Research should seek to develop solutions tailored to Namibia's needs in various economic sectors.
This was the sentiment shared by various speakers at the opening National Students' Research Symposium 2026 in Windhoek on Wednesday.
Speakers at the symposium noted that Namibia's future economic prosperity would depend not only on its natural resources but also on the knowledge, technology and innovations developed by its people.
Therefore, they called on Namibian researchers to turn their findings into practical solutions that support economic diversification, job creation and sustainable development.
The focus should be on agriculture, youth empowerment, sports development, education, renewable energy and improved public services.
MEIYSAC Minister Dr. Sanet Steenkamp said, "But that would require us to make a considerable investment in terms of research infrastructure, digital connectivity, skilled supervisors, interdisciplinary collaboration and partnerships that allow promising ideas to be tested, refined and developed."
"We draft a second national programme that is still now being consulted with the rest of the ministers. This national programme has three pillars, and those pillars are that it's in terms of health that is human, animal and environmental health; the second pillar is on socio-economic development. In here we are looking at your key economic pillars, that is, water, food security, and energy, and then it's also looking at biodiversity," added CEO of the NCRST, Prof. Anicia Peters.
Researchers and students were cautioned to be responsible with the use of artificial intelligence, as if not used wisely, it can undermine research integrity, privacy and scientific credibility.
Country Representative of UNSECO, Eunice Smith, highlighted, "UNESCO has offered the world in terms of the governance of AI. All of the countries, basically, adopted what is called the Recommendation on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence. It is grounded in human rights and human dignity, and it sets out principles that speak directly to researchers and innovators."
The symposium aims to support researchers and nurture emerging talents, advancing impactful and application-orientated research that contributes to the country's development.
The symposium features 96 research topics.