FACULTY OF ENGINEERING ACTIVITIES REPORT

1 Activities 1.1 National Engineering Students Awards Competition (NESAC)

The Faculty participates in the annual competition which started in 2014 as a brain child of the

Zimbabwe Institution of Engineers (ZIE). NESAC is an annual event where final year

engineering students from Universities and Polytechnics in Zimbabwe compete on their final

year engineering projects. A panel of judges selected from specialist engineering disciplines

and from industry are selected to adjudicate on the projects. In 2018, the Faculty hosted the

National Engineering Students Awards Competition (NESAC 2018), which was attended by

five Universities and four Polytechnics.

Picture 1 : Professor Mqhele Dlodlo (Vice Chancellor) welcoming delegates to the NESAC 2018 competitions in the Delta Lecture Theatre.

Picture 2: Students and Industry players following proceedings at the NESAC 2018 competitions

Picture 3: Delegates following proceedings NESAC 2018

Picture 4: Delegates following proceedings at NESAC 2018 competitions

Picture 5: The Guest of Honour Dr Ngangezwe Khumalo (General Manager - PPC) and Dr Gloria Kodzwa (sponsor of the floating trophies and shields for the NESAC competitions) gives a token of appreciation to one of the Judges at NESAC 2018 competitions, while Eng. Thamsnqa Mpala looks on.

1.2 Proceedings of the National Engineering Students Awards

Competitions (NESAC) 2019.

Date: Wednesday 29 May 2019

Venue: NUST Delta Lecture Theatre

Director of Ceremonies: Dr.B. Mtunzi

Guest of Honour: Eng. E. Gwatidzo (representing Mr Gwanetsa from How Mine)

1.2.1 Introductions

The NUST Engineering Students Awards Competition (NUSTESAC) was incorporated to run

on the second day of the Inaugural Engineering EXPO and Open day, which would be the norm

in the years to come. It was held on the 29th of May 2019, in the NUST Delta Lecture Theatre,

Bulawayo, Zimbabwe.

Dean of Faculty of Engineering, Dr. Eng. W. Goriwondo introduced notable guests. He

acknowledged the presence of the Acting Vice Chancellor of NUST Dr. G. Mazithulela, the Guest

of Honour Eng. E. Gwatidzo (Operations Manager of How Mine), NUSTESAC Chairperson,

Directors, Deans of Faculties, adjudicators, captains of industry, students, participants and visitors

from various polytechnics. He also gave housekeeping issues for the event.

1.2.2 Welcome remarks (NUST Acting VC - Dr. Mazithulela on behalf of the

Vice Chancellor Prof M.E Dlodlo)

Prof. M.E Dlodlo, Vice Chancellor of NUST welcomed everyone and acknowledged the presence

of the Guest speaker, Eng. E. Gwatidzo from How Mine, Dean of the Faculty of Engineering,

NUSTESAC Chairperson, students, Deans, lecturers, judges, sponsors, NUSTESAC organizing

members, ZIE staff and captains of industry who were present. He recognized as well the presence

of 5 departments from the Faculty of Engineering where the competing students were coming from.

His opening statement was Albeit Einstein’s words that, “In the middle of difficulties lies

opportunities”. He reiterated that we should be the greatest community of peacemakers, engineers

who take risks since jobs of the future need their skills and intellectual curiosity. He pointed out

that NUSTESAC is training students to identify problems, implement the solutions and validate

the solution. He also pointed out the need for engineers to have a high level of understanding about

their need to solve problems. The Vice Chancellor spoke on the need for Engineers to

commercialize their innovations through innovation parks as he emphasized on the Education 5.0

as recently pronounced by the Minister of Higher and Tertiary Education, Science Development

and Technology Development . He said the modernization and industrialization agenda can only

be achieved through fully utilisation of the engineering profession, through collaboration of

universities and industry which is important for the growth and development of the country. In his

closing words, he encouraged educational institutions to work with the industry in a bid to actively

monitor upcoming engineers from as early as high school and then declared the event officially

open.

1.2.3 Guest of Honour: Eng. E. Gwatidzo (How Mine)

Eng. E. Gwatidzo was the Guest of Honour representing Mr. Gwanetsa from How Mine. He started

off his speech by acknowledging the presence of NUST AVC, Pro VC, Dean of the Faculty of

Engineering, NUSTESAC Chairperson, Lecturers and all the other people present. Eng. Gwatidzo

said that he was so honoured to be the Guest of Honour since at How Mine they have employed

and continue to employ and attach engineering graduates of NUST. He spoke of the importance of

connecting students to industry and that should start at grassroots level. He said that students should

take advantage of the “Zimbabwe is Open for Business mantra”. Eng. Gwatidzo reiterated the

theme of the Engineering Expo –“harnessing partnerships and stakeholder engagement for

sustainable engineering education at NUST”. Eng. Gwatidzo talked about the need for students

to know what is happening in industry and this can be made possible through industrial visits,

attachment and internship. He said that Zimbabwe needs local solutions and that the NUSTESAC

platform brings intellect of various Engineering fields. He appealed to industry to continue

developing the projects presented at the competitions and adopt the prototypes for

commercialization. In conclusion, he encouraged the Engineer students of today to find ways of

being relevant to industry and communities.

1.2.4 Judges’ comments.

Judges drawn from industry and academia presided over the engineering competitions. The judges

pointed out the creativity which was presented by the students and also their ability to address local

problems using local solutions. They encouraged commercialization of the projects as a way of

solving some of the prevailing economic challenges.

1.2.5 NUSTESAC 2019 Competition Results (ORAL PRESENTATIONS):

The results of the NUSTESAC 2019 are shown in the Table below. Caroll Madzura (Female

student) from Electronic Engineering Department emerged the winner, followed by Darlington

Chambe (Male student) also from the Electronic Engineering Department. The two students would

be representing NUST in the National Engineering Students Awards Competitions (NESAC) to be

held in October 2019.

No. Name Department Project Title

1 Caroll Madzura Electronics Engineering Smart Park, Allocator, Manager and Guide

2 Darlington

Chambe

Electronics Engineering Distribution Transformer health

monitoring and protection system

3 Chidochashe

Karen Siyavora Chemical Engineering Bioplastic production from agricultural

waste

4 Tatenda

Zemayema

Industrial &

Manufacturing

Engineering

Design of a tobacco solar thermal drying

system integrated with an Arduino based

drying control system

5 Tatenda

Muzagwa

Chemical Engineering Bio-briquetting of waste coal fines with

agricultural waste as source of energy

6 Sosten Magweva Industrial &

Manufacturing

Engineering

Design of automatic solar multi-fruit

drying system

7 Chantelle G T

Mhlanga

Fibre & Polymer

Materials Engineering

Development of a leather – kapok

composite

7 Tapiwa Sithole

Civil & Water

Engineering

Alleviation of housing crisis in

Zimbabwe’s urban centers using modular

construction

9 Ntokozo Brendon

Ncube

Civil and Water

Engineering

Optimization of the water distribution

network in Bulawayo. A case study of

Entumbane

10 Arshlee T Kafata Fibre & Polymer

Materials Engineering

Developing electrostatic dissipative gloves

using carbon black filler and polyurethane

adhesive

1.2.6 Competition Results (POSTER):

Forgiveness Mwaturura from Electronic Engineering Department emerged in the winner in the

Poster presentations, followed by Nomatemba Ndlovu (Female Student) from Industrial and

Manufacturing Engineering Department. These two would be representing NUST in the Poster

Presentation Competitions that would be held in October 2019. The full results of the Poster

presentations are shown in the Table below.

No. Name Department

1 Mwaturura

Forgiveness Proceed

Electronic Engineering Automatic cooling system malfunction

detection control

2 Nomathemba Ndlovu

Industrial & Manufacturing

Engineering

Design of a white board marker refilling

machine

3 Peace Muusha

Industrial &

Manufacturing

Engineering

Design and fabrication of a small-scale

solar maize dryer with automated dryer

control

4 Denis Chakawa

Chemical Engineering Use of calcium sulfate dehydrate as a

bleaching agent for soyabean vegetable oil

5 Rufaro Musharo Chemical Engineering Antibacterial soap production from pawpaw

and pine resin

6 Nancy Tendai Mashiri

Electronics

Engineering

Electronic navigation system for visually

impaired

7 Joseph Mlambo

Civil & Water

Engineering

Development of a bridge health monitoring

mobile application. Case study

Birchenough Bridge

8 Bubuya Zelembu Dube

Civil & Water

Engineering

Intelligent transport system design for the

A7 highway to improve traffic safety

1.2.7 Closing remarks by

Dr N. Tayisepi (Acting Chairperson: IME) gave the closing remarks and thanked all the forces

which made the event a success.

1.2.8 NUSTESAC 2019 Picture gallery

1.3 Higher Education Partnerships in Sub-Saharan Africa (HEP SSA)

project on Enhancing Engineering Education sponsored by the Royal

Academy of Engineering (RAE) was executed during the period 2016 –

2018.

The Faculty was awarded a grant on Higher Education Partnerships in Sub-Saharan Africa

(HEP-SSA) and ran it during the period 2016 – 2018. The project sort to enhance engineering

education.

1.3.1 Original objectives of the project were:

1. To develop and strengthen relationships between academia and industry through secondment programmes to bridge skill and knowledge deficiencies.

2. To enable curriculum review contribution from the industrialists through the interaction with our

Members of Staff to maintain local and regional relevancy. 3. To enable curriculum review contribution from the International Visiting Fellow for international

relevancy. 4. To further solidify collaboration in teaching and research with local and regional spoke partners.

5. To foster knowledge and skills sharing using seminars, workshops and conferences.

1.3.2 Achievements

Collaboration with the UK Partner was strengthened as Prof. Esther Ventura Medina

from the University of Strathclyde, UK visited and was hosted in the Chemical

Engineering Department at NUST. She held various seminars and workshops on engineering

curriculum development and new methods of teaching with emphasis on problem based

learning.

Curriculum review workshop for the Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

was held at Cresta Churchill hotel, Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. Participants from industry and

academia contributed to the curriculum review thereby making it relevant to industry needs.

Secondment of junior academic staff to industry was done and industry – academia

partnerships were strengthened.

Picture 6 : Delegates at the Knowledge sharing workshop held at the Holiday Inn Hotel, Bulawayo, Zimbabwe

Picture 7: Prof. Yogi Naik (Director of Research and Innovation Office, NUST) in attendance at the RAE HEP SSA workshop

Picture 8: Panelists at the HEP SSA knowledge sharing workshop at the Holiday Inn, Bulawayo, Zimbabwe (From Left (Dr Nyirenda – Copperbelt University in Zambia, Eng I Rwodzi – ZIE President, Dr DJ Hlatwyayo – NUST –Acting Pro-Vice Chancellor, Mr J Gunda – Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries – Matabeleland Chamber President and Eng Ben Rafemoyo – Chief Executive Officer at the Engineering Council of Zimbabwe.

1.4 Alumni Network

The Faculty operates an Alumni Network and we are found on LinkedIn as NUST ZIMBABWE FIT _

ENGINEERING ALUMNI NETWORK. If you studied at NUST and graduated from the Faculty of

Engineering, please join our Alumni Network. Our Twitter handle is: https://lnkd.in/gRF3Sh8.

