27 Jun 2018

Statistics Botswana and University of Botswana have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to strengthen their cooperation in areas of research, teaching and community service.

In his statement at the signing ceremony, Statistician General, Dr Burton Mguni said the signing of the MoU aimed at strengthening the two institutions’ collaboration in training and capacity building through; exchange of programmes, attachments, enhancement of officers and students skills, exposure on various statistical areas, including census, survey or research methods.

Other areas of collaboration between the two parties that would be strengthened through the MoU, he said included; development of systems for specific statistical data processing applications.

Dr Mguni said this also extended to the conducting of joint surveys or researches on identified areas,  guiding each other on analysis and presentation of the census, survey or research results and general use of facilities for training purposes, advocacy for and dissemination of statistics.

This partnership, he noted was also a clear indication that the two institutions were committed to both productions of quality official statistics and statistical development in general.

“It is important that statistical capacity building in the country be dependent upon an effective system that trains the required manpower to handle the entire gamut of statistics in the way statistics is supposed to be produced and used,” he said.

He said UB was a key player in this regard as it provided training, capacity building and also does research in the field of statistics and all other disciplines, such as; Economics, Environmental Science and Information and Communication Technology that were all critical for the production of statistics by Statistics Botswana and resultant use of such statistics.’

Dr Mguni said Statistics Botswana and UB were therefore, both committed to innovation on data collection and analysis, as well as the spirit of pioneering new ways of better-developing statistics and its use in research and decision- making in the country.

“In this era of big data, statistical information has become an indispensable factor of production and the resource of the modern age. It is part of the knowledge assets that have become key drivers of national development and drivers of innovation, learning and wealth,” he said.

Additionally, as Botswana moves forward in its chosen path to become a knowledge-based economy, Dr Mguni said data would become increasingly important.

For his part, UB Vice Chancellor, Professor David Norris, said the MoU would help contribute to improved quality of graduates by facilitating student’s exposure to practical research training and thus contribute positively to students experience and improved quality of graduates.

Prof. Norris encouraged both parties to work diligently in executing projects and activities covered under the MoU, saying the MoU would serve as a vehicle to optimise mutual beneficiation in training and capacity building, exchange programmes, attachments and undertaking of joint survey or research.

Further, the UB vice chancellor said the partnership would also provide technical assistance for data analysis, data sharing and improved access to data for research and training purposes, data and information dissemination, community education and engagement, advocacy, as well as student placement within ongoing research projects and internships.

If executed well, the MoU offers potential to support and advance UB and its Faculty of Social Sciences’ strategic goals of; extending access and participation, providing relevant and high-quality programmes, intensifying research performance, strengthening engagement, improving the student experience and enhancing human resources for excellence in delivery,” Prof. Norris said. ENDS