The Malawi Polytechnic principal, Grant Kululanga argues Malawi will fast track its development by focusing on applied science programmes which are relevant to the industry’s needs.
Speaking at Hippo View Lodge in Liwonde, last week during a consultative workshop in module development for postgraduate master’s programmes, Kululanga argued that one of the key factors behind the economic growth of the Asian economies is their emphasise on applied sciences.
According to the Polytechnic, a constituent college of the University of Malawi, tentatively early next year it will roll out four masters programmes in public health engineering, environmental health, occupational health and safety and health communication and behaviour change.
Kululanga, in an interview on the sidelines of the workshop which sought views from stakeholders on the curricula of the programmes, argued that the programmes that the college will introduce will be relevant to the industry because they are demand driven.
“Since the programmes are demand driven, we need to scout so that when we graduate the students they are relevant and are absorbed into the industry. We do not want programmes that are irrelevant to the industry,” said Kululanga adding that the workshop included experts from both the private and the public sectors.
Arguing the relevance of the programmes to Malawi’s economic development, Kululanga noted that the country has one of the lowest concentration of applied science graduates in the world and in the region which partly explains the poverty levels in the country.
He further argued that through the addition of more programmes in applied sciences the country’s economic development will be fast tracked.
Representing the National Commission for Science and Technology (NCST), Health Research Capacity Strengthening Initiative (HRCSI) programme manager, Mathildah Chithila, noted that the programme falls within the commission’s mandate.
She noted that the commission’s mandate includes promotion, supporting, coordination and regulation the development and application of science, technology and innovation so as to create wealth in order to improve quality of life.
According to the Polytechnic, through a K207 million institutional capacity grant was awarded to Water Supply, Sanitation, Health and Appropriate Technology Development in Malawi (Washted), a centre at Polytechnic by the NCST through HRCSI.
Through the programme the college will enhance the capacity of academic staff at the Polytechnic to undertake collaborative multi-disciplinary research and instigate health and health related postgraduate courses to improve professional competency in the health and Wash sector.
The college will introduction new health and health related postgraduate masters’ programmes which will accelerate research amongst academic members of staff and students at Polytechnic so that they are responsive to the needs of the allied health-care industry and its practitioners in Malawi.
The programme will also bring together junior biomedical scientists, geographers, public health engineers, environmental health and health communication experts at the Polytechnic and apply a multi-disciplinary approach to address and solve the environmental health problems.
The college also noted that the programme will also introduce state of the art research and Information Communication and Technology (ICT) equipment that are being acquired through this grant which will hopefully curb brain drain and will motivate members of staff to stay and do quality research as is the case in other international institutions.
The programme will also run workshops and conferences right at Polytechnic as opposed to the tradition of hiring conference.
The college argued that the advantages of bringing Polytechnic closer to our stakeholders and thereby raising Polytechnic’s profile and will reduce expenses that we normally incur when organising conferences and workshops.
The Polytechnic noted that the grant will enhance research thereby increase competitiveness for research grants in health allied and water supply sanitation and health sectors, thereby tapping expertise from collaboration with international universities and other colleges and Universities within Malawi.
