School of Natural Science

Welcome to the School of Natural Sciences which is located at the University’s Main Campus. Our teaching departments, laboratories and industrial parks are housed at both the Main and Mashava Campuses. Since time immemorial, Science has been an integral component of Zimbabwean culture as evidenced by the sophisticated architectural designs and economic system which sustained the ancient communities that resided at and around the present-day Great Zimbabwe Monuments.

It is now common cause that Zimbabwe’s entire science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) agenda has been re-engineered to the new Education 5.0 paradigm. Inspired by the heritage-based thinking, the Fourth Industrial Revolution, national strategic intent and desire to increase the availability of specialist skills for industry, commerce and public sector, the School strives to be a pre-eminent centre of high quality teaching, research, community engagement, innovation, industrialisation and consultancy services in the STEM and STEAM disciplines. Ipso facto, the goal of the School is to deliver Education 5.0 that matches the communities’ quality, quantum and relevant benchmarks. The School consists of two departments which offer several undergraduate and postgraduate degree programmes from which prospective students can choose from.

The Department of Physics, Geography and Environmental Science which houses degrees in Renewable Energy, Physics, Chemical Technology, Applied Biosciences and Biotechnology and Geography and Environmental Science. There is also the Department of Mathematics and Computer Sciences which houses degrees in Computer Science, Mathematics, Statistics and Operations Research. Research Scientists in the School are currently working in the following areas of research: Climate Change; Tourism and Sustainable Development; Renewable Energy, Ecosystems and the Environment; Sustainability, Mathematics of Finance; Sustainable Development; Water and Air Treatment; ICT and Mathematical Modelling for Development; Artificial Intelligence; Optimal Resource Allocation for Epidemic Management; Hydrology; One  Health; Forensic Science, Bio-remediation; Earth Observation and Health Reform.  The School also extends its educational prowess and innovation ecosystem to local communities who are engaged on how to leverage their resources in order to improve the quality of their livelihoods.

The Biogas Project, the SADC Food Garden Project, the Water Quality Monitoring Project, Wetland Mapping and Rehabilitation Project are some of the lecturers’ research and development initiatives that have impacted positively on engaged communities. During the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the School re-oriented its service delivery strategies in line with the novel circumstances precipitated by the global pandemic. The Sanitizer Production and Fumigation Services Project, implemented by the School of Natural Sciences since March 2020, constitutes one of the University’s flagship contributions to the national fight against the pandemic.