UNIZULU and RBIDZ Implementation Plan

| A node for African thought

UNIZULU and RBIDZ Implementation Plan

UNIZULU and RBIDZ Implementation Plan

The Research and Innovation Division at the University of Zululand (UNIZULU) recently  had a follow up meeting  with the Richards Bay Industrial Development Zone (RBIDZ) to review, finalise and sign off the Memorandum of Understanding Implementation Plan between the two institutions and additionally deliberate  on the strategic collaboration for Research and Innovation.

The RBIDZ is a designated Special Economic Zone aimed at international competitiveness, reassuring trade for the attraction of international and domestic investments. UNIZULU and RBIDZ are collaborating to promote research and innovation in the areas /sectors where the region has a competitive advantage and to contribute towards the skills development, through quality research in critical sectors such as engineering, tool manufacturing, oil and gas, metals and mineral beneficiation, renewable energy, specialist materials etc.

Professor Nokuthula Kunene, the Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Research and Innovation led the discussion together with UNIZULU leading researchers.

This association will provide UNIZULU with an opportunity to be linked with domestic and international investors in the RBIDZ database such as Nyanza Light Metals and Wilmar.

Prof Kunene’s presentation highlighted the UNIZULU vision 2027 which envisions to be leading comprehensive African university …thrives on quality… fosters collaborative and innovative cultures… by discovery and pursuit of excellence through teaching, learning, research, and innovation. The Research & Innovation strategic goal 4 – To drive growth in UNIZULU research and innovation, industry-engagement key to this and how RBIDZ fits in within the UNIZULU strategic objectives including escalating industry-related research & innovation.

The key provisions of the implementation plan are to promote research and development of innovation through incubation, as well as the sharing of information thereof. Support funding for research and innovation infrastructure.It is also to support collaboration between UNIZULU and the RBIDZ locators in the areas of scarce-skills training programs (e.g., masterclass/bootcamps); and practical training and work placement – subject to the provisions of the POPI Act and the prescribed criteria and curriculum as required by the Council of Higher Education (CHE) and in line with the relevant SETAs.

43 Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *