Combining industry and academic excellence: Africa University shines at ZNCC awards
From left: Mr. T. Macheka (ZNCC President), Hon.Dr. E. Gwaradzimba (Minister of State for Manicaland) , Mr. S. Chikozho ( AU Director of Advancement and Public Affairs), Mr. K. Saruchera (ZNCC Manicaland Vice President and Zimbabwe Open University Regional Director)
14 June 2019
Story by
Jeanette Dadzie
AU was recognized for its transformation into a hub for training, business enterprise and its effortless ability to seamlessly integrate industry and higher education though its Business Academy and online programme offerings at the Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce Awards held in the city of Mutare on the 14th of June 2019 at the Golden Peacock Villa Hotel. In attendance were corporations, organizations and various business from Mutare, Chipinge, Buhera, Nyanga and Makoni that make up the province of Manicaland.
Wining the nod for Tertiary Institution of the year, Africa University has time and again been hailed for its consistency in delivering uniquely crafted and relevant programmes that not only create leaders for Africa but also capacitate those already in positions of influence to anticipate the critical needs areas of the continent that are diverse and constantly shifting. Other institutions that were nominated in the same category included Zimbabwe Open University, Manicaland State University of Applied Sciences, Mutare Teachers College and Mutare Polytechnic.
Vice Chancellor Professor Munashe Furusa won the Business Leadership Award, an accolade that speaks to the trajectory that the institution is taking regarding synergies between business and education. The union between the entities of Higher Education and industry has been necessitated through the understanding that sustainable socio-economic development is borne not in a vacuum or silos but through intentional and purposeful cooperation, a drive that Africa University is at the forefront of leading.
ZNCC Regional Manager Mrs. Pepe Guwila congratulated Africa University and Professor Furusa on the achievement saying,
“We at the ZNCC through these awards congratulate those who are doing well in their respective fields and want to encourage them to keep up their stellar performance while inspiring the province through exemplary business leadership.”
She went on to explain the significance of Africa University winning in its respective categories. “What these wins’ mean is that AU will now go on to represent the entire region of Manicaland in the national awards that will bring together businesses from across the breadth of Zimbabwe and we are confident that the university will excel. It is what we have come to expect from AU.”
More than 200 guests were in attendance at the dinner where Minister of State for Provincial Affairs Honourable Dr. Ellen Gwaradzimba was the Guest of Honour and Key note speaker. The Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce is a non-profit making membership-based organisation that provides services designed to support its members in business development. As an independent organisation, the ZNCC has represented the interests of its members for over 100 years especially through advocacy and providing a focus on business empowerment as the engine for economic growth (www.zncc.co.zw).