LinkedIn group is : https://lnkd.in/g2ZvpXG

1.5 Engineering Expo

1.5.1 INTRODUCTION

The Faculty of Engineering held its Inaugural Engineering Expo and Open Day Event on the

28th of May 2019. The event was held under the theme “Harnessing partnerships and

stakeholder engagement for sustainable engineering education at the National University of

Science and Technology (NUST)”. Highlights of the event included a workshop and

exhibitions by all the five departments in the Faculty, namely Chemical Engineering, Civil and

Water Engineering, Electronic Engineering, Fibre and Polymer Materials Engineering and

Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering. The workshop was attended by approximately 130

people, drawn from various stakeholders of the Faculty of Engineering. Close to 30 % of the

participants were from industry, alumni and other external stakeholders while 70 % represented

internal stakeholders who included the academia and university management. All the workshop

delegates toured the ongoing departmental exhibitions after the workshop. The exhibitions

were open to members of the public and high school students who also received career guidance

during the expo and open day. Two companies also partnered the Faculty during the exhibitions

as they also took advantage of the expo to showcase their products.

1.5.2 WORKSHOP HIGHLIGHTS

The workshop started off with a welcome address that was given by Prof Y Naik on behalf of

the Vice Chancellor Prof M E Dlodlo. Thereafter the Dean of the Faculty of Engineering, Dr

W M Goriwondo gave a Faculty Report followed by the Higher Education Partnerships in sub-

Saharan Africa (HEP SSA) Project Report that was presented by Eng S Mhlanga on behalf of

Dr Chinyama. Other presentations focused on the harnessing of partnerships between NUST

and specific stakeholders who made the presentations. The Engineering Council of Zimbabwe

made a presentation on the partnership between the Faculty of Engineering and the Regulatory

body for Engineering Practice. Opportunities of partnership between the NUST innovation hub

and Industry were also availed. The Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries (CZI) also made a

presentation on NUST-Industry Partnerships. Small to Medium Enterprises were also not to be

outdone as they also presented partnership opportunities in their sector. Lastly an Alumni

representative made a presentation on the potential in the Alumni Network, with a discussion

session wrapping up the morning workshop.

1.5.3 DEAN’S REPORT

The report gave an overview of the departments and programmes in the Faculty, the Faculty

mission, the staffing levels and staff development programs, the student population, challenges

faced by the Faculty and partnership opportunities in the Faculty. Engineering education is key

in addressing the skills deficit in the country, that is about 94 % according to the National Skills

Audit (2018). In terms of the staffing levels, all the professorial chairs in the departments were

vacant. The prevailing vacancy rate in the Faculty stood at 17 % across the departments with

the seriously affected departments being Civil and Water Engineering and Electronic

Engineering. The student population in the Faculty has been growing over the years from a

total of 1,134 students in 2014 to 1,685 in 2018, this growth is expected into the future hence

the need to explore partnership opportunities with industry and stakeholders in maintaining and

improving relevance of Engineering Education at NUST. Opportunities of partnership can be

explored in areas of Research, Teaching and Learning, Community Engagement, Innovation

and Industrialization. The Faculty also seeks close collaboration with industry in terms of

addressing some of the challenges that it faces; limited teaching space and laboratory

equipment in order to enhance the sustainability of Engineering Education at NUST. The report

also highlighted some of the activities that are done by the Faculty that include Consultancy

Services and Short Courses. Finally, the Dean made an appeal to the stakeholders for Bursaries

for students, Mentorship programs, Departmental Advisory Services, Guest Lectures and

Industrial Training Attachment places.

1.5.4 HEP SSA PROJECT REPORT

After the Dean’s Report, Eng. S Mhlanga presented the Higher Education Partnerships in sub-

Saharan Africa (HEP SSA) Project Report sponsored by the Royal Academy of Engineering

(RAE), UK. The project ran during the period 2016 to 2018 and the current funding is

entrenching sustainability of the gains achieved during the project funding period. The project

was instrumental in addressing the skills and knowledge deficiencies in the academia to

improve relevance of engineering education to industry requirements in Zimbabwe. A total of

22 university members were seconded to industry for periods ranging from 1 month to three

months, while a total of 7 industrialists were seconded from industry to universities. The 22

members comprised of lecturers, engineering instructors and technicians from various

engineering departments from the hub and spoke institutions. Through the project a total of 8

knowledge sharing seminars were conducted, this provided the much-needed platform of

interface between the universities and industry. Other achievements noted included hosting a

visiting professor from the United Kingdom at NUST and also having curriculum review

workshops for the Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering.

