31 Mar 2019

The creation of Botswana Institute for Technology Research and Innovation (BITRI) was a deliberate move towards creating a sustainable ecosystem of development through technological innovation.

Officially opening BITRI open day in Gaborone recently, Minister of Tertiary Education, Research, Science and Technology, Mr Thapelo Olopeng, said the presence of a science and technology institution promoted a culture of research development.

This, he said, resulted in innovative solutions and outputs that had an impact on productivity and stimulation of economic growth.

He said it was therefore paramount to harness the institutional capacity as well as collaborate with other organisations to ensure that they were able to deliver on their strategic objectives in advancing science and technology for development with the view to transform lives. Mr Olopeng said there was no doubt that science and technology were key drivers of development, given that technological and scientific revolutions underpin economic advances including improvements in agriculture, health systems, education and infrastructure.

“I am aware that this event has only been a Gaborone affair, and I want to take this opportunity to encourage BITRI to take it to the communities by hosting it in different parts of the country, in order to share information with members of the public within their communities,” he said.

The open day, he said, was a very strategic invention which could enhance BITRI’s visibility as an organisation, adding that stakeholder’s engagement was paramount to the success of any organisation. He said hosting the open day in various communities would help identify innovations amongst members of the public, which could be supported and nurtured. Mr Olopeng also said BITRI should rebrand the events to accommodate Botswana Innovation Hub (BIH), with a view of sharing the costs of hosting. 

For her part BITRI board chairperson, Professor Sesae Mpuchane said BITRI was setup  in 2012 to conduct needs-based research in two broad areas, being technologies and natural resources and materials to identify, develop and adapt appropriate technology solutions that provide sustainable innovative. 

She said the organisation’s aim was to have open days at least biennially to create a platform where they could interact and share ideas about what BITRI as a technology research institution does. ends