The penetration of wearable technology in African universities: trends, applications, and the Zimbabwean experience

Wearable technologies are increasingly recognized as transformative tools for enhancing student wellness, academic performance, and institutional efficiency in higher education. Yet their adoption in Sub-Saharan African universities remains critically understudied, particularly in resource-constrained settings. This study examines wearable technology adoption readiness across five Zimbabwean universities using a sequential explanatory mixed-methods design. Data was collected from 405 participants through structured questionnaires and supplemented key universities staffs. Quantitative data was analyzed using descriptive statistics, chi-square tests, independent samples t-tests, ANOVA, and exploratory factor analysis, while qualitative data underwent reflexive thematic analysis. Findings document a statistically significant interest-knowledge asymmetry (χ2 = 84.32, p < 0.001, Cramér’s V = 0.46), where 70% of students and 66% of staff express strong interest in wearable technologies yet only 25–30% report actual familiarity. Cost emerges as the primary adoption barrier, followed by infrastructure deficits and training gaps, diverging markedly from patterns in well-resourced settings. Drawing on the Technology Acceptance Model, this study proposes infrastructure adequacy as a necessary antecedent condition preceding perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use, empirically supported through exploration factor analysis confirming a three-factor construct structure. A staged adoption prerequisites framework is proposed as a transferable conceptual contribution for comparable Sub-Saharan African settings. Despite favorable policy environments under Education 5.0 and the National Development Strategy 1, a persistent rhetoric-reality gap between policy ambitions and resource allocations remains a fundamental obstacle. Near-universal stakeholder support for public-private partnerships (82–84%) signals a viable pathway forward.