Botswana International University of Science and Technology (BIUST) Smart Village Initiative for Rural Development was commended for going to the very heart of the dilemma facing tertiary educational institutions in ensuring that their research findings, products and services transform rural livelihoods in a positive way. This was revealed by BIUST Vice Chancellor Professor Otlogetswe Totolo last week on Wednesday when addressing audience at the university’s public lecture on smart village initiative. Totolo’s view was that BIUST research must be relevant, empathetic and responsive to challenges faced by rural communities, . “We must identify with, and feel the pain that our rural communities feel, and make every effort to uplift rural communities, this is why we have invited key stakeholders from the community, business and policymakers to be part of the conversation.” He said using science, technology and innovation can turn the challenges into opportunities and find workable and marketable solutions to address them. “The smart village is one such initiative where BIUST, along with UB, BUAN and BITRI and the University of Toronto, Canada endeavour to take research and innovation to rural communities.” BIUST has set up a Smart Village Committee and has roped in experts from Canada as their…