The Harare Institute of Technology (HIT) Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Eng. Quinton Chamunorwa Kanhukamwe has urged the 2023 first-year students to be extremely conversant with the HIT values, making sure they embrace them so that they raise the brand so high that it can do them good when they leave campus.

Vice Chancellor Kanhukamwe said this while addressing the 2023 first-year students on Wednesday 01 November on Campus.

“Our values are innovation, leadership, integrity, commitment, and professionalism. You have to take challenges in your stride and embrace better alternatives that raise the HIT brand high. Nobody will collaborate with us when they hear that students are misbehaving. There should be a hygienic sense of belonging to a HIT that depicts us as a real brand worth connecting with and supporting. This is your call!” said the Vice Chancellor.

Prof Dr Eng. Kanhukamwe also encouraged the freshmen to get aboard the HIT brand and never to soil the soil the reputation HIT has gained over the past years. It informs our relations with industry, donors, government and the nation. You are the owners of the HIT name so guard it jealously as you will be the people using it for the rest of your lives. It would be a tragedy if you go on social media to lash out against yourselves.

” One of the important things that you must do is to choose your friends carefully and wisely. Connect with those who are wiser than you are. Make sure that you have some positives from that person that will flow into you to build you up. If they are unable to be transformed, drop them because they will lead you nowhere except to a disastrous end. God gave you a special gift and brought you here because you would make a difference – it is all about unleashing your potential,” the Vice Chancellor advised.

He also urged them to remain focused and stamp their feet now, and learn to undermine their enemies. “There will be challenges, prices will shoot up, and there may be disease outbreaks, water and power challenges, and then you give up. You must remain focused, despite the challenges.

“We will inculcate in you the desire to become a patriotic cadre – a citizen who envisions a developed first-world Zimbabwe, with efficient infrastructure such as transport and ICT systems, zero pollution, self-sufficiency in food, and state-of-the-art health delivery systems. You must have that stamina and the ability to remain resolute in the face of challenges and adversity while remaining focused on the ultimate prize.

“To consolidate our signature as the hub of technology development and delivery of quality technology degrees, and increase research, development, and innovation outputs, we will transform your mindset so that you embrace the NYIKA INOVAKWA NEVENE VAYO mantra. Your arrival here is the beginning of that mindset change. You are not here to just earn a degree and go! You are here to make a lasting footprint in the distinct area of study you have chosen. You will be empowered to be a visionary to see beyond the obvious and envision a technologically advanced Zimbabwe. You will be equipped to start your enterprises that will lead to our nation’s development,” Prof Dr Eng. Kanhukamwe said.

The HIT Vice-Chancellor also emphasized to the freshmen that they would be tools to drive the institutional mandate and national aspirations. “You can recall that technological advancements have become so critical in the survival of nation-states; determining winners and losers, and therefore, at HIT, we pay special attention to the tools that we use- you the students by inculcating certain attributes that make you winners in the technological field. The refinement of these skills is part of the greater national strategy, aimed at achieving Zimbabwe’s technological revolution.

”You have a unique and exciting role to play in continually re-asserting the pre-eminent role of HIT in the community of Universities in Zimbabwe, the region and globally as well as being the tools that will drive Zimbabwe’s Industrialisation and Modernisation Agenda.

“Over the next four or five years, you will be taken through the HIT hammer mill so that you emerge as a capable graduate with the stamina and aptitudes to consequently champion the formation of high-tech enterprises that create employment. Thus, contributing to the revenue base for the Government through payment of taxes that are vital in moving the nation’s development agenda forward,” he said.

According to the HIT Vice-Chancellor, the University has to date, produced an excess of 4000 graduates in the Science, Engineering and Technology (SET) sector, who are now key players driving Zimbabwe’s Industrialisation and Modernisation Agenda. These graduates also leading the country towards the Middle Income Economy Status by 2030, as envisioned by His Excellency, the President of the Republic of Zimbabwe, and Chancellor of HIT, Dr Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa.

“You are joining HIT at an exciting and important juncture in the history of our institution, the history of the higher and tertiary education sector, and the nation as a whole. The emphasis now, as guided by His Excellency and HIT Chancellor, as well as our Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education, Innovation, Science and Technology Development (MHTEISTD), is for the University to produce goods and services (Education 5.0) through the application of science and technology. HIT has had this DNA from its inception that makes it the chief driver of innovation and technology development in Zimbabwe.

“His Excellency has also called upon us to now take the University forward, and not only concentrate on the traditional role of the University which is teaching, research and community service. This has been extended to innovation and industrialisation so that the University has a direct and transformative bearing on the lives of the communities and the people it serves.

“The University will also continue with its mandate-driven practice of registering the Intellectual Property (IP) you will generate during your studies with us. For example, the Class of 2023 generated 34 utility models, 23 Industrial designs, one trademark, and 635 software copyrights. We will push you to perform better than this,” Prof Dr Kanhukamwe said.

The Vice-Chancellor wrapped up his address by advising the freshmen to be always in contact with their respective departments, as they are their primary links and source of information during their stay at HIT. “Acquaint yourself with the Student Ordinance. Abstain from drugs and substance abuse lest you graduate into a grave. You are all unique people with unique issues. Seek help from all the Offices around if in trouble,” he concluded.