For the second year, Geekulcha will be hosting the Geekulcha Student Society (GKSS) awards to recognise student leaders and some of the most noteworthy projects developed in the past year by `geeks’.
Themed ‘Student and tech innovation leadership amid COVID-19’, the awards will honour the GKSS leaders who have assisted fellow students in navigating their academic and career prospects during the lockdown.
Over 30 GKSS chapters have been launched across the country’s nine provinces, with plans to grow the number to 50 and encourage industry inclusivity by opening more chapters in rural FET colleges.
“With so much imbalance in the ICT sector, we believe it’s up to us to build industry leadership values right from tertiary level,” says Geekulcha COO Tiyani Nghonyama. “It’s a collective responsibility to build the next generation of captains of industry.”
In recognising the value of partnerships, Geekulcha will also honour outstanding lecturers, mentors and industry partners*.
GKSS is aimed at getting tertiary students into tech leadership roles at campus level and enabling an understanding of the evolving digital environment.
Each chapter’s top six executive committee is required to reflect a gender balance, include a tech and innovation manager (who leads the utilisation of Geekulcha partner technologies) and a first-year student who will be groomed for a position of higher leadership.
Geekulcha will also use the awards to outline the GKSS mandate for 2021, which highlights industry readiness for GKSS leaders.
Winners will be announced on 2 December. Register here to attend the online ceremony.
Public voting for the awards closes on 20 November; public votes account for 30% of the total score and will be added to the judges' 70%.
| Finalist | Institution | Role |
|---|---|---|
| Best GKSS Female Leader | ||
| Yolanda Mabusela | Vaal University of Technology | Deputy Chairperson |
| Amantle Mashele | Belgium Campus | Chairperson |
| Batlile Motuku | Tshwane Uni. of Tech | Social Media Manager |
| Thando Moyo | Rosebank College | Executive Committee |
| Naomi Bisimwa | UNISA | Chairperson |
| Christine Bisimwa | UNISA | Deputy Chairperson |
| Best Industry/Gov Mentor | ||
| Lenah Kitenge | HERE Technologies | Snr. Community Development Analyst |
| Steve Jump | Custodient | Founder / Director |
| Clint Leander | HERE Technologies | Business Development Manager |
| Paul Plantinga | Human Sciences Research Council | Research Specialist |
| Best Industry Partner | ||
| ITWeb / Brainstorm | ITWeb / Brainstorm Magazine | Business Tech News |
| HERE Technologies South Africa | HERE Technologies | Location Services |
| Human Sciences Research Council | Human Sciences Research Council | Data and Policy |
| Centre for Public Service Innovation | The Centre for Public Service Innovation | Public Sector Innovation |
| Best Project/Startup Created | ||
| Reportica | GKSS-BC | The idea is to incentivise consumers into saving water. The incentive will be in the form of issuing the consumers with a calculated discounted bus trip in correlation with the amount of water saved over a specified period. The aim of this idea is to not only encourage more people to make a conscious effort in trying to stay below the maximum water usage permitted in each household but to also encourage the use of regulated public transport which will aid in reduction of air pollution. |
| Edu Stack | GKSS-SPU | Learners will get their questions answered next time they meet face-to-face with the teacher. In turn this will assist the teacher to understand how the learner engages with the content. For learners, video group chat is still in the works. This will encourage team building and working in groups. |
| Re-Invent Students | GKSS-RC | A student platform for up-skilling and exposure to opportunities amidst Covid-19 to ensure that the students are not left behind. |
| Buddy Blog | GKSS-TUT | A web system "Buddy Blog" which allows students to make catching up with school work fun. |
| S.H.E | GKSS-UNISA | S.H.E is an educational and interactive solution made to educate women and children on GBV, how to take action, find and ask for help. |
| Best GKSS Chapter of 2020 | ||
| GKSS-UNISA-Florida | University of South Africa | Leaders of GKSS UNISA Pretoria chapter have been winning various hackathons and have motivated more students to take part in order to apply what’s learned in the classroom. |
| GKSS-BC | Belgium Campus | As a student, you need to know what’s out there in the industry. This GKSS chapter at Belgium campus has created learning platforms to enlighten students on best industry practices and methods. |
| GKSS-TUT | Tshwane University of Technology | Whether it was the Red Bull challenge or NASA’s Space Apps challenge, the GKSS TUT chapter ensured that its students were competing on a global stage. |
| GKSS-Waterberg | Waterberg College | In a mission to shape the Limpopo tech ecosystem, GKSS Waterberg chapter ensures that they bring their A-game in life changing technologies. |
| GKSS-NWU | North West University | Driving inclusive growth, this GKSS chapter ensures that female ICT students work in an enabling environment to assert their role in the sector |
| GKSS-VUT | Vaal University of Technology | From mapping intelligence to industry opportunities, GKSS-VUT ensures that students stay ahead with tools, participation and guidance from the industry. |
| GKSS-RC | Rosebank College | On a mission to see students build tech solutions with security in mind, this GKSS chapter strived on driving information security skills for the smart industry. |
| GKSS-SPU | Sol Plaatje University | A single university that has been dominating participation numbers at hackathons, GKSS-SPU is focused on ensuring that students develop what matters with open source tools. |
| GKSS-CUT | Central University of Technology | Built environment focused, GKSS-CUT is on a mission to ensure that students are able to use theory from class to innovatie for the smart growing world. |
| GKSS Leader of the Year - Announced by Dr Mclean Sibanda | ||
| Yolanda Mabusela | GKSS-VUT | Deputy Chairperson |
| Moses Mhlwana | GKSS-TUT | Chairperson |
| Amantle Mashele | GKSS-BC | Chairperson |
| Katlego Motaung | GKSS-RC | Chairperson |
| Melvin Kisten | GKSS-SPU | Chairperson |
| Nick Thobenjane | GKSS-Waterberg | Chairperson |
| Koketso Moseothata | GKSS-UNISA | Chairperson |
| Tshegofatso Seane | GKSS-NWU | Chairperson |
* ITWeb and Brainstorm magazine are Best Industry Partner finalists.
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