Geography and Environmental Sciences students continue to show innovation in tackling Covid-19.

The department of Geography and Environmental Science at the University of Zimbabwe started an anti covid-19 team comprised of students who monitor the adherence to covid-19 protocols and making sure people stay “masked up” and sanitised.
In 2020 the government of Zimbabwe engaged universities in Zimbabwe to fight against the covid-19 pandemic which resulted in innovative solutions that the country is still utilising to fight against further spread of the virus.
According to Professor Amon Murwira, Minister of Higher and Tertiary Education, Science and Technology Development “Universities are not there for show. The anchor for all industrial production comes from the institutions of higher learning. As a nation we have refocused from education 3.0 to education 5.0 which basically means that universities must be able to produce goods and services. So, in times of crisis, we expect universities to join in the fight and not sit at home.”
The University also started the production of face masks and hand sanitisers last year along with other universities such as Chinhoyi University of Technology and Midlands State University. The project managed to produce enough sanitary equipment to sustain the institutions and sell to the public. The initiative also merged with the Government’s effort to shift focus from producing employment seeking university graduates to producing entrepreneurs that can help improve industrial production and create employment.
The government believes institutions of higher learning play a pivotal role in building a knowledge-based economy required to head its efforts to transform Zimbabwe into an upper-middle-income society by 2030.