Botswana International University of Science and Technology is a Government of Botswana supported institution established through the BIUST Act (CAP 57:05) as a research intensive University that specialises in Engineering, Science and Technology at both undergraduate and graduate (Master’s and Doctoral) levels. It is located on an expansive and ecologically diverse 2,500 hectare site of gently sloping land in the Tswapong Hills, south east of Palapye. The University is a national strategic initiative that is intended to serve as one of the key platforms for transforming Botswana’s economy from being resource based to knowledge based through skills capacity building in Engineering, Science and Technology. Because of its research emphasis, BIUST works with the private sector to meet emerging skills needs of the industry, as well as identifies challenges that can be solved through applied research. The University’s curriculum takes into account the needs of the private sector and is driven by the mission of BIUST to contribute to the development of the economy towards a knowledge based economy through research. BIUST provides the best teaching and learning environment for students, professors and researchers. The University hopes to develop a Science, Engineering and Technology Research Park that would attract local, regional and international researchers to its campus. At full capacity, BIUST will enroll approximately 6,000 (six thousand) full time equivalent (FTE) students, including Undergraduate, MSc and PhD students.
BIUST is accredited by Botswana Qualifications Authority (BQA) and has working relationship with Engineering Registration Board (ERB), Botswana; Higher Education Quality Committee (HEQC) of South Africa and Engineering Council of South Africa (ECSA). In addition to BIUST coordinating the educational outreaches and research collaborations of the Education for Laser-based Manufacturing (ELbM) partnership, the University is also the host partner for the Square Kilometer Array (SKA) radio telescope which is financed by the Newton Fund (United Kingdom).SKA project provides a major opportunity for BIUST in terms of funding, facilities, scientific research, teaching and learning, human capacity development and employment opportunities towards establishing a centre of excellence in the fields of astrophysics, radio astronomy, remote sensing, high performance and ‘big data’ computing.
The University has also received funding from the European Union to host an Earth Observation Data Acquisition Satellite Station for monitoring the environment as part of the Monitoring for Environment and Security in Arica project (MESA). BIUST’s Faculty of Engineering & Technology (FET) is also actively engaged in the Network of Energy Excellence for Development Project (NEED), an international collaborative research programme funded by the European Union and involving partner institutions from Germany, Botswana, Namibia, Zambia and the Harry Oppenheimer Research Centre. Over the past five years, the Advanced Manufacturing & Engineering Education (AMEE) research team at BIUST, with the collaborative support of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research/National Laser Centre (CSIR/NLC) South Africa is presently utilising the African Laser Center (ALC) research grant for staff/student mobility with a view to developing a green and low cost laser induction hybrid cladding (LIHC) technology for fabricating functionally graded wear and corrosion/oxidation resistant coatings for equipment repair in Botswana power generation and mining sectors.