19 Dec 2022

Botswana International University of Science and Technology (BIUST) is committed to building a well-rounded and fulfilling environment to facilitate a conducive space for teaching and learning.

The university vice chancellor, Professor Otlogetswe Totolo, said this at a ground breaking ceremony of the student centre construction project on Wednesday.

The fact that the campus is located 5km away from the village centre, Prof Totolo said this was a challenge to the students, especially when they wanted to access some services in-between their class responsibilities during the day.

“Construction of this student centre will come in handy to facilitate the BIUST population to have a more comfortable and convenient life within campus,” he said.

Prof. Totolo said the centre was one of the nine infrastructural projects, which the university had planned for during NDP 11 period, but due to the COVID-19 challenges, some projects were moved forward while the student centre was given a priority.

The vice chancellor highlighted that the P200 million state-of-the-art centre would house facilities aimed at providing easy access to quality services such as executive offices, conferencing, meeting rooms as well as student welfare offices, commercial and shopping facilities such as banks, post office, restaurants and supermarkets.

It will also provide for regular amenities in the form of beauty salons and mobile phone shops as well as indoor and outdoor entertainment facilities such as game rooms and a fully-serviced amphitheatre, he said.

Furthermore, Prof. Totolo emphasised that the objective of the project was to create convenience to the university community by providing them with the goods and services they consumed on a daily basis.

“We want to build an environment where students and staff can mingle and interact closely with each other in a more relaxed atmosphere. We anticipate that this project will help to elevate the profile of the university as a premier facility for teaching and learning and in the process help us to recruit the best talent out there to join our campus,” said the vice chancellor.

The project is expected to be completed in two years and it has been awarded to Zhon Gan Engineering and Construction Corporation. ENDS