SWAKOPMUND – Tertiary education in Namibia has received a significant boost in the form of a futuristic university that will be constructed in Swakopmund to the tune of N$1.6 billion by the Welwitchia Health Training Centre.
The university will not only bring education to the doorsteps of Erongo, but will create additional jobs and economic spinoffs for the tourist town which is expected to attract local and international students once it’s completed.
The new business venture, dubbed School of Engineering, Marine, Logistics and Health Sciences, is the eighth addition to the education institution’s campuses in Namibia and the second in the Erongo region. It is expected to be completed in 2028.
Speaking at the groundbreaking ceremony, co-founder of the WHTC, professor Scholastika Ipinge, said education is an important catalyst to social change and sustainable development. It is also a constitutional right for all Namibians, hence they felt it necessary to invest in education.
“The Welwitchia University, trading as Welwitchia Health Training Centre (WHTC), is here to respond to the needs of the Swakopmund community as well as students who have been travelling to Windhoek and other regions for years, seeking higher education. This campus will make it possible for the students to have a chance to study in various disciplines, right here at the doorsteps of their homes,” she enthused. Ipinge explained that the new campus is coming at a time when the region, and Swakopmund in particular, does not have a fully-fledged higher education institution. The university will thus implement various programmes in the areas of engineering, marine sciences, commercial studies, hospitality and tourism, amongst others. “We plan to be a fully-fledged university by September 2022, and are confident that our three faculties and 11 schools with a combined 110 qualifications shall be coordinated through our technology centre on this campus.
These programmes will support a total of 4 000 face-to-face students on this campus at any given time,” she stated.
In addition, the campus will host a Life Skills Centre to accommodate the growing number of young people who need different entrepreneurial skills, and contribute towards employment-creation in the region and elsewhere. The Swakopmund campus is expected to be a world-class facility that will facilitate the growth of the town, and make it ideal for educational tourism, given the exponential increase in the population of the town that the institution will bring.
Also speaking at the occasion, Omar Zaher from IDP Consulting Engineering from Dubai, who designed the university, said the inspiration was drawn from the diverse landscape of Swakopmund.
The idea was to come up with a unique futuristic concept that is also environmentally friendly, and would blend in with the beauty of the town.
“We are very happy that we could contribute to Namibia in this way as education plays a critical role in the development of any country,” he noted.