The Namibia University of Science and Technology (NUST), formerly known as Polytechnic of Namibia, is a

public university A public university or public college is a university or college that is in state ownership, owned by the state or receives significant government spending, public funds through a national or subnational government, as opposed to a private unive ...

located in the city of

Windhoek Windhoek (, , ) is the capital and largest city of Namibia. It is located in central Namibia in the Khomas Highland plateau area, at around above sea level, almost exactly at the country's geographical centre. The population of Windhoek in 202 ...

, Namibia. Andrew Niikondo is its acting vice-chancellor. NUST was headed by the founding vice-chancellor

Tjama Tjivikua Tjama Tjivikua (born 27 July 1958) is a Namibian academic and businessman. He was the Rector of the ''Polytechnic of Namibia'' in Windhoek since its inception in 1995. When the institution was renamed into Namibia University of Science and Techno ...

until March 2019. After two acting appointments, Erold Naomab was appointed vice-chancellor in January 2021. The largely ceremonial role of chancellor of the university is held by Peter Katjavivi.

History

It emerged from the ''Academy for Tertiary Education'', found in 1980, which was the first institution of higher education in the Republic of Namibia. Act 9 of 1985 of the South African administration defined three sections for this academy, a university part, the ''College of Out-of-School Training'' (''COST'') for

vocational training Vocational education is education that prepares people to work as a technician or to take up employment in a skilled craft or trade as a tradesperson or artisan. Vocational Education can also be seen as that type of education given to an in ...

programs and the ''Technikon Namibia'' for technical programs related to science and technology. When in 1992 the

University of Namibia The University of Namibia (UNAM) is a multi-campus public research university in Namibia, as well as the largest university in the country. It was established by an act of Parliament on 31 August 1992. Background UNAM comprises the follow ...

(UNAM) was founded, the academy lost its university section. The remaining sections, COST and Technikon, were merged to form the ''Polytechnic of Namibia'' per Act of Parliament 33 / 1994. The founding council and rector

were appointed in July 1995. In 2015 the Polytechnic was renamed to the ''Namibia University of Science and Technology (NUST)'', again per Act of Parliament, as the 1994 Act prescribed the name "Polytechnic of Namibia". Elisabeth House

The Namibia University of Science and Technology consists of two campuses and a number of scattered former residential buildings all located in the Windhoek West suburb close to the city centre. The main campus consists of the structures originally erected for the ''Academy for Tertiary Education''. At its center is the Elisabeth house, Windhoek's former

obstetric Obstetrics is the field of study concentrated on pregnancy, childbirth and the postpartum period. As a medical specialty, obstetrics is combined with gynecology under the discipline known as obstetrics and gynecology (OB/GYN), which is a surg ...

hospital designed by Wilhelm Sander in 1907. Elisabeth house is a national monument since 1986 and houses the Senate chambers and the office of the Vice-Chancellor. The ''Engineering campus'' is adjacent to the main campus; construction of this area started in 1995. Originally intended to house only the School of Engineering, this campus has gradually grown and accommodates the library, all

auditoria An auditorium is a room built to enable an audience to hear and watch performances. For movie theatres, the number of auditoria (or auditoriums) is expressed as the number of screens. Auditoria can be found in entertainment venues, community ...

, and many of the other faculty venues, including, most recently, a new building for the School of Health Sciences. A further building, to house new lecture venues and the Department of Architecture and also a new library for the maters and PHD students, is currently being constructed on this campus.

Academic and vocational offerings

Until the 2010s a classic

polytechnic Polytechnic is most commonly used to refer to schools, colleges, or universities that qualify as an institute of technology or vocational university also sometimes called universities of applied sciences. Polytechnic may also refer to: Educatio ...