1.5.5 NUST-ENGINEERING ASSOCIATIONS PARTNERSHIPS REPORT

The next presentation came from the Engineering Council of Zimbabwe (ECZ), an institution

that is responsible for regulation of engineering practice in Zimbabwe. It is mandated to license

all engineering personnel and engineering companies in the country. As an important

stakeholder to the engineering education at NUST, the ECZ expressed gratitude to the Royal

Academy of Engineering for its commitment to the improvement of engineering education in

Sub-Saharan Africa, in particular to Zimbabwe. Besides licensing of engineering personnel and

engineering companies, the ECZ also works together with the Zimbabwe Council of Higher

Education (ZIMCHE) in the accreditation of engineering programmes at training institutions

like NUST. This process assures that the graduate is acceptable to industry upon completion

of training. The ECZ’s main interest was the improvement of how engineering students are

taught, more so by facilitating the necessary linkage between industry and the academia from

which some of the members may provide guest lectures to students in their areas of expertise.

1.5.6 NUST INNOVATION HUB- INDUSTRY PARTNERSHIPS

The presentation highlighted that universities and industry collaborations may result in

research and innovations that lead to the development of intellectual property. The report gave

an overview of Intellectual Property Management and Protection, Intellectual Property

Awareness and Support, Research Commercialization, Entrepreneurship Development and

Support and Creation of Spin-Out Companies. These services are available for partnerships

between industry and academia and are accessible through the NUST innovation hub. The

presentation also detailed ways of protecting intellectual property that include Patents,

Industrial Designs, Utility Models, Trademarks, Copyrights, Trade Secrets as well as

Geographical Indications.

1.5.7 NUST - INDUSTRY PARTNERSHIPS

The President of the Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries (CZI) Matabeleland Chapter, Mr

Joseph Gunda stated that engineering is key for any nation’s development. He expressed the

need for research and innovation through partnerships between industry and academia. His

presentation highlighted that there was need to strike a balance on what was being taught in

universities against what was available in industry as generally industry in Zimbabwe has

lagged behind in terms of retooling. He said that CZI enjoys a good working relationship with

NUST. This has seen some contributions from NUST being taken up by the government

through CZI. Special Economic Zones (SEZ) is also an area where NUST has worked very

well in partnership with CZI. Mr Gunda applauded the Faculty of Engineering for launching

platforms like the engineering expo and open day to showcase how the educational institution

is heading in the right direction of achieving Sustainable Development Goals Agenda 2030.

1.5.8 NUST – SMALL TO MEDIUM ENTERPRISES (SMEs)

PARTNERSHIPS

There is also need to harness the partnerships between the Universities and SMEs. This was

highlighted through a presentation by an SME in the leather value chain, Mr J Nyathi from

MindPower Consulting. Engineering. Institutions have a role to play especially in making

smallholder farmers more profitable and sustainable in Zimbabwe and Africa at large. Some

of the areas of interventions are in the design of small-scale mechanized equipment, micro

irrigation, agro-processing and value addition as well as livestock and leather value chains.

1.5.9 NUST – ALUMNI PARTNERSHIPS

Universities stand to benefit from their vast Alumni-Network according to a presentation by

Eng. B Wilson who is an Alumni from the Faculty of Engineering at NUST. Eng Wilson is

now the General Manager of Prestige leather, a company based in Bulawayo. He described

how he managed to transform his organization from the time he joined when the company

employed less than 10 people up to now when the company is employing more than 60 people.

The company is now a major player in the domestic and export market in the leather industry.

Alumni network can benefit the Faculty of Engineering in terms of resource mobilization for

the funding of Laboratory equipment, Graduation Prizes, Industrial Training Attachment

places and mentorship programs.

