By Rudo Saungweme

University of Zimbabwe (UZ) Pro-Vice Chancellor, Professor Charles Mbohwa said that there were several reputable international competitiveness indices that higher education plays in promoting a country's sustainable global competitiveness.

Professor Mbohwa said this today while officially opening the ZimTrade and UZ Faculty of Commerce seminar on Internationalization and Higher Education at UZ.

"Besides the Global Competitiveness Index, there are several other reputable international competitiveness indices that speak to the fundamental role that higher education plays in promoting a county's sustainable global competitiveness.

"Some of the indices are Social Progress Index, Global Manufacturing Competitiveness Index, Doing Business Global Innovation Index, and Human Development Index," he said.

Zimbabwe was ranked 86 out of 140 countries (with a score of 70.2 %) in the scientific publications variable of the Global Competitiveness Report of the World Economic Forum in 2018.

Professor Mbohwa said that countries performing well in these indices had tended to do better as nation brands than those that do not.

He applauded ZimTrade for the mandate of promoting international competitiveness and nation branding concepts.

"The international competitiveness and nation branding concepts, that you ZimTrade, are mandated to promote in the context of exports, concern everything to do with building our national competitiveness.

"National reputation influences a country's ability to mobilise finite resources such as exports, foreign direct investments, tourists, global influence, and talent," said Professor Mbohwa.

Professor Mbohwa expressed gratitude to ZimTrade for recognizing higher and tertiary education as an export sector.

This seminar is in line with Government mantra of implementing education 5.0 model. Education 5.0 model requires higher education institutions not to only teach, research and community serve, but also innovate and industrialize Zimbabwe.