The oldest university in the country has restructured its programs and came up with some exciting new ones. We give credit to the university administration for creating programs that align to the current and future needs of the country.
We list our top 10 new programs (hoping we have not made a mistake of listing old programs as new).
- Bsc Honours Value Chain Development and Agricultural Marketing
- Creative Designs Animation and Motion Graphics
- Bsc Financial and Accounting Systems Development and Applications
- Bsc Honours Audit and Risk Management
- Bsc Honours Digital Banking
- Bsc Honors Cybersecurity and Forensics Auditing
- Bsc Honours Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning
- Bsc Honours Cloud Computing and Internet of Things
- Bsc Drug Discovery and Therapeutics
- Bsc Data Science and Systems
The future is digital and with 4IR already upon us, we looked at the new curricula with 4IR lenses and the introduction of the Bsc Financial and Accounting Systems Development and Applications shows that the college is moving with the times.
A good number of accounting students are tech savvy and had nowhere to demonstrate and develop their skills. How many accounting softwares in the country were developed by locals?
Creative Designs Animation and Motion Graphics shows that we are aligning with the needs of the 4IR and this is a great addition. The same applies to ICT degrees covering Cybersecurity and Forensics Accounting, Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, Cloud Computing and Internet of things.
One missing area has been of local drugs! Why do we keep relying on foreign drugs when our forefathers used local solutions to local problems? Why are our local colleges mum on finding a vaccine for Covid-19? What tests have they done to date? Why is Madagascar the only country talking about local solutions?
In our 2020 Business Opportunities for Zimbabweans, we covered a local medicine that helps in the Anti Malaria fight. Its used by locals in the Eastern Highlands and found in abundance. Why cant we use it and help save thousands of lives and help save forex too? We would like to see results from the Bsc Drug Discovery and Therapeutics.
Agricultural degrees from the institute are top notch and we highly recommend them even for foreign students.
Missing is E-Education and hope this can be integrated in the Educational degrees.
Short courses the university can also add include:
- Digital Marketing
- Block Chain Technology
- Big Data
- Cyber security ( only exists as a full time degree)
- Network Marketing local products
With most students unable to secure employment, every degree needs courses on creating opportunities for graduates.
A degree in accounting should include courses on how to open an own accounting firm. How do you register companies? How can your accounting knowledge and skills be of benefit to the small business sector?
Law students or laboratory students should also follow the same model. If formal employment is not forthcoming, how about creating own ventures and utilising the same skills they obtained from college? Will law degrees include E-Law?
Stakeholders will be analysing the content of what students will be learning-comparing and contrasting with foreign colleges and professional courses too. Will accounting students graduate knowing how to use accounting systems? We get satisfaction that they will now be able to develop own systems too.
The hope is other colleges will not simply copy and paste what UZ has done but to provide better alternatives. The UZ has done a sterling job although there are gaps in developing skills for the informal sector which is absorbing more than 90% of its graduates.
So far so good, well done University of Zimbabwe.