1.5.10 EXHIBITIONS

All the departments in the Faculty of Engineering exhibited their research outputs as well as

some of their work during the Engineering Expo and Open day. The exhibitions were mainly

made up of various project prototypes developed by final year engineering projects and

laboratory equipment used by the departments.

The Chemical Engineering Department showcased a model of a Battery grade lithium

production plant from a mine concentrate, Craft brewing technology, Vessel agitation leaching

of gold, synthesis of an absorbent from brewer spent grains for wastewater treatment in opaque

beer breweries, Synthesis of surfactant from Lantana Camara, and the downsize water

treatment for Umguza struvite and biogas production.

On display from the Department of Civil and Water Engineering were Transport Engineering

Solutions, Traffic Management Solutions, Water and Sewer Management Systems, Structural

Engineering Solutions and Geotechnical Solutions.

The Electronic Engineering exhibitions included a Lost-and-Found Web Application for

Documents and Cards, an Automatic cooling system malfunction detection and flow control,

an Automated Traffic Enforcement, an Industrial Monitoring and Control System that uses an

Android Mobile Application, A Drone Anti-Collision System for Built-Up Areas, A smart

power factor correction system and a household power saving system.

Fibre and Polymer Materials Engineering Department showcased a Nanocomposite membrane

for wastewater treatment, a hybrid composite material made from waste tyres and sisal fibre,

paper production from Luffa sponge and corn husks, Water resistance and sole flexing testers

for leather and a Smart polyethene plastic bag for packaging.

Lastly, the Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering Department displayed a Solar Mobile

Training Unit from the Southern African Solar Demonstration Initiative (SOLTRAIN) Project,

the CNC milling machine, 3D Printing machine, the Venturi-meter for fluid flow measurement

amongst other training equipment. The prototypes included the solar grain dryer from a student

awarded a bursary under the SOLTRAIN Project, Solar Tobacco Dryer, Small Scale Grain

Harvester, a Whiteboard marker Refilling Machine and a lot more.

1.5.11 CAREER GUIDANCE

Close to 300 high school students from at least 10 high schools toured the engineering

exhibitions. The enthusiastic high school students also received career guidance and advise on

subject combinations during the Engineering Expo and Open Day. Some of the participating

schools included, Gifford High, Matopo High, Girls College, St Bernard, Pumula High,

Amhlope High, Cyrene High and King George. The school teachers appreciated the invitation

which was extended to High schools as it took learners from theories to practical work as the

expo demonstrated the importance of science in solving problems.

1.5.12 CONCLUSION

The Engineering Expo and Open Day saw the convergence of important stakeholders in

Engineering Education in pursuit of harnessing partnerships and engagement for the

sustainability of engineering education at NUST. Academia was challenged to solve real

problems that affected industry and the country at large. Some of the areas that required

research and innovative solutions included areas of value addition and beneficiation, import

substitution as well as reducing the high costs of production for industry. In conclusion, all the

stakeholders were willing to be engaged for the betterment of engineering education at NUST.

The Engineering Expo and Open Day will be an annual event on the Faculty of Engineering

calendar.

1.5.13 MEDIA ARTICLES

The following are some of the articles from media houses reporting on the Inaugural

Engineering Expo and Open Day

5.1 Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC)

http://www.zbc.co.zw/nust-launches-inaugural-engineering-expo/

5.2 National University of Science and Technology (NUST)

http://www.nust.ac.zw/index.php/component/content/article/107-lead-

news/346-annual-engineering-expo.html?Itemid=437

5.3 The Zimbabwean Mail

https://www.thezimbabwemail.com/education/nust-launches-inaugural-

engineering-expo/

5.4 The Chronicle

https://www.chronicle.co.zw/engagement-of-unregistered-engineers-to-blame-

for-shoddy-work-on-roads-buildings/

1.5.14 ENGINEERING EXPO PICTURE GALLERY