Singapore: Building a knowledge and education hub

Abstract

Rapid economic development in Botswana has come with lagging educational capacity and gaps in the professional skills needed for a more diversified economy and a role in the global knowledge economy. Consequently, as part of a policy to diversify into a number of market niches where Botswana has competitive advantages, the government sought to develop the country as an education hub. It considered and rejected an expensive special-purpose facility to build an elite campus cluster and instead sought to build Botswana as a country-level education hub. The education hub strategy aims to modernize the education sector, build domestic capacity, reduce the dependence and costs of overseas placements, internationalize the outlook of students and the workforce, and attract international students, branch campuses, and investment.