Mulungushi, Nyenrode the Zambian way
22 Sep 2011
Tucked away in a forest near Kabwe, 120 kilometres north of Lusaka, lies Mulungushi University. In this historical location, where the fight for independence started, Zambia's third public university opened its doors. The university's ambitious plans are supported by a four-year NICHE project.
Mulungushi University, founded in 2008, aims to become a financially independent centre of academic excellence. But Mulungushi will remain a public university, supported by the government and with specific guarantees on education quality.
Towards financial independence
Financial independence is a major challenge, says project coordinator Herco Jansen of Alterra, which is leading the Dutch consortium. Although this may not be fully achieved within the four-year project period, things should start moving in the right direction.
Four PhDs
To enable Mulungushi to provide postgraduate education, the project will let four lecturers do a PhD. Three will go to South Africa and one will go to Nyenrode Business Universiteit in the Netherlands.
In addition, the project aims to:
- advance applied research and consultancy work;
- link programmes with the labour market;
- improve the management system.
A wide range of expertise
The Dutch consortium includes at least fifteen external experts, including gender experts from the Royal Tropical Institute (KIT) and a manager at Heineken who will look at performance management and leadership skills. Private partners will also be involved in the project.
Forging links with the market
Once the winning bid was selected, the partners used the inception phase to agree on the specific objectives and the allocation of the € 1.5 million budget.
Deputy Vice Chancellor Beele says his university was particularly attracted by Alterra’s focus on forging links with the market. In order to become self-funded the university must, in fact, invest a lot in building relationships with major companies and joint research.
More focus on quality students
Mulungushi has a new admission policy which focuses on attracting and selecting quality students. In the past, it basically admitted anybody who could afford it. When the tuition fee was halved, to around 1,700 euros, the number of applications more than doubled.
Mulungushi University currently has 600 students on its campus and more than 1,000 students countrywide in its distance learning programme. The project will also focus on the latter category, bearing in mind that not every village in Zambia is connected to the internet and that connections are slow.
Boosting quality
According to Deputy Vice Chancellor Beele his university currently has two main challenges:
- improving infrastructure;
- improving the quality of teaching.
Beele thinks the NICHE project will be key to boosting quality. By setting benchmarks the project will help plot the direction in which the University needs to go.
Nyenrode as a model
Jansen believes the university should focus on specific fields, such as agricultural business, and aim to become something of a cross between Nyenrode and Wageningen University, with a focus on agriculture.
