In a significant sense, the establishment of the City University of Windhoek (CUW), a new private university in Namibia, is linked to that of the Graduate University of Southern Africa (GUSA) which, itself, was founded in 2019 to offer postgraduate (Masters and PhD) qualifications.

It was during the stakeholders’ engagement meetings when most of the key stakeholders recommended, strongly, that the management of GUSA also consider establishing an undergraduate university to offer Certificates, Diplomas, Bachelor, and Bachelor honours degrees in the same niche areas, fields, or disciplines that were offered by GUSA at postgraduate degree levels. In the view of the consulted stakeholders, qualifications at undergraduate levels would stand Namibia in good stead. The new university would, indeed, provide the much needed qualified experts in their respective business areas for the greater benefit of the country. In a significant sense, too, CUW would effectively meet the goals and ideals of Namibia’s Vision 2030.

To these ends, the management of GUSA set the process on for the legal realisation of CUW. By November 2022, the legal process for the registration was completed and by January 2023, other related processes had been completed. Following a rigorous review of the position of GUSA, the scope of the qualifications offered by the City University of Windhoek was expanded to include postgraduate studies (Masters and PhD qualifications) as well in April 2023. The process to get essential validation by the national regulatory bodies has also been set in motion.

CUW is largely a Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Mathematics (STEAM) university whose graduates will profoundly transform society by continual innovation in education, research, and entrepreneurship. As a STEAM university, CUW remains committed to nurturing the minds of the future. It will, moreover, empower students to excel in their lives through integrated learning, research, innovation, development, and experience. It is a university that provides a fertile ground for students to thrive and flourish. These ideals and our unique internship programme remain our cornerstones and regular engagements.

The university is set to offer qualifications in niche, for today and for-the-future Certificate, Diploma, Bachelor, Bachelor honours, Master, and Doctoral degree courses in three faculties, namely, Computer Science, Business Administration, and Postgraduate Studies. Our qualifications are firmly grounded in and are underpinned by digital, entrepreneurial, and cooperative and work-integrated education grounds. At CUW, exacting teaching, hands-on learning, creative service, and high-impact research are a matter of course. CUW also offers short, tailor-made courses to serve individuals and individual sector needs. What is more, the university offers re-skilling, up-skilling, conversion, and special courses.

CUW is a green university, and, as such, we lay special emphasis on a clean environment by conserving it.

The university believes that it is fitting to produce practically creative, innovative, and round graduates. To this end, and in addition to discipline-specific courses, it offers several integrated foundation courses in all its undergraduate programmes.

CUW has embraced multidisciplinary and integral approaches to education. The university particularly believes that partnership/collaboration in several academic/scholarly areas with similar institutions is the way to go in higher education today. In promoting collaboration and cooperation across various fields, CUW empowers students to become well-rounded individuals capable of confronting the complex and numerous problems of the digital age. We also know that higher education, particularly these days, is no longer the preserve of one institution or individual. This is why, in our view, the need for partnership/collaboration is even more compelling. To this end the university has already signed an MOU with Walvis Manpower, a Kenyan institution which, collaboratively, offers postgraduate (Masters and PhD) qualifications and suitable short courses. Similar partnerships/collaboration with Canadian, USA, and Namibian institutions are pending.

Our esteemed academic staff, several of whom have had significant industry experience, are committed to moulding students to meet the vision and mission of our university.

The City University of Windhoek is steadfast in its commitment to preparing future leaders. By equipping our students with a transformative educational experience grounded in STEAM education, we strive to empower our students to sculpt a brighter future for themselves, Namibia, and beyond.