His Excellency, the President of the Republic of Zimbabwe, and Chancellor of the Midlands State University, Cde Emmerson D. Mnangagwa conferred degrees to 3149 graduates during the 20th Congregation of the Midlands State University Graduation Ceremony held at the University’s Gweru Main Campus on Friday, the 22nd of November 2019.
Out of the graduating total, 100 were international students drawn from Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Sudan and eSwatini, while 771 were postgraduate students. The gender composition of the graduates was almost at par with 1 568 female and 1 581 male.
Speaking during the graduation ceremony, the Midlands State University Vice-Chancellor, Professor Victor N. Muzvidziwa said, efforts to respond to the critical skills deficit as highlighted in the National Critical Skills Audit, have seen the University undertaking curriculum renewal and rebranding.
‘We are immensely proud of the University’s response to the Skills Audit through curriculum renewal. The University has since rebranded and expanded the mandate of its mining and mineral processing engineering faculty to become the Faculty of Engineering and Geo Sciences, now offering a wide range of disciplines in engineering; including energy and fuel sciences’, he said.
The Vice-Chancellor noted that the University’s internationalization efforts continue to bear fruit as the institution through the Faculty of Arts is currently hosting, research affiliates from Michigan State University and Princeton University in the USA, as well as the University of Essex in the UK. Furthermore, Professor Tasiyana Javangwe from the Department of English and Communication was recently awarded the highly competitive Fulbright Fellowship for Senior Scholars, with his fellowship tenable at the University of Florida’s Centre for African Studies.
Another notable milestone from the 20th Congregation was the conferment of undergraduate degrees to pioneering students from the departments of Mining Engineering and Metallurgical Engineering under the Faculty of Engineering and Geo Sciences.
The graduation ceremony was graced by various guests among them the Minister of Higher and Tertiary Education, Science and Technology Development, Professor Amon Murwira, and the recently appointed Deputy Minister, Honourable Raymore Machingura, Minister of State for Provincial Affairs in the Midlands Province, Honourable Larry Mavima, the Minister of Local Government, Public Works and National Housing, Honourable July Moyo, MSU Chairman of Council, Engineer Caleb Makwiranzou, MSU Fundraising Committee Co-patron, Mrs Sekai Holland and President of the Commonwealth Lawyers’ Association, Mr Brian Speers.
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