The Arusha Regional Commissioner, Hon. John Mongella congratulated the Nelson Mandela African Institution of Science and Technology (NM-AIST) for being at the forefront of contributing to the development of the country through research and innovation conducted by the Institution.
Hon. Mongella said this on July 18, 2022, in Arusha during the commencing of Nelson Mandela's Science, Engineering, Technology and Innovation Week, which is celebrated every July 18 and explained that research and innovation carried out by the Institution have helped to solve various challenges facing the society.
"This institution is unique; we are proud of its contribution we see through the research and innovation carried out here; they have certainly helped to provide answers to the various challenges facing our society," said Hon. Mongella.
On his part, the Vice Chancellor, Professor Emmanuel Luoga, said that education is the greatest weapon that will save the African continent. So the available resources must find enough experts to raise the economy by conducting research and innovation that are productive for developing African countries, including the East African Community (EAC).
He added that in commemorating Nelson Mandela's Science, Engineering, Technology and Innovation Week, the Institution would collaborate with government stakeholders, the private sector, primary and secondary schools, and the community to continue improving research and innovation.
In addition, he urges secondary school students to use the Institution for practical science and technology exercises to find more experts who will raise the economic sector by coming up with product innovations to benefit society.
The Chairman of the Nelson Mandela Week Committee, Dr. Lilian Pasape, said the celebration involve various events , including community service by providing NHIF cards to underprivileged children, visiting children's prisons, and cooperating with neighboring schools to inspire them to opt for science and technology studies.
The Nelson Mandela African Institution of Science and Technology (NM-AIST) Lecturer Dr. Liliane Pasape conducted promotion and coaching on Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) for girls students from Nganana Primary School, Kikwe Secondary School and Arusha Girls Secondary School in celebrating Nelson Mandela Science, Engineering, Technology, and Innovation (SETI) Week.
The program aim at inspiring and supporting to love and opt for science, technology, engineering and innovation for promoting economic growth and sustainable development in Tanzania and Sub Saharan Africa.
NM-AIST has been established and is working to become a world-class institution of higher learning dedicated to the pursuit and promotion of excellence in SETI and its applications for economic growth and sustainable development in Africa.
In addition to the mission to deliver and promote high quality and internationally competitive teaching and learning, research and innovation, and public service in SETI leveraging on entrepreneurship for enhanced value addition to people and natural resources, NM-AIST is also capitalizing on innovation acceleration programs and outreach services under the intuitional motto of Academia for Society and Industry with a view to stimulating, catalyzing, and promoting economic growth and sustainable development in Tanzania and SSA.
The late Nelson Mandela had the vision that the African continent needed scientists who would be the engine of development, therefore thought of having top-notch higher learning institutions that would address the shortage of human resources and groom a critical mass of scientists to solve the problems of Africans and, in the process, increase their level of independence and self-sustainability.
This can be achieved with well-educated citizens and a skills revolution underpinned by Science, Engineering, Technology, and Innovation (SETI) for a knowledge society as well as a roadmap to industrial development.
The Nelson Mandela African Institution of Science and Technology hosted teachers and students from INTEL Secondary School and Primary School.
The aim of the visit was to study and acquire professional activities which are run at NM-AIST. The visitors were initially briefed on the institutional background and establishment by the NM-AIST Senior Public Relations Officer, Ms. Neema Mhando.
After a brief introduction teachers and students had an opportunity to be taken to a tour around the campus which involved the computer laboratory and the Life Science Laboratory. They also visited the banana plantation fields where they were able to learn about banana breeding process and hybrid formation from the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) Research Associate, Mr. Kenndy Jomanga and Research Field Assistance, Mr. Ashraf Mgenzi.
Innoversity Project is a pathway for postgraduates and graduates to develop and create a business idea that will iterate and evolve while gaining the skills and knowledge needed to launch and run a successful business.
That was said by Acting Deputy Vice Chancellor Academic, Research and Innovation Prof Antony Mshandete during the Innoversity Project Stakeholders engagement meeting conducted at the NM -AIST to introduce the project to stakeholders, set milestones for project implementation and understand how innoversity hubs operate.
CREATES –FNS Centre Leader Prof. Hulda Swai added that the aim of CREATES is educates scientists and researchers to become job-creators and not job-seekers.
“It’s time for researchers to change their mind sets and understand the dynamics on how business works” said CEO of Sahara Ventures Mr. Jumanne Mtambalike
Innoversity Projects aims to support Tanzania Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) students, lecturers and management to intergrate innovation and entrepreneurial approaches in their works to address the skills gap and create employment opportunities for youth.
The two years project (2022-2025) funded by France Embassy to Tanzania will be implemented by Sahara Ventures in collaboration with CREATES-FNS at NM-AIST.
The Nelson Mandela African Institution of Science and Technology launch project on “Exploiting the potential of solar-powered cooler for vaccine and perishable foods storage in remote areas of Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA)” on 08th June 2022 to overcome poor storage facilities which cause postharvest loss of 40% for perishable food including vegetables and fruits.
The project involved a Master student from Nelson Mandela African Institution of Science and Technology (NM-AIST) and two Students from Arusha Technical College (ATC) who will focus on design the portable cooler that will use potential renewable energy (solar energy in operation which is mostly available in SSA) . The innovation can be used by both vaccines and farmers to keep their perishable food stuff while looking for suitable market.
“I acknowledge ICIPE for funding the project worth of UDS 83996, for two year from March 2022 to February 2024. “Said Project Investigator, Dr. Juma Selemani
Dr. Juma explained that, the project will bring huge changes in food storage and vaccination as post-harvest losses are threat to food security, income and livelihoods of many households in sub-Saharan Africa, also there is improper handling of vaccine as most of them need storage temperature below freezing as failure to keep vaccine properly can reduce vaccine effectiveness this can led to decreasing protection against disease leading to revaccination of many patients, death, discarding vaccine and financial loss.
Project Core Principle Investigator, Dr. Thomas Kivevele stressed the need for stakeholder involvement and market need assessment for the designed solar-powered cooler. The design should consider the need for both health sector and food supply chain as well as convenient and portability.
On the other hand, the project lead partner Prof. Zhongje Huan from Tshwane University of Technology from South Africa, presented on the importance of green technologies in reduction of global warming gases. Prof. Huan is an expert in Refrigeration technologies as well as green energy.