15 Feb 2021

In their quest to produce industry ready graduates, Botho University (BU) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Botswana Tourism Organisation (BTO).

Signing MoU in Gaborone yesterday, Dean of Faculty of Hospitality and Sustainable Tourism, Dr Oliver Chikuta noted that the purpose of the MoU was to foster cooperation and collaboration between BU and BTO, in order to establish a long-term, mutually beneficial professional relationship in training, skills transfer and capacity-building of local communities involved in tourist businesses.

He said the university had been working with BTO since the inception of B.Sc in Hospitality Management at BU. He said BTO was not only a consumer of their end product (graduates), but a key stakeholder from a regulatory and policy point of view.

“Its eagle’s eye on quality resonate well with our quality policy as a university, therefore sought to upscale our relationship with BTO from a consumer to a co-producer relationship,” he said.

He further said both parties stood to benefit from the relationship because BU would provide professional in-service training to BTO staff, provide targeted industry-specific training services in collaboration with BTO whenever such need arose.

Dr Chikuta also noted that BU would also provide training and capacity-building to local communities to enhance benefits derived from cultural and heritage tourism.

BTO chief executive officer Ms Myra Sekgororoane said the signing of MoU could not have come at a better time when the industry in Botswana needed to be resuscitated post COVID-19.

She noted that BTO was confident that by working with academic partners of the BU caliber, they would be able to nurture a highly trained workforce.

“It is without a doubt needful to continuously train, retool and equip the industry with the necessary skills in order to remain competitive amidst the ever dynamic global tourism trends,” she said.

Fundamental to this MoU she said, was the two parties’ symbiotic relationship with BU providing professional in-service training to BTO staff on need basis, providing targeted industry-specific training services in collaboration with BTO and capacitating local communities with entrepreneurial tourism and hospitality skills, among others.

Ms Sekgororoane further noted that BTO would in return be instrumental in the review of BU’s hospitality and tourism-related curricula to meet industry specific needs, provision of opportunities for internships, research and experiential learning for the university and its students as well as offering support to deliver guest lectures when the need arose.

Therefore, through this MOU, BTO would see more targeted research opportunities in the tourism sector to guide future developments and market trends. Ends