Auxilia Katongomara Chronicle Reporter
INVESTING in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) initiative is one of the most effective ways of accelerating the country’s socio-economic development as it feeds into all other sectors, a senior official has said. The Deputy Minister of Higher and Tertiary Education, Science and Technology Development, Godfrey Gandawa, officially opening the first academics and teachers’ conference at the National University of Science and Technology on Wednesday, said “stemitising” students is a sure strategy to guarantee the nation of future graduates empowered to industrialise the economy.
“Science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) is the cornerstone of economic development for the nation. The STEM initiative will indeed lead Zimbabwe along paths of economic transformation, ushering in a new economic model,” said Deputy Minister Gandawa.
“There’s no profession that will escape the clutch of science and technology as the world is fast surrendering to the internet of things. The future lawyer is the one who will lead scientific evidence, arguing cybercrimes…Ten years into the future the courts of law will favour attorneys who will successfully conduct legal interpretation in virtual courts of law for the inhabitants of virtual communities.”
He cited among other professions medical doctors, bankers, architects, farmers and teachers as among those that need to support and grasp the STEM initiative which would be the pillar in the careers.
“Life will favour digital natives while the curse of STEM will quickly ravage those unfriendly to science and to emerging technologies. Those resistant to the development of survival skills critical for knowledge-based economies will quickly meet their fate in the same manner as the dinosaur,” said Deputy Minister Gandawa.
He said the initiative was neither a project for financial assistance nor about just predicting the future jobs in Zimbabwe but a human capital development strategy that underpins Zim-Asset.
“It’s also everything about our understanding of the driving forces that will shape Zimbabwe’s future. It unravels the very forces behind the trends and subtle nuances that can be leveraged to implement Zim-Asset,” he said.
Deputy Minister Gandawa said by the year 2021, institutions of higher learning would start producing “stemitic” graduates from all programmes and from that period societies must expect transformational progress in the application of science and technology in the industry.
He said countries that have overcome extreme poverty, massive disease burdens, unemployment, political turmoil and social disorientation have embraced STEM without excuses.
He cited the Asian Tigers as a case study.
Deputy Minister Gandawa said the success of the initiative will be measured against the quality of scientific thinkers who will passionately create new technologies.
Teachers and academics from tertiary institutions in the country attended the three- day conference which ended on Thursday.