Botswana Power Corporation Chief Executive Officer Dr. Stefan Schwarzfischer officially opened the 2018 annual Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Festival on Tuesday, 17th of March hosted Botswana International University of Science & Technology (BIUST) in Palapye. This year’s festival was held under the theme: ‘’STEM FOR DEVELOPMENT: CREATING A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE FOR BOTSWANA”. The Festival was attended by learners, young innovators, academics from STEM related fields, corporate leadership and local leaders.
In his keynote address Dr. Schwarzfischer called on students from various junior and senior secondary schools across the breadth of Botswana to learn discipline and dedication towards work and life goals to be successful future employees, innovators and entrepreneurs. He also cited dedication as a desirable quality for employers such as Botswana Power Corporation and therefore future engineers should always show such quality. He challenged the young minds in attendance to be innovative and solution oriented so that they can make a meaningful contribution once they are employed such that they are valuable asserts to their future employers and indeed to Botswana. Dr. Schwarzfischer also asserted that the future of the country is in the ability of new and future engineers to lead the transformation process and optimize information for the benefit of communities and the nation.
The Officially opening ceremony was also marked by a stall tour by the Guest Speaker Dr. Schwarzfischer. The stalls varied from Student Innovation booths, academic institutions stalls and corporate shells, all in the fields of Science, Engineering and Technology. Botswana Power Corporation had set-up a stall to share information with learners on the BPC training program.
Dr. Schwarzfischer also donated P10, 000.00 to BUIST in support of the STEM Festival.
The STEM Festival aims to promote both scientific literacy and public awareness of STEM in general as well as economic and social life advancement.
