08 Jun 2020

In an effort to assist  government in the fight against the spread of corona virus,  Botswana International University of Science and Technology (BIUST) has manufactured products that will help to curb the spread of the virus.

In a press briefing in Gaborone recently,  BIUST Vice Chancellor Prof. Otlogetswe Totolo said the university had taken several steps to help address the pandemic, including partnership with Local Enterprise Authority (LEA), who helped with the plan to take the products to the market.

The products include liquid soaps, bar soaps, drones, sanitizers, E-permits and E-pass which were produced with help of the students.

He further explained  that the university's aim was among others, to stimulate research, innovation and technology transfer.

In addition, Professor Totolo said there was also a need to collaborate with SMEs so as to impact on the lives of the needy during testing times to relief government of the vast responsibility

For his part Professor Rodrigo Jamisona said BIUST in conjunction with the Botswana Defence Force had designed Drone Sprayer to be used to disinfect  public spaces during  the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The drone sprayer will help clean the air from the unseen coronavirus in these areas. The air disinfection by drone is intended to work in collaboration with manual disinfection by humans that targets ground surfaces,” he said.  

The drone carries a maximum load of 1.5 kg with 750 ml of disinfectant at each side.

Disinfectant solution is formulated by Environmental Remediation and Management Laboratory (ERM Lab) of the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences. Ends