Namibia University of Science and Technology
More about NUST, Namibia
Namibia has always been one of the largest and driest countries in sub-Saharan Africa. The climate is hot and dry on any ordinary day, without the impact of climate change. Yet, of late, several economic sectors in Namibia have been impacted negatively by the unpredictable weather patterns brought about by climate change. Climate change has meant an increase in annual temperatures and a decrease in annual precipitation. Extreme weather events such as heat waves are now common. Such heatwaves result in fires that lead to a loss of both plant and animal species.
There is an increase in tropical storm activity due to the variations in the sea surface temperature in the Atlantic Ocean that borders Namibia. Rain comes for a short period resulting in increases in flash floods that lead to the displacement of communities and poverty. The unpredictability of the weather leads to droughts that affect the timing of planting season and water availability, devastate fields of crops, and kill thousands of livestock due to a shortage of grazing. For more information NUST Namibia, click here.
The NUST Namibia team has software development skills required to be the consulting organisation on early climate change detection and mitigation. Working closely with the rest of the consortium members, NUST Namibia spearheads the development of software. The specific objectives then are:
- Train students in Master of Computer Science / Information Systems
- Produce PhD students in Computer Science / Information Systems
- Conduct research into and develop ICT-based weather prediction and mitigation technologies.
NUST Namibia aims to be a leader and a Centre of Excellence in Africa in the creation of ICT technologies (both software and hardware) that will enable the early detection of changing weather patterns, as well as technologies that will mitigate against any changes in the weather patterns detected. The objectives should facilitate the:
- research and development of low-cost ICT solutions on weather pattern detection and mitigation that are relevant for the African context
- exploration of issues on the impact of climate change on the weather patterns
- investigation of how other developing countries approach weather prediction and mitigation by utilising ICTs.
The NUST (Nam) partnership with the other African consortium members will be achieved through embedding weather prediction and mitigation software development training into existing Masters and PhD research programmes, building research capabilities among partners on weather prediction and mitigation software development, facilitating student and staff mobility for internationalization among members of the consortium, and encouraging the development of innovative solutions on ICT-based weather prediction and mitigation.
CONNECT WITH US
Namibia University of Science and Technology
13 Jackson Kaujeua Street,
Windhoek, Namibia
Email: nustnam.gr2a.org