Poly and NIPAM formalise strategic partnership
Acting executive director of NIPAM, Elsie Mghikembua and Polytechnic Rector, Tjama Tjivikua at the signing of the MoU between the two institutions earlier this week. (Photograph by Lorato Khobetsi)
The agreement will see the two institutions cooperate across areas such as curriculum development, staff and student exchanges and research and material exchanges as well as the sharing of library resources.
According to the acting executive director of NIPAM, Elsie Nghikembua, cooperation agreements are important because they strengthen partnerships between institutions and create new opportunities and solutions.
“This MoU demonstrate our deep-rooted commitment to provide professional training and development programmes, research and consultation capacity and related activities to management, personnel, interns and contractual employees and networks,” she said.
Also speaking at the signing ceremony, Polytechnic Rector, Tjama Tjivikua, said that due to the country’s huge skills deficit at semi – skilled and skilled levels one its developmental challenges is to link the human resources development needs to the knowledge-based economy paradigms as defined in Vision 2030 and as elaborated in the supporting National Development Plans.
“The Polytechnic is prepared to actively collaborate with NIPAM’s various units be it the SOE business centre for advancing state-owned enterprises and corporate entities in Namibia, the central Government business centre, the regional and local government business centre, the research and consultancy business centre, E-governance and learning resource centre or international diplomacy and foreign relation business centre,” he said.
He said, the Polytechnic is the oldest institution in the country that offers public administration and that knowledge transfer is important to NIPAM as it is to Polytechnic.
“The MoU will cement our relationship and enable the smooth transfer of knowledge and skills between our institutions. As a technical university, our objective is to put bridges between knowledge gained through theory and experience gained through practice,” said Tjivikua.
Thanking the Polytechnic for its cooperation, Nghikembua said, “NIPAM is proud to be associated with the Polytechnic of Namibia, an outstanding institution that is driven by the belief that development, national and international is based on knowledge and knowledge management.”
