Research Centre in Zambia

The Unicaf University in Zambia has been registered as a Research Centre with the Zambian National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) in 2020 and the National Health Research Authorities (NHRA) in 2022. The Research and Innovation Centre (RIC) of the University is committed to the development of a research, innovation, and entrepreneurship ecosystem driven by the desire to contribute to the development agenda of the nation and the Agenda 2063. The Unicaf University Research and Innovation Centre will develop strategic partnerships to support research dissemination and the creation of a research culture. The Centre’s research concentrates on four research clusters as these are described below.

1. Education for Development
   • The Education for Development cluster focuses on educational leadership, women and girl/child education, curriculum development and teaching practises as well as inclusivity, equality and equity in education. In addition to this, topics related to higher education, online and flexible delivery models, technology aided teaching and learning, and use of data science in education are some of the key areas of focus. 
2. Global Change and Sustainability
   • Research within this cluster lays emphasis on understanding what global changes and their impacts are at local level followed by an investigation of various ways of mitigating and/or adapting to the new situation for sustainability. This cluster includes research on the way different kind of waste can be turned into raw resources for alternative products to create wealth. It will also evaluate the socio-economics of food, energy and water systems and propose alternative but innovative sustainability models.
3. Financial Inclusion and Innovation
   • This cluster concentrates on human resource development and management. It focuses on business administration, governance and public policies as well as hospitality management while extending to accounting and finance. In addition to this, this group will focus on collaborative research in financial inclusion and innovation that leverages on mobile computing and other enabling technologies such as data analytics, incubators and creating start-up companies.
4. Alternative Knowledge Systems and Health Remedies
   • Research within the cluster focuses on identification of plants and other material used for hundreds of years in traditional health remedies as part of existing knowledge banks that local people use to sustain health. It aims at studying further the efficacy of both the material used and the practice of using such material with the view of improving on their effectiveness. In addition, local knowledge bases and systems of people will be studied with the view of creating linkages between sustainability and traditional knowledge systems.

The Research and Innovation Centre at the Unicaf University in Zambia is managed by Dr Marirajan Thiruppathi, the Deputy Vice Chancellor – Research & Innovation. The organogram of the Research Centre is provided below:

For any further information please contact: research.innovation.centre@zambia.unicaf.org