SIRDC Executive Director Technical, Professor Dr Eng. Tawanda Mushiri and also Zimbabwe Institute of Engineering Board Member, is attending the Zimbabwe Institution of Engineers’ (ZIE) Infrastructure Investment Conference at Elephant Hills Hotel, Victoria Falls. He delivered an insightful presentation on Leveraging Effective Engineering Solutions in Zimbabwe using Artificial Intelligence (AI). The presentation emphasized AI as a critical enabler to achieving efficiency, sustainability, and competitiveness across the engineering sector.
He demonstrated how AI-driven solutions can be applied to key national sectors that include manufacturing, energy, water management, healthcare, agriculture and mining.
He also highlighted real-world use cases such as predictive maintenance in industry, AI-based energy optimization, smart water systems, intelligent agricultural systems and data-driven decision-making platforms relevant to Zimbabwe’s development priorities.
The presentation also addressed the importance of building local capacity in AI through education, research and industry through collaboration. Professor Mushiri advocated for the integration of AI into engineering curricula, the establishment of innovation hubs and strengthening partnerships between academia, government and industry to accelerate technology adoption.
Furthermore, he underscored the need for ethical AI governance, cybersecurity awareness and policy alignment with national frameworks such as Vision 2030 and NDS2. His address concluded with a strong call to action for engineers to lead Zimbabwe’s digital transformation journey by embracing AI as a core engineering tool rather than a future option.
The session stimulated active discussion among participants and reinforced ZIE’s role in championing Engineering AI as a pathway to sustainable industrial growth and national competitiveness.
