultivate a culture of excellence in Mathematics and Science.
Dr Samuel John, Dean of the Faculty of Engineering left, and Vice-Chancellor, Tjama Tjivikua, centre, are pictured with a teacher and members of the winning team, St. Georges’s Diocesan College. From left: Michelle Dhlamini, Miriam Da Conceição, Kerstin Eysselein (teacher), Nanaya Joseph and Ndapunikwa Dongwi.“The future of Namibia rests in the development of Science and Technology. In our University that particularly hinges on our Faculties of Engineering, Health and Applied Sciences, Computing and Informatics, and Natural Resources and Spatial Sciences. These are the centres that are producing Science and Engineering graduates for the nation,” NUST Vice-Chancellor, Tjama Tjivikua, said when he welcomed the participants last week.
NUST engages the high school community in many ways and just two weeks ago, a large number of high school learners participated in the Institution’s annual HIV/AIDS Awareness Campaign. Career Guidance Days are also organised regularly during which different companies are invited to offer career guidance especially to high school learners. In addition, NUST regularly participates in career fairs across the country and visits high schools in all regions to showcase the various interesting career paths that students can potentially follow. The Brain Match Quiz Competition was initiated to engage learners in Science and Maths in an interesting and non-intimidating way, yet facilitating a lot of learning.
Tjivikua said universities need the talent of local high schools to produce the high-level skills required to drive economic growth.
“As the nation embarks on a developmental path guided by key enablers embedded in the national development plans, it is becoming extremely urgent that we are able to produce the expertise required to accelerate this development. We cannot grow as a nation without the critical mass of engineers and scientists, and we cannot adequately address development challenges if the Science and Mathematics subject offerings in our high schools are inadequate,” Tjivikua said.
The competition was co-sponsored by the Network of Energy Excellence for Development (NEED), a European Union financed project that promotes renewable energy, education and applications in a holistic approach.