๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ข๐๐๐ญ๐๐ฌ ๐๐๐ฌ๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ๐๐ฅ'๐ฌ ๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ซ๐ ๐ญ๐จ ๐๐ฎ๐ฅ๐ญ๐ฎ๐ซ๐
Posted By
James MphandePosted on
19th Sep, 2026
The three-day MUST Cultural and Research Innovation Festival provided a modern blueprint for higher education by bridging science, technology, research, innovation and culture.
The festival's third day was dedicated to culture and heritage with traditional dances, visual arts, music, poetry and fashion on the menu.
Students, community members and the general public were present as both performers and guests.
In his speech, MUST Vice Chancellor Associate Professor Mwapatsa Mipando thanked organizers, sponsors and guests for supporting the event, calling it a vital transformation for society.
He said universities should not be isolated from struggles of their local communities, adding he wants MUST to become a civic institution that connects its scientific mission directly to the needs of its immediate surroundings.
"The universityโs community collaboration to advance reforestation and implement scientifically guided pastures and grazing systems to support local cattle production can be one way of achieving this civic role," he said.
โCulture shapes our future. This festival's traditions must inspire research and human-centred innovation, anchoring scientific advancement in shared values for a technologically progressive yet deeply rooted world."
Guest of honour and fashion designer, Lilly Alfonso, said creative and cultural industries must be fully recognized and integrated into STEM-dominated academic environments.
โCreativity is a divine gift that exists inside everyone, not an elite luxury. We must quickly change how we view artistic expression and recognize it as a universal human trait,โ said an emotionally charged Alfonso.
She urged parents and educators to stop forcing brilliant young children into rigid boxes just to fit in, reiterating that pushing youths into conventional careers stifles their natural innovative inclinations.
Alfonso challenged that while science provides technical solutions, creative artistry offers a crucial human identity.
Merging fashion and technology creates a potent, interdisciplinary synergy where innovative problem-solving truly flourishes, she added.
The cultural festival was scheduled to conclude this evening with live musical acts from local talent, courtesy of sponsorships from Norad, TAGDev 2.0, and National Commission for Science and Technology.