[Thought Piece] Developing a Development Oriented University: Perspective from Chinhoyi University of Technology

Historical Background
Starting off as a degree awarding institution in 1999 under the University of Zimbabwe, offering the Bachelor of Technology Degree in Production Engineering and the Bachelor of Technology Degree in Hospitality and Tourism, Chinhoyi University of Technology (CUT), was established by an Act by the Parliament of Zimbabwe on 10 December 2001. The institution is licensed by the Government of Zimbabwe through the Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education, Innovation, Science and Technology Development, and is accredited by the Zimbabwe Council for Higher Education (ZIMCHE), to provide training and certification of Certificates, Diplomas, Degrees and any other qualifications relevant to the higher education stratum.

CUT has a mandate of teaching, research, innovation, industrialization as well as providing community service. The main focus of Chinhoyi University of Technology is to lead in finding solutions to national problems through production of knowledge that translates into goods and services. As a technology oriented institution, CUT has the platform to solve Zimbabwe’s challenges. The technological bias of the institution offers students enough professional training with cultural enlightenment, hence the University motto “Technology, Innovation and Wealth”. Together in succession with our core values, D.E.C.I.D.E (which stand for Dynamism, Excellence, Culture, Integrity, Democracy and Entrepreneurship), CUT is helping to transform Zimbabwe and changing the nation’s current narrative to align with this acronym.

Over the years, the University has had phenomenal growth and now boasts of eight Schools, two Institutes and one Academy namely;

• School of Agricultural Sciences and Technology
• School of Art and Design
• School of Engineering Sciences and Technology
• School of Entrepreneurship and Business Sciences
• School of Health Sciences and Technology
• School of Hospitality and Tourism
• School of Natural Sciences & Mathematics
• School of Wildlife and Environmental Sciences
• Institute of Life Long Learning and Development Studies
• Institute of Material Science, Processing and Engineering Technology
• Academy of Teaching and Learning

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