The TAGDEV 2.0 program at MUST recently supported development of two critical policies for the university. The developed policies are on community engagement and digital economy.

The two-day policy development sessions run concurrently in Mulanje but involved two different teams.

TAGDEV 2.0 Associate Program Coordinator, Dr Cecelia Maliwichi Nyirenda, said the program came in to support the policy development process following a request from the university and after noting how critical the two were to university operations.

“TAGDEV 2.0 program, among others, is there to transform systems that would help the university to grow and the two policies were very critical. For example, the community engagement policy is very important as it maps out the university’s stakeholders and how the university can engage with them on different issues, including on research,” she said.

She said after the development process, the policies will be handed over to university management for the approval protocols before implementation.

TAGDEV 2.0 program at MUST comprises of two components of scholarship and system transformation on one hand and agri-food systems and entrepreneurship centre (ASEC) on the other.

Under the first component, it provides undergraduate and postgraduate scholarships to disadvantaged groups, targeting 70 percent young women, 10 percent differently abled people and 25 percent internally displaced people and refugees. 

It is also responsible for policy and systems development support.

Under ASEC, implemented in partnership with Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources (LUANAR) Mzuzu University (MZUNI) and University of Livingstonia (UNILIA), it enhances and operationalises agri-preneurship and business development skills among young women and men.

It also operates a robust, sustainable youth and women centred viable agri-enterprise incubation program, and develops climate smart maize and soybean community-based value chain systems that promote entrepreneurship, research and institutional capacity for agro-processors to foster an agribusiness upscaling, networking and partnership.