01 June 2018Official weekly newsletter of NUST

Namibia University of Science and TechnologyNUST_Namibia

@NUST_Namibia

NUST BRIEF website: www.nust.na

An award-winning university• Rated Best Higher Education Institution in Namibia (PMR 2014, 201 5, 2016, 2017)

• Rated Most Innovative Institution in Namibia (PMR 2014, 2016)

NUST wishes students all the best with the exams.

Raising Namibia’s engineering know-how to world-class level

Keeping the City clean Dr Gert Günzel, NUST Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Administration and Finance and Fred Koujo, Chief of the Solid Waste Management Division: City of Windhoek, planting a tree.

Challenges of water supply to central Namib in spotlight

NUST and FH Aachen University of Applied Sciences, Germany, have renewed their long-standing collaboration centred on addressing skills shortages in Namibia’s engineering sector.

is increasingly becoming internationalised,” he said. Mutorwa added that: “National governments [everywhere] have obligations to render equitable quality and relevant education to their citizens.”

One of the highlights of the event was the official handover of an accreditation certificate – the ASIIN 5-year certificate of approval of our BEng (Civil) degree programme. “It is significant to note that NUST is the first African institution to qualify for the accreditation amongst ASIIN accredited degree programmes in credible universities worldwide. The award of the seal is based on learning outcomes-oriented subject standards, and complies with the European Qualifications Framework and the European Standards and Guidelines,” remarked Dr Tjama Tjivikua, the NUST Vice-Chancellor.

A delegation from FH Aachen visited NUST last week to celebrate milestones that have been achieved through the 12-year partnership. The collaboration, specifically between the NUST Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (DCEE) and the Department of Civil Engineering at FH Aachen, dates back to 2006 when the then Ministry of Works, Transport and Communication, with support from the German government, conducted a needs assessment on engineering skills in Namibia.

The result of the study determined that there was a huge gap between the available skills and the existing demand, and it remains so to date at various levels. The new Minister of Works and Transport, Honourable John Mutorwa, spoke highly of the efforts between the two institutions. “Education in general and higher education in particular

FROM LEFT: Barbara Liebel, DAAD Representative; Ulrich Kinne, Deputy Head of Mission, German Embassy; Prof Marcus Baumann, FH Aachen President; Dr Tjama Tjivikua, NUST Vice-Chancellor; Hon John Mutorwa, Minister: Works and Transport; Prof Thomas Krause, FH Aachen Representative and Professor of Structural Engineering.

The NUST community took part in the national cleaning campaign last week, as declared by the Head of State, Dr Hage Geingob. The initiative aimed at creating a sense of patriotic duty and encouraging community engagement.The City of Windhoek allocated Windhoek-West, Dorado Park and the City Centre to NUST students and staff for cleaning purposes. “Looking at the Namibia landscape, I can’t help but emphasize that the rubbish we create through mass consumption is choking our streets, our parks, our backyards and our river beds. Our towns and townships have drifted into dirt. And along the roads, it is killing one of our best assets: nature. We are all part of the problem - but you have an opportunity today to become part of the solution once again,” said Dr Gert Günzel, NUST Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Administration and Finance, speaking to students and staff before the exercise.

Windhoek used to be known as the cleanest city in Africa, but this title has since been lost to Kigali, the capital city of Rwanda. On

the last Saturday of every month, people across Rwanda commit time to projects aimed at improving the country’s public spaces, in a mandatory practice called Umuganda – loosely translated as ‘coming together to achieve a common purpose.’

Fred Koujo, the Chief of the Solid Waste Management Division, City of Windhoek, stressed that everyone has a responsibility to play in keeping a clean environment. “Your waste is not somebody else’s responsibility,” he remarked.

This is not the University’s first engagement in a cleanliness campaign. Cleanliness campaigns were held on campus over the years. The event was concluded with a tree-planting ceremony and the handing over of certificates of participation to staff and students.

Several NUST Honours students in Natural Resources Management recently undertook an excursion to the coast and the Gobabeb Research and Training Center (GRTC), to gain insights into the challenges of managing water supply in this dry coastal region.

This important study visit took place from 24 to 29 March 2018 and allowed students to: study the role of  the Kuiseb  Basin Management Committee; appreciate the value and conservation of the Walvis Bay wetlands; investigate biodiversity in three habitats at Gobabeb on the Kuiseb River; and appreciate the Walvis Bay Ramsar site and the rich birdlife on the coast.

There was, however, also time for some recreational activities, including an exciting birdwatching excursion to the lagoon, as well as kayaking with Cape fur seals near Pelican Point, thanks to the sponsorship of Eco Marine Kayak Tours. Other activities during the tour included a visit to the Swakopmund Municipality and three uranium mines in the Erongo Region.

Water supply and distribution is a challenge in any arid environment. According to the students visiting NamWater at  Rooibank, where water is pumped out of the Kuiseb River aquifer, the trip was an eye-opener

and they learned a great deal about the challenges of maintaining boreholes and pipes situated in sand dunes and in the river.

Paisley Gariseb of NamWater further introduced them to the unique and wholesome taste of the unassuming !Nara plant, the main source of sustenance for the Topnaar people, and shared some vital tips on off-road driving in the desert.

A visit to the GRTC was inevitable and a crucial part of the educational tour and the students learned valuable lessons about how best to share the available water, bearing in mind that this harsh environment needs water to sustain the linear oasis.

“We used pit-fall traps to explore the insect biodiversity in the three different habitats at Gobabeb: the dunes, the riverbed and the gravel plains. Staff and interns at the GRTC told us about bat research in the desert and the interesting projects that students from NUST and UNAM are doing there. All in all, the excursion was the best,” the students all agreed.

The tour was made possible by NamWater, AVENG Water, Dr Gillian Maggs-Kölling and her staff at the GRTC and others. They were accompanied by their lecturers Shirley Bethune and Tendai Nzuma.

Jackson Hamutenya and Synthia Sitwala, Natural Resources Management Honours students, kayaking in the lagoon near Pelican point, Walvis Bay.

Professor Marcus Baumann, the President of FH Aachen, highlighted that to date 120 students from both institutions have benefited from the partnership through exchange programmes and many students have already graduated successfully. These graduates were placed in credible German civil engineering and consulting firms for their Work Integrated Learning (WIL) programmes. They have also managed through this partnership to study toward their Master’s degrees.

The occasion also witnessed Dr Tjivikua bestowing meritorious awards on Professors Thomas Krause and Stefan Plaum for their invaluable contributions in promoting international networking and raising the academic profile of NUST through the introduction of specialized courses in construction engineering and management, as well as project management. Funding amounting to over N$ 37 million was provided in various forms to the partnership during the cooperation period.