Dundee Precious Metals Communications Manager Alina Garises said the Tsumeb based company has invested about N$7 million for bursaries to date.

“Since 2012, we have spent close to N$7 million on bursaries alone and this is a showcase of how serious we are to the education sector and allowing students to further their studies,” stated Garises, saying Dundee is not a spectator when it comes to building the Namibian house.
The bursaries cover chemical, metallurgical and mechatronics engineering, accounting and chemistry among others.

She said this at the official opening of the Namibia University of Science and Technology Career Expo recently. She urged students to try their level best and find out ways in which they can get the financial support they need. “Not everybody has the financial means to pursue academic careers. That’s one of the importance of career fairs, to engage, and you need to update your CV as you never know when you need to enter the job market,” she said.

Apart from the huge investment in the education sector, Garises informed the audience that N$1,7 million will be invested for a Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Project. “Kids from local schools come together after their classes and spend time building robots using lego blocks. This project also includes coding which is exciting because the future is moving towards that direction,” enlightened Garises.
She added the official opening of the STEM project will be announced at the appropriate time and all key stakeholders including the media and respective line ministries will be invited.

Garises said becoming innovative and using technology is the way of life as far as enhancement of livelihoods is concerned. Garises said Dundee Precious Metals has partnered with both education ministries with Namibia Institute of Mining and Technology (NIMT) to provide vocational training to high school students.
The Canadian-based international mining company is engaged in the acquisition, exploration, development, mining and processing of precious metal properties. It has footprints in places such as Bulgaria and South Africa.

At the same event, Andrew Niikondo, the vice-chancellor for academic affairs at NUST said it was important to bring together academia and the industry. “These are the prospective employers and employees for future opportunities and the revival of our economy. This is an important platform for young people to explore the available options in the employment sector and make well-thought career paths,” mentioned Niikondo.
-psiririka@nepc.com.na