Welwitchia University has announced an investment plan of N$2 billion to construct new campuses in several key towns in the country.
The expansion aligns with the institution’s recent attainment of university status, allowing it to offer a wider range of academic programmes.
According to Welwitchia’s Manager of Marketing and Stakeholder Engagement Tracy Schaller, the University aims to establish campuses in Windhoek, Swakopmund, Grootfontein, Outapi and Nkurenkuru.
Notably, construction on the Swakopmund and Grootfontein campuses is scheduled to begin in the 2025 financial year, with phase 1 targeted for completion within the same year.
The University’s Windhoek campus will commence construction in the next 1 to 2 years.
“The University has plans to invest up to N$2 billion in infrastructure to build campuses in various towns. To achieve that plan, land has been acquired in the following towns: Windhoek, Swakopmund, Grootfointein, Outapi and Nkurenkuru,” she said.
She further explained that the University will introduce 15 new programmes over the next two years, with the first 10 programmes becoming available for the 2025 intake, for which applications will be open in October 2024.
“We plan to offer qualifications in all fields of learning and we will introduce 15 new programmes in the next two years (2025 and 2026), with 10 new programmes for the 2025 intake and an additional five programmes for the 2026 intake, which will range from bachelor’s degrees to Masters and PhDs,” Schaller said.
These new qualifications will encompass a wider range of fields, taking the university beyond its current focus on healthcare and offering programmes in all twelve national fields of learning.
“Most of our qualifications are professional qualifications, and as such, they are offered face-to-face in line with the requirements of the regulatory bodies. However, it should be noted that we also have postgraduate programmes that are offered online, and we will introduce new short courses that can be done online or on a block-release basis,” she said.
Moreover, she said to support the new programmes, the University plans to increase its staff complement to 500 within the next five years.
Recruitment efforts will focus on attracting highly qualified academics, particularly those holding PhDs and professorships.
“The University currently has close to 300 full-time and part-time employees. However, with the university status, we plan to roll out new programmes that will see our staff complement reach 500 in the next five years,” she said.
She also said all eligible programmes will be accredited by the Namibia Qualifications Authority within the first year of being offered.
This accreditation is crucial for securing Namibia Student Financial Assistance Fund (NSFAF) funding.
