UP hopes to spark love for engineering among underprivileged
“There is no reason why they cannot study this. We inspire learners to think about engineering as a career because we have a lot of potential in South Africa that we are not using, which is sad.”
University of Pretoria and a local non-profit organisation have created a programme to teach high school learners introductory robotics and computing.
UP electrical, electronic and computer engineering (EECE) head of undergraduate studies Prof Tania Hanekom said the project would allow students to transfer the skills they learn to high school learners throughout Tshwane.
UP partnered with KTG (keep that gold shining) to create the programme to teach grade 8 to 11 learners how to build lowcost robots.
The project is part of UP faculty of engineering, built environment and information technology (Ebit) and will nurture learners in underprivileged township and rural schools to raise their interest in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (Stem) careers.
The project was founded in 2021 and learners from schools in Mamelodi, Hammanskraal, Winterveldt, Atteridgeville and Pretoria North are already participating in it.
“We started this initiative because we found that many learners in remote areas of our communities do not think about studying engineering.
They look at it as a career for learners who come from privileged schools,” Prof Hanekom said.
She said UP decided to open the minds of the youth “so that you cannot only touch one of these robots – you can also create one”.
“There is no reason why they cannot study this. We inspire learners to think about engineering as a career because we have a lot of potential in South Africa that we are not using, which is sad. We need all those learners to study towards careers in Stem disciplines and help develop South Africa to its full potential,” she said.
Hanekom said that it was concerning that some developed countries have one to 200 or 300 engineers per population, while South Africa only had one to 3 100.
KTG CIO and UP computer engineering student Matthew Beekman said KTG worked with schools in underprivileged communities.
Beekman said following the initial success of the project, they started bringing the learners to UP to attend the robot, drone and sensor schools on weekends.
“We select learners who show a keen interest in learning further and place them into a more continuous and more advanced robotics programme,” said Beekman.
“This is where the robot school run by Prof Hanekom, sensor school run by Prof Trudi Joubert, and drone school, run by myself, come into play. We hope to introduce learners to the possibilities in the industry and spark interest in as many of them as we can.
“Within the context of the fourth industrial revolution, ICT and robotics are careers that offer good job security. The skills we share are becoming more of a necessity than a privilege – yet these learners still lack these opportunities.”
Grade 9 learner at Thulaganyo secondary school in Winterveldt, Lesego Mahladisha (15), said the project created an interest and curiosity about engineering.
Thato Mathou (14) of Makgetse secondary school in Hammanskraal said they learned about coding and robots, as well as the importance of AC and DC motors and how they are used.
“For eight weeks I learned about how engineers create things and I witnessed how coding, architecture and technology create very useful things.
“This project has made me want to study computer engineering. I cannot wait,” Mathou said.
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