The Namibia University of Science and Technology (NUST) on Monday held its first-ever Technology Day.
The event was held to mark the first 100 days in office of the university’s new vice-chancellor, Erold Naomab, and to convene developers, consumers and enthusiasts of technology.
In a speech read on his behalf during the official opening ceremony, Naomab noted that research and technology are vital elements in building a country’s socio-economic growth and sustainability and therefore, NUST continuously strives towards reinventing itself in the two key areas, in accordance with the national development goals and global trends in general.
“As a technological university, we saw it befitting to bring together tech enthusiasts, researchers and developers to showcase the university’s innovative projects in this field and share knowledge,” Naomab said.
He further stated that despite being faced with a myriad of challenges worsened by the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, there is also a pivotal opportunity for people to reimagine their way of thinking.
“As a knowledge hub, we must always be at the forefront of groundbreaking innovations. It is our duty to find solutions to challenges and claim our rightful place on the global stage. Right from the onset of the pandemic, NUST was quick to adopt new technologies in the transformation of traditional pedagogy,” Naomab said, adding that the institution’s blended mode of teaching and learning enables the university to build towards a positive technological ethos.
Additionally, Naomab highlighted that although the maturity of the digital transformation at the teaching stage is still questionable, the revolution towards a fully-fledged smart campus will not be possible without the strong synergies between NUST and its stakeholders to enhance its technology capacity. He said as the world advances, there is a need to harness technology in order to improve livelihoods.
“It cannot simply be about keeping up with global trends, but also applying innovation to the local context,” he explained.
Source: Namibia Press Agency
