General Electric (GE) SA, in partnership with Enactus and Cognity Advisory, has unveiled the top 10 teams for the University Business Challenge.
The University Business Challenge is an undergraduate business game competition designed to foster employability and entrepreneurial skills in students.
The challenge was first launched in 1998 in the UK, and is supported by universities and graduate employers globally. General Electric SA sponsors the challenge locally.
The Enactus university teams, made up of 45 students, were selected from an initial 27 teams that had entered the challenge.
According to Balogun Roti, GE regional learning leader for Sub-Saharan Africa, teams were tasked with creating innovative solutions to improve the use of existing energy infrastructure, or alternatively, create solutions to generate affordable, reliable and sustainable green energy.
"In Africa, we empower people by investing in skills development in terms of a focused, three-pronged strategy: we build stronger educational systems and links to industry by partnering with leading African academic institutions to create professional development programmes and equip the institutions with learning technologies."
The qualifying teams were selected from the Central University of Technology, Durban University of Technology, Mangosuthu University of Technology, Nelson Mandela University, University of Fort Hare, University of KwaZulu-Natal, University of the Free State and University of Limpopo.
The team from University of Limpopo, led by Jimmy Modiba, is busy with project Kwelopele community computer centre, which includes establishing a community computer centre that will be made up of discarded computers from institutions, corporate companies and landfills within the greater Letaba municipality in Limpopo.
"The team will collect old computers and other useful materials from the various places which will then be reused as equipment and assets of the computer centre. A feasibility study we conducted within the local community has shown that lack of Internet connection and information often deterred those achieving good marks in school. Through this project we hope to provide access to information through ICT and reduce waste and pollution via recycling," explains Modiba.
A submission by team Central University of Technology from Bloemfontein, Free State, will see the implementation of 400W smart solar energy systems for residents of Mafora informal settlement.
"We hope the system will bring access to affordable green energy to the community of Mafora informal settlement as well reduce the occurrence of home fires as most shacks in the area do not have electricity and use candles and kerosene," says project leader Trecia Hambone.
The challenge will run between now and June 2018, when the teams will implement the solutions in their identified communities. "The teams will then be expected to give final presentations at the GE Africa Innovation Centre in June next year and a winner will be chosen. The winning team will receive R50 000 in cash towards their project as well as a consideration to have the option as a pipeline to GE's Enterprise Development. The runner-up teams will receive R30 000 and R20 000 respectively," notes Roti.
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