Dean: Prof D Chikodzi

Dean’s Welcome Note

Welcome to the School of Natural Sciences located at the University’s Main Campus where all its laboratories and meteorological equipment are housed. Since time immemorial, Science has been an integral component of Zimbabwean culture as evidenced by the sophisticated architectural designs and economic system which sustained the communities that resided at and around the present-day Great Zimbabwe Monuments. It is now common cause that Zimbabwe’s entire science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) agenda is currently in the midst of a re-designing process spearheaded by, among other initiatives, the Education 5.0 national paradigm shift. Inspired by the heritage-based thinking and  the Fourth Industrial Revolution, the School strives to position itself as a globally competitive and locally relevant provider of high quality teaching, research, innovation and consultancy services  in the basic sciences. Ipso facto, the goal of the School is to deliver research, innovation and teaching services that match the communities’ quality, quantum and relevant benchmarks. The School consists of two departments, namely; the Department of Physics, Geography and Environmental Science; and the Department of Mathematics and Computer Sciences. Researchers in the School are currently working in the following areas:  Climate Change; Tourism and Sustainable Development; Renewable Energy, Ecosystems and the Environment; Mathematics of Finance; Sustainable Development; Water and Air Treatment; ICT and Mathematical Modelling for Development;   Artificial Intelligence;  Optimal Resource Allocation for Epidemic Management;  Hydrology; and  Health Reform. Several undergraduate and postgraduate degree programmes, from which prospective students can choose from, are on offer in the School.  The School also extends its educational prowess to local communities who are engaged on how to leverage their resources in order to improve the quality of their livelihoods. The Biogas Project and the SADC Food Garden Project are some of the lecturers’ research initiatives that have impacted positively on these communities. Recently, the School re-oriented its service delivery strategies in line with the novel circumstances precipitated by the COVID-19 global pandemic. The Sanitizer Production and Fumigation Services Project,  implemented by the School of Natural Sciences since March 2020, constitutes one of the University’s flagship contributions to the national fight against  the epidemic.