7th December 2021
Own Correspondent
The Vice Chancellor of the Botswana International University of Science of Technology(BIUST) Professor Otlogetswe Totolo, told a media tour themed ‘A catalyst for Innovation and Transformation,’ that Botswana needs to spend more on research to catalyze the development process.
Botswana spends 0.5 % of GDP on Research and Development, a little less than neighboring South Africa at 0.76% of GDP. Industrialized Countries spend 3-5% of their GDP on R and D and therefore Botswana is a consistent underperformer on Global Innovation performance Scale.
He has called for the urgent establishment of a National Research Fund and a Technology Incubation Park (TIP) space to incubate business (interaction of Researchers/Innovators with Industry).
“Research institutions ought to have targeted and focused research areas aimed at solving societal challenges,” said Professor Otlogetswe Totolo, Vice Chancellor of the Botswana International University of Science of Technology(BIUST).
He said, “This pandemic calls for concerted efforts, especially in empowering the SMMEs in collaboration with other institutions such as LEA, CEDA, BIH, amongst others, to develop home-growth products and services.”
Totolo maintained that Botswana should aim to be self-sufficient in the production of tangible products and services locally to drastically reduce import bill, whilst simultaneously aiming at export- oriented products and services to bolster and diversify its diamond dependent economy.
The university has initiated a number of Industry Collaborations (SEZA, LEA, CEDA, Morupule Coal Mine, BITRI, BIH, e.tc) and established patents on the development of smart meters and pet feeders which are still in their prototype stages and are intended for industrial use.
There is a strong need for the university to generate third stream income through industry collaboration with the annual government grants significantly decreased. This is especially important with the lack of recreational facilities for students and staff and inadequate teaching and research facilities (classrooms, lectures theatres and laboratories) at an institution with cutting edge laboratories.
In an effort to make science appealing to tertiary students BIUST is conducting an ongoing country-wide tour demystifying science through an outreach programme conducted at both primary and secondary schools dubbed the hackathon programme.
BIUST is also participating in groundbreaking research initiatives with a number of partners. African Very Long Baseline Interferometry Network (AVN): AVN Telescope site is Palapye, SKA sites for phase 2 are still at identification stage.
The Planetary and Space Science Project costing I.4 million Euros is funded by European Commission
“BIUST is hosting the SADC Satellite Receiver to enhance Botswana’s Geo-Information System through Monitoring for Environment and Security in African (MESA) project,” said Totolo.
