By Ndumiso Tshuma
The Zimbabwean Institution of Engineers (ZIE) hosted its annual regional engineering competitions on Friday at the National University of Science and Technology (NUST), bringing together schools from Matabeleland South, Matabeleland North, and Bulawayo.
The event aimed to promote the application of physics in engineering, allowing students to develop practical skills and gain insights into the future.
Chairman of the Matabeleland Chapter of the ZIE, Lookout Ndlovu, said the thrust of the competition was to teach students how to design structures and bridges. He highlighted pressing issues facing the country, such as road rehabilitation and the need for clean water access for all citizens. Ndlovu added that the competition aimed to inspire students to innovate in science, mathematics, research, and engineering to tackle these challenges in the future.
“We are aiming to address the issues of the road rehabilitation and reconstruction that are happening and also the need to provide clean water to every citizen in the country. We want to provoke innovativeness in the students in science and mathematics research and engineering so as to build the students to address these issues in the future,” said Ndlovu.
Ndlovu stated that the competitions featured hands-on projects where students designed mini-structures that could be applied to address Zimbabwe’s ongoing water challenges, particularly in providing clean water.
“Our roads in the country, most of them are in poor condition and are due for rehabilitation. If we teach the students to upgrade bridges that can enhance functionality and are resilient to climate change then we can make a difference. We can continue to teach them on how they can use their skills further by also learning how to generate clean water, ” said Ndlovu.
Ndlovu added that the annual competitions, which included the Equilibrium Water Competition and the Bridge Building Competition, allows the best-performing school to advance to regional finals typically held in South Africa.
“These are the regional finals for the three Matabeleland regions—Bulawayo, Matabeleland North, and Matabeleland South. This event not only showcases students talent but also serves as a mentoring opportunity, reinforcing the importance of cultivating engineering skills early on,” said Ndlovu.
Professor Engineer Samson Mhlanga from NUST stated that the ultimate goal is for students to apply the skills they learn from the competition to contribute to society.
“Our aim is that when students join, we want to see them saying they took up a program after participating in the bridge-building competition, graduating, and making an impact in the industry,” said Prof Mhlanga.
