The University of Malawi (Unima) has showcased locally generated innovations to government officials through an open day, which it says can improve service delivery in ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs).
Speaking on Friday during the event, Unima’s Executive Dean for the School of Natural and Applied Sciences, Cosmo Ngongondo, said the institution has developed various initiatives aimed at improving services in government MDAs.
“What we are showing today are innovations our school has been generating. Among them are an e-toll gate, the use of molasses, a water prolification system, an optimised charger that can be used locally, a database capable of monitoring the use of drugs in a hospital and many more,” Ngongondo said.
The event demonstrated how homegrown scientific and technological innovations can contribute to Malawi’s vision of becoming a self-reliant industrialised middle-income nation by 2063.
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Director of Science, Technology and Innovation in the Ministry of Higher Education, Chomora Mikeka, said it was achievable for Malawi to realise the long-term development agenda Malawi 2063.
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He said it was high time Malawi started producing more for wealth creation rather than relying heavily on consumption.
“The innovations have demonstrated the potential of our learners through what they have developed. The potential is there to develop our nation’s capabilities in achieving the pillars of the Malawi 2063 development plan,” he said.
He also said Malawi needs to reduce over-reliance on imports and increase exports so the nation can build up foreign exchange reserves.
“Let us reduce the consumption rate and focus more on production. This would help us migrate from consumption to production. We need to produce more than we consume as a nation in order to increase exports,” he said.
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Other guests at the event included the representative of Unima’s Vice-Chancellor Emmanuel Ngwira, Vice- Chancellor of the Catholic University of Malawi Francis Moto as well as other representatives from Mzuzu University, Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources and the corporate sector.
Unima’s School of Natural and Applied Sciences held the open day under the theme ‘Towards MW2063: Shaping the Future with Local Innovations’.
