Perm Sec laments underutilisation of HPC

Itai Muzondo

Masvingo – The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education, Science and Technology Development, Machivenyika Mapuranga has lamented the underutilisation of the recently installed High Performance Computer by the country’s researchers.

Addressing researchers during the just ended Masvingo Polytechnic Research and Industrial Innovation Conference held at Great Zimbabwe Hotel, Mapuranga said the exploitation of the facility’s capacity was relatively low.

“I encourage colleges to take advantage of the Ministry’s High Performance Computer (HPC) which is based at the University of Zimbabwe. 

This facility is available to process high volume research data for high quality output.

“The current uptake of this facility by our tertiary and higher education institutions is relatively low and this indicates either lack of appreciation of its utility or a demonstration of our cavalier approach to research,” Mapuranga said.

He also told researchers that their findings are key to economic revival and job creation.

“This inaugural Research Conference should be a platform for our esteemed researchers to tackle industrial problems by providing relevant solutions to companies that are mired in a cobweb of economic challenges. 

As our industrial landscape mutates, cynics see doom and gloom, but researchers and innovators in our midst see golden opportunities for enterprise and wealth creation.

“Ideally, solutions to productivity, value addition and beneficiation should be proffered, in the process addressing the huge national import bill with positive indications such as liquidity within the economy. 

Research must result in quality patentable products which can be commercialised to increase the income streams of colleges, staff and students alike,” Mapuranga said.

“As we navigate through our challenges to achieve socio-economic transformation, our researchers should therefore remain steadfast in the pursuit of solutions to our multifarious challenges,” he added.

Meanwhile, the conference main focus was on enhancing quality Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) through research driven practices, generation of new knowledge and the translation of ideas into viable and tangible products and services.

It is also concerned with alignment to the national and global technological changes or and creation of cutting edge industrial technological innovations.news