Aligning mechanical engineering curricula with Zimbabwe's education 5.0 framework: Opportunities, challenges, and implications for graduate readiness

Zimbabwe's Education 5.0 framework built on the five interlocking pillars of teaching, research, community service, innovation, and industrialisation represents a fundamental reimagining of the role of higher education in national development. Introduced by the Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education, Science and Technology Development (MHTESTD) and anchored in Zimbabwe's Vision 2030, the framework demands that universities transform from sites of knowledge transmission into engines of economic production, technological innovation, and community development. This paper examines the degree to which the Bachelor of Engineering Honours Degree in Mechanical Engineering at a Zimbabwean university aligns with these imperatives. Employing a qualitative case study methodology, the study triangulates three data sources: documentary analysis of official programme regulations and curriculum structures; semi-structured interviews with academic staff, students, and industry stakeholders; and comparative analysis of global engineering education frameworks including the CDIO model, Outcome-Based Education (OBE), and Industry 4.0 competency frameworks. Findings reveal strong structural alignment with the teaching, research, and innovation pillars, particularly through capstone innovation projects, Work-Related Learning, and specialist technical modules. However, the community service pillar remains underdeveloped, and the realisation of the industrialisation pillar is substantially constrained by persistent challenges including inadequate laboratory equipment, funding shortfalls, outdated infrastructure, weak and unstructured industry–university partnerships, and the logistical barriers inherent to assessing students in remote and hazardous industrial settings. The paper concludes with evidence-informed recommendations for curriculum reform, institutional investment, and policy intervention necessary to produce the entrepreneurial, technically excellent, and socially responsible mechanical engineering graduates that Zimbabwe's industrialisation agenda demands.