, the institution offered both higher-level

and academic degrees in technical subjects and the applied sciences. In many cases these programs could be combined such that the academic degree could be attempted after a more basic vocational training was successfully passed. Since gaining university status in 2015 several Master and PhD programs have been developed, and short, entry-level certifications have been phased out. The Namibia University of Science and Technology comprises six academic faculties and offers undergraduate as well as postgraduate degrees in the areas of business and management, engineering, information technology, journalism, hospitality, natural resource management, and medicine. there were 86

undergraduate Undergraduate education is education conducted after secondary education and before postgraduate education. It typically includes all postsecondary programs up to the level of a bachelor's degree. For example, in the United States, an entry-le ...

and 19

postgraduate Postgraduate or graduate education refers to academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications pursued by post-secondary students who have earned an undergraduate ( bachelor's) degree. The organization and ...

degrees offered at the institution.Polytechnic of Namibia
Historical Perspective The university now also offers master's degree courses. A Centre of Excellence in Information Technology (CEIT) has also been set up. PolytechnicOfNamibia

Competition with the University of Namibia

NUST has been in constant competition with Namibia's other state-owned university, the

(UNAM). University rankings consistently list both institutions among Africa's Top-50, until 2009 usually with UNAM a few places ahead of NUST. In recent years NUST has been ahead of UNAM; the

Webometrics The science of webometrics (also cybermetrics) tries to measure the World Wide Web to get knowledge about the number and types of hyperlinks, structure of the World Wide Web and using patterns. According to Björneborn and Ingwersen, the definitio ...

lists it on rank 28 in Africa (2,284 globally), and UNAM on rank 48 (3,160). On the local level, judging service and contributions to the Namibian economy, NUST usually tops all other educational institutions. In 2010 the argument about who delivers the best tertiary education in Namibia entered a new stage when a local study found the NUST again to be far ahead in terms of services delivery. This study has subsequently been rejected by the Students' Representative Council of UNAM but endorsed by NUST management staff.

Naming controversy

The Polytechnic of Namibia had for a number of years attempted to change its name and its mandate to that of a Namibian university of science and technology. The institution intermittently adopted the name on its web site and in much of its official communication. This, however, was against the law that established the institution. In August 2010, the motion was stopped by cabinet, stating upcoming overall changes to the Namibian education sector as the reason to decline the name change. More than two years later in December 2012, cabinet instructed the Ministry of Education to grant the Polytechnic of Namibia university status and a change to the desired name. Part of the transition process was the phasing out of one-year ''Diploma'' and one-semester ''Certificate'' courses within five years. In 2015 the new act was gazetted and the name change became official.

Events

The institution conducts a cultural festival every year at the onset of spring. Activities include an ''International Cuisine Day'' where staff and students prepare and sell traditional food, a flea market, and the ''Miss and Mr NUST'' competition. NUST has an Internet radio station calle
NustFM

Notable staff

* Erold Naomab, became the vice-chancellor in January 2021 * Andrew Niikondo, acting vice-chancellor, May–December 2020 * Anicia Peters, the pro-vice-chancellor for research, innovation and development at the

, former dean of computing and informatics at NUST *

, founding rector of the Polytechnic, later vice-chancellor of NUST (1995–2019)

Notable alumni

* Dr. Sam Nujoma, first president of

Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...

, received a doctorate '' honoris causa'' in public management in 2005 *

Harold Pupkewitz Harold Pupkewitz (14 July 1915 – 27 April 2012) was a Lithuanian born, Namibian entrepreneur and member of the President's Economic Advisory Council. He was the Executive Chairman of Pupkewitz Holdings, a group of builders' merchants, car sal ...

, entrepreneur, received a doctorate '' honoris causa'' in business management in 2011 * Hon. Erastus Uutoni, Minister of Sport, Youth and National Service of Namibia, holds a Diploma in Police Science and a Certificate in Marketing from NUST

References

External links

Namibia University of Science and Technology website
* {{authority control Universities in Namibia Education in Windhoek Educational institutions established in 1994 1994 establishments in Namibia Windhoek