School of Natural and Applied Sciences to launch new postgraduate programmes

One of the reasons why the University of Malawi is held in high regard in the region is the number and quality of academic programmes that the institution offers. As a dynamic institution, the University is constantly introducing new programmes and updating its current ones in reaction to international trends and industry needs.

Recently, on 17th January, 2024, the School of Natural and Applied Sciences hosted a meeting with various stakeholders as a step towards the introduction of three new programmes: the PhD in Water and Environment, MSc in Physics and MSc in Electronics. The meeting was held at Nkopola Lodge in Mangochi. These programmes are being introduced as a result of stakeholder pressure, following previous needs assessment exercises carried out by the School.

Over 40 stakeholders were present at the meeting. They included representatives from Government ministries and departments, including those of Water and Sanitation, Forestry, Agriculture, Climate Change and Meteorological Services; academics from Malawi University of Science and Technology, Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources and Malawi University of Business and Applied Sciences; personnel from all the Water Boards in the country, and other experts.

The Executive Dean of the School of Natural and Applied Sciences, Prof. Cosmo Ngongondo, is excited about the programmes. “The Physics and Electronics programmes are the first of their kind at a public university in Malawi and have strong innovation and industrialization elements, in line with MW 2063 and Africa 2063,” he said. “The PhD programme is well aligned with MW 2063 enablers and the National Research Agenda theme on Environmental Sustainability and builds on our existing MSc programmes in Water Science and Management and MSc in Environmental Sciences. All programmes will contribute to the UNIMA strategic direction of expanding access to education by increasing student numbers.”

According to Prof. Cosmo Ngongondo, the School is ready to roll out all three programmes, as soon as some final fine tuning is done, as a way of accommodating some of the suggestions from the meeting.