Transformative education, skills development and entrepreneurship

The education system of any given society is a fertile ground for the birth of ideas, innovations, and inventions.

It is a space where society is examined so a position leaders, followers and those who inspire.

To borrow from Socrates, “…the unexamined life is not worth living.” In this instalment, we explore the immense potential of our education system at both primary and secondary and high and tertiary levels as a supply chain for entrepreneurial exploits in Zimbabwe.

 In an era where great minds without tangible production and returns is being questioned.

In various societal setups, higher education in the form of universities and colleges plays a pivotal role in societal development.

 These institutions are not just instrumental but the backbone of societal progress, developing solutions through extensive research and laboratories, examining society, and proposing solutions through relevant skills and, at times, through inventions.

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As informed by Higher and Tertiary Education, Innovation Science and Technology Development minister Amon Murwira, spearheading Education 5.0 towards a heritage-based philosophy in shaping future technology through innovation and industrialisation, there is a need to broaden the scope and enquire about an equilibrium in the demand and supply of critical skills..

This requires a seamless and cohesive process of integrating knowledge institutions and the industry.

The institutions of higher learning locate the gaps in the industry and sharpen the sector’s nails with the requisite supply of both research and a pool of fit-for-purpose talent.

A vocational mindset that is integrated with mentorship is following this paradigm globally.

Zimbabwe’s current status as an economy necessitates a strategic balance between universities and technical colleges.

The former focuses on developing researchers and academic processes in society, while the latter is crucial in imparting practical skills.

This balance ensures a future workforce that is knowledgeable and skilled, contributing meaningfully to solutions-based skills development, and it is something we must actively work towards.

 It should start from the lower primary levels up to PhD otherwise, industrialisation will remain a pipedream.

The country needs critical skills in developing road, rail, telecommunications, cyberspace, and construction as enabling and facilitatory skills in seamlessly connecting the country within and without through the seamless movement of goods and services.

As an agro-based economy, there is a need to increase the development and moulding of skills that tap into new methods of farming that increase yields and better preserve the environment.

Our mining industry is dominated by foreign nationals who end up prioritising their self-interest at the expense of our own due to limited ability in investment and skills sets required in modern day exploration and mining processes.

Moreover, the many critical minds developed since early independence through the mix of formal education and apprenticeship left the country to get employment in other nations across the globe, yet they should be transforming the country into entrepreneurs and owners of corporations. 

This questions our preparedness to turn our businesses and industries around through entrepreneurial-focused education. It is never too late.

In this regard, the Zimbabwean education system must be calibrated and geared towards a responsive machinery that responds to the country’s challenges.

In this regard, universities and colleges should bend towards being the critical thought leadership spaces that stimulate the engine of societal development and broader-based growth as centres where entrepreneurs tap in for essential resources and talent. This can be achieved by addressing the five key factors:

*Critical thinking

*Quality education and research

*Entrepreneurship and skills development

*Strengthening partnerships and

*Community engagement

Critical thinking

Universities and colleges are only relevant to entrepreneurs and society if they invest their strategic capabilities in teaching their students to be critical thought leaders who examine facts rather than regurgitating facts without the ability to challenge set narratives.

This is critical in leadership development, and the crop of entrepreneurs that develop society should be able to challenge facts and propose new thinking or contribute to societal new knowledge development.

Our institutions of higher learning should be philosophical thought leaders rather than conveyor bells of half-baked mindsets which struggle to push forward ideas and innovations.

Quality education and research

Our universities and colleges should design curricula addressing local and regional challenges like health, agriculture, technology, and governance.

We are in the last decade of the Sustainable Development Goals and have just completed the first decade of the African Union’s Agenda 2063. If you analyse the SDGs, 90% of the goals are African problems requiring our higher learning institutions to invest in finding lasting solutions.

Therefore, there must be a threshold towards investing in research initiatives that solve pressing societal issues.

That is as informed by the SDGs amongst other local/global initiatives for transformative solution-based education.

Encouraging innovation can lead to developing new technologies and solutions that benefit communities through emerging entrepreneurs.

Entrepreneurship and skills development

Universities should be the grounds for experimentation, apart from teaching and developing new skills for students.

Trying new ideas and testing them will lead to inventions.

This can be aided by creating incubators or accelerators to support student and local entrepreneurs, providing them with resources, mentorship, and funding to test their ideas in partnership with the industry. 

That is when every faculty becomes a business where models turn skills/knowledge into profitability rather than endless theories.

Strengthening partnerships

Universities and colleges should foster partnerships with local industries to ensure that graduates meet the needs of the labour market.

Further, there is a need to engage in partnerships with universities and institutions worldwide to share knowledge, resources, and best practices.

This will transfer skills and knowledge and increase exposure for the students to broaden their spheres of imagination.

Community engagement

Our institutions of higher learning should be community/society-facing, imparting skills and knowledge to the learners that will change society.

This requires an integrated community service into academic programmes, allowing students to apply their knowledge in real-world settings while contributing to community development.

Above all, universities and colleges can partner with local governments and NGOs to address specific community needs, such as health care, education, and infrastructure.

On a parting shot, the University of Oxford, when the Covid-19 pandemic broke out through its research centres, managed to produce one of the six globally approved vaccines, the AstraZeneca, which contributed to the efforts towards the fight against the disease.

This is why African universities and colleges should be positioned as the philosophical centres and the birthplace of research-centred solutions to societal challenges.

• Dr Farai Chigora is a businessman and academic. He is a senior lecturer at the Africa University’s College of Business, Peace, Leadership and Governance. Also a global business modelling practitioner. His doctoral research focused on business administration (destination marketing and branding major, Ukzn, SA). He is into agribusiness and consults for many companies in Zimbabwe and Africa. He writes in his personal capacity and can be contacted for feedback and business at fariechigora@gmail.com, www.fachip.co.zw, WhatsApp mobile: +263772886871.
• Dr Tabani Moyo is an extra-ordinary researcher with the University of North West, South Africa’s Social Transformation School. His holds a Doctorate in Business Administration (Research focus on new media and corporate reputation management, UKZN),  chartered marketer, fellow CIM, communications and reputation management expert based in Harare. He can be contacted at moyojz@gmail.com @TabaniMoyo (X)