By BRIAN HATYOKA-
VICTORIA Falls University of Technology (VFU), which is one of Zambia’s leading private universities, has continued to be a credible institution that is supplementing Government efforts in providing quality education.
VFU, which started operating in 2010, is registered under the Ministry of Education, Science, Vocational Training and Early Education.
Before it started operating, its programmes and lecturers had to be approved by the Ministry of Education, Science, Vocational Training and Early Education, and a certificate of registration was given to the University.
The university has received certificates of registration every year from 2010 to the current year and the current registration certificate number VFUTC/SR/39/23 expires on December 31, 2014 after it will be renewed.
VFU held its first graduation ceremony on March 22, 2013 under the theme “Quality University Education for National Development”.
The graduation ceremony was officiated by the Deputy Minister of Education, Science, Vocational Training and Early Education – Professor Nevelyn Willombe.
During VFU’s first graduation ceremony, 21 graduands were conferred with certificates, diplomas, first degrees and masters degrees.
VFU vice-chancellor and founder Gertrude Mwangala Akapelwa says all the graduates from her university were to-date all employed in different types of businesses, such as hospitality industry; energy sector; auditing; information and broadcasting; education; roads and transport; and commerce and industry among others.
Ms Akapelwa, who is Zambia’s first female mathematician since Zambia attained independence in 1964 and currently pursuing her doctorate (EdD) in Higher Education Leadership with Liverpool University in United Kingdom (UK), said students who graduated from VFU were currently working in different parts of the country including Mfuwe, Kabwe, Lusaka, Livingstone, Chingola and Mongu among others.
“VFU prepares graduates for leadership roles enabled by technology by making business management and ICT knowledge mandatory in all programmes.
Our graduates are competitive because they are all employed soon after graduation,” Ms Akapelwa said.
She said VFU had trained graduates who were currently managers in hotels and lodges, road construction supervisors, company auditors, petrol station managers and business managers, just to mention a few.
Last year, VFU partnered with Virginia Tech (VT) University from United States of America (USA) to collaborate in areas of curriculum development, lecturers capacity development and student exchange.
In view of this partnership, VFU is in the process of finalising a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Virginia Tech in the United States of America to introduce PhD/EdD courses at the Livingstone Campus.
Ms Akapelwa, who is former board chairperson for the Zambia Information and Communication Technology Authority (ZICTA), said her University was aiming higher in terms of providing excellent training in line with the demands of the industry.
“Our students receive continuous assessments, tests, examinations and internships to ensure that they acquire both academic and practical knowledge.
Some training programmes are offered in partnership with partner universities in United States of America and Europe,” Ms Akapelwa said.
She said VFU lecturers were all well qualified according to the course they taught as approved by the Ministry of Education, Science, Vocational Training and Early Education.
“Our lecturers have first degrees, Masters and PhDs. First degree holders teach certificates, diplomas and first to second year degree students.
Besides that, we have a staff development training programme in which the university is assisting its staff to acquire higher qualifications,” she said.
Ms Akapelwa also said VFU had benefitted a lot from some of the highly reputable professors and academicians that presented lectures to students at the university.
Some of the visiting academicians are Professor Clayborne Carson from Stanford University in the United States.
Professor Carson is the director of the Martin Luther King Jr, Research and Education Institute, who lectured on Civil Rights.
“This lecture was organised in partnership with the United States Embassy in Lusaka on August 23, 2014,” she said.
Another prominent academician, who visited and lectured at the University, is Honourable Professor Killion Munyama.
Professor Munyama is a Zambian and Member of Parliament in Poland. He is Professor of Economics at the University of Economy in Poland and he lectured on Strategies of Success when he visited VFU in 2013.
Eric Drok, Assistant Professor of Economics and Law at Erasmus University Rotterdam, and Rijks University Utrecht in the Netherlands, who is currently Board Chairman of Zanaco, Board member of Rabobank Australia and Rabobank New Zealand also lectured on the International Trends of Banking at VFU in 2014.
Dr Shannon J. Hodges, Associate Professor of counseling at Niagara University, who is currently the Chair of the American Counseling Association’s international committee, also lectured on “Cultivating Personal Peace and Effective Communication” at VFU.
Further, Dr. Eleanor Stella Kaabwe, Academician, Education Policy Expert and former UNICEF representative in Tanzania, Mozambique and Liberia presented a lecture on “Research Methodology” at the University.
In recognition of Ms Akapelwa’s contribution to education in Africa,
she was awarded the overall winner prize of Africa’s Most Influential Women in Business and Government in 2013 in the sector of Education by CEO Magazine of South Africa.
The magazine celebrates the Women making significant change in Africa.
She has also been selected among the finalist for the same award for 2014.
With effect from January 2014, VFU plans to introduce higher diploma courses in different engineering disciplines.
The University Senate is in the process of approving the programmes before they are submitted to the Ministry of Education, Science, Vocational Training and Early Education for approval.
“We are very keen to start these programmes because of the shortage in our country of engineering skills.
Besides the engineering programmes, VFU wants to develop a programme for training of university faculty for our university and all other universities in the country and neighbouring countries because there is a general shortage of lectures in the region,” Ms Akapelwa said.
She also said VFU was looking forward to working with the newly established Higher Education Agency (HEA).
“With the coming of HEA, we shall have a body dedicated to guiding universities and receive closer attention.
We are integrating the legal requirements from the Act of 2013 and getting our procedures adjusted according to those new requirements,” Ms Akapelwa said.
She noted that all developed countries that started universities that are currently the envy of the world, started like most of the private universities in our country today.
“Some started in single buildings or houses. The development of our private universities, though growing at a very modest speed, they will eventually grow to be much better that most of the public universities.
It is through private universities we can attract private foreign investments in our higher education so that we become the foreign exchange earner for Zambia in the near future. Therefore I appeal to all to give all the private university all the support they can give,” Ms Akapelwa said.
In terms of future plans, Ms Akapelwa said VFU had been assigned land to construct a new Campus and it was waiting for the title deeds to be released from the Ministry of Lands.
“We have a number of possible partners who are ready to finance the building the VFU campus when we get the title.”
This construction project is included in our five year strategic plan that provides us a road map for all our activities,” she said.
She added that the VFU required additional infrastructure soon because there is demand from prospective students from the neighbouring countries of Zimbabwe, Namibia and Angola.
Ms Akapelwa also said VFU was embarking on revenue generating projects to make it an entrepreneurial university which would support its training aspects.
“Lastly but not least the University is in partnership with other Universities has initiated the use teams of researchers to conduct research, especially in the area of agriculture.
We are looking forward to publishing the findings of the research,” Ms Akapelwa said.