HEA Director-General Impressed by Hands-On ICT Training Inside ZUCT’s Smart Centre
The Director-General of the Higher Education Authority (HEA), Professor Kazhila C. Chinsembu, toured the Smart Centre and e-labs at the Zambia University College of Technology (ZUCT) in Ndola during his first official visit to the institution on Friday, 24th April, 2026.
The tour formed part of the Director-General’s stakeholder engagement with Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), aimed at appreciating institutional capacity, infrastructure, programme implementation and opportunities for growth.
After touring the e-labs, Professor Chinsembu said he was impressed with the facilities and the practical training environment available at ZUCT.
“We are impressed with everything we have seen. I have not visited many institutions to see these kinds of things,” Professor Chinsembu said.
He encouraged the institution to market itself more aggressively, including within the region, noting that its facilities and specialised ICT training capacity could attract international students from countries such as Namibia, Botswana, Eswatini and others.
The Smart Centre was established in 2016 by the Zambian Government under the Smart Zambia Project Phase I as an ICT Talent Development Centre. It was established to support ICT skills development, services and infrastructure in line with national development objectives.
Speaking during the tour, Engineer John Silungwe, Director – Smart Centre, explained that the e-lab provides students with practical training in networking, storage, unified communication, wireless LANs and fibre optics transmission.
“The e-lab is basically a place where we train our students in various aspects of networking, storage, unified communication, wireless LANs, as well as fibre optics transmission,” Engineer Silungwe said.
He added that the facility allows students to gain hands-on experience rather than focusing only on theory.
Engineer Silungwe further explained that ZUCT has arrangements with various institutions where students are sent for attachments as part of the graduation process, ensuring that they gain industry exposure.
The Director-General noted that such practical and industry-linked training is critical for producing graduates with competencies that respond to labour market needs.
ZUCT’s Smart Centre continues to support training in ICT professional and short vocational courses, including networking, cyber security, IT security, unified communications, video conferencing technologies and other industry-relevant fields.
ZUCT is located on Kalewa Road, Northrise, Ndola, and is recognised by HEA under Recognition No.: HEA/GRZ/UC-0001.
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- Website – https://www.zut.ac.zm/
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