UDSM, PwC Tanzania Forge Three-Year Partnership to Bridge Skills Gap and Prepare Job-Ready Graduates
By Renancy Remmy, CMU
The University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM) and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) Tanzania have forged a three-year partnership to bridge the gap between university education and industry needs, equipping students with practical, professional and future-ready skills demanded by a rapidly changing labour market.
The partnership, formalised through a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), will strengthen collaboration in professional skills development, industry exposure, research, staff and student placements, and knowledge exchange, with a particular focus on ensuring graduates are better prepared to make an immediate contribution in the workplace.
Speaking at the signing ceremony, UDSM Deputy Vice Chancellor–Academic, Prof. Rose Upor, who represented Vice Chancellor Prof. William A.L. Anangisye, said the agreement provides an important platform for translating academic knowledge into practical workplace competence.
“This collaboration should translate into tangible opportunities for students and staff, including staff exchange, talent recognition and greater exposure to industry practices,” she said.
Prof. Upor added that sustained interaction with industry would give students a clearer understanding of professional expectations while exposing them to real-world challenges.
“Such engagement will help students gain practical industry insights and become better prepared to contribute effectively from their first day in the workplace,” she said.
For UDSM Director of Public Services, Prof. Neema Mori, the signing marks only the beginning of a partnership whose success will ultimately be measured by its impact. She called for the agreement to be translated into concrete activities that generate value for students, academic staff and both institutions.
“We must move beyond signing the MoU and focus on effective implementation, with clear activities that create value for our students, staff and institutions,” Prof. Mori said, stressing that strong and sustained university–industry engagement is essential to keeping academic programmes responsive to the evolving needs of the workplace and society.
Strengthening Tanzania’s human capital
Representing PwC Tanzania, Country Senior Partner Dr. Zainabu Msimbe said formalising the partnership was critical to strengthening Tanzania’s human capital and supporting the country’s long-term development ambitions, including Tanzania Development Vision (Dira) 2050.
“Relevant skills remain a major challenge, and addressing the skills gap requires stronger collaboration between the public and private sectors,” Dr. Msimbe said.
She also highlighted the growing influence of emerging technologies, particularly Artificial Intelligence (AI), noting that universities and industry must work together to prepare the workforce for technological transformation.
Dr. Msimbe said the partnership would extend beyond students to benefit academic staff, particularly those at the University of Dar es Salaam Business School (UDBS), by creating opportunities for greater interaction with industry professionals, expertise and contemporary business practices.
Representing the Dean of UDBS, Dr. Patrick Mbwile said the partnership would give students opportunities to complement classroom learning with direct exposure to professional practice.
“These opportunities will enable students to gain industry insight before entering the labour market, helping them understand professional expectations and develop the skills required to be effective from day one,” he said.
Under the agreement, PwC will support a resource centre at UDBS with digital resources, books and other academic materials. PwC professionals will also contribute through seminars, guest lectures and training, while the partnership will facilitate student and staff placements, joint workshops, research and knowledge-sharing initiatives.
The agreement will further introduce annual awards for top-performing accounting and finance students, providing recognition and motivation for academic excellence while strengthening students’ engagement with the professional world.
The three-year MoU provides an overarching framework for collaboration, with specific activities to be implemented through appropriate arrangements between UDSM and PwC Tanzania.
The partnership is expected to deepen the university–industry link, enhance the relevance of academic training and contribute to developing highly skilled human capital capable of responding to Tanzania’s present and future development needs.