WINDHOEK – Without developing innovation capacity, Namibia would not be able to make the economy competitive and attract foreign investment, the Chief Executive Officer of Standard Bank Namibia, Junius Mungunda said at the 19th graduation ceremony of the Polytechnic of Namibia last week.
He also said higher education qualifications should be aligned with industry demands and that institutions of higher learning should not prepare graduates to be job seekers, but to be job creators.
“I, however, need to tread with caution on this because the Polytechnic is doing extremely well in this regard, given that your programmes and qualifications are industry-focused and practice-oriented and this makes demand for its graduates high in the market,” said Mungunda.
Mungunda is a qualified chartered accountant whose experience includes working for Deloitte & Touche in the United States of America and being a managing partner of the same firm in Namibia.
He has experience in corporate structuring, business process re-engineering, governance and corporate management.
Over 1700 certificates, diplomas and degrees were conferred on 1230 Polytechnic of Namibia students with the School of Information Technology proving to be the most popular choice of study for students with 367 diplomas and degrees altogether issued.
Mungunda commended the Polytechnic for its many initiatives from its centres of excellence such as the Namibia Business Innovation Centre, the FabLAB Namibia Technology Centre and the Centre for Enterprise Development.
Dr Tjama Tjivikua, Rector of the Polytechnic of Namibia, said the nation could rest assured that they are building a world-class university that “will spark and uphold our interest, participation, relevance and leadership in science and technology.”
The Polytechnic of Namibia is expected to be rechristened the Namibia University of Science and Technology in a few months.
By Magreth Nunuhe