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Master UX Design with a Belgium Campus iTversity Course Would you like to create online experiences that leave users in awe and simultaneously make you a hot commodity amongst leading organisations? Study a UX design course! But don’t just choose any course. Becoming a skilled UX design expert requires a course that will give you sound theoretical knowledge and real-world application. Read on to learn what exactly UX design is and how a Belgium Campus iTversity course will help you master it. What is UX Design? In the digital realm, UX design involves understanding user psychology to create a user experience (UX) that best promotes a digital product or service. To achieve this, you must study a course that teaches you to masterfully combine visuals, content, structure, and navigation to create a UX that is intuitive, engaging, and user-friendly. Why is this so important? Well, think about the digital platforms you spend the most time on/ are most likely to make purchases on. Are they difficult to navigate, slow loading, or hard on the eyes? Certainly not! They provide positive and memorable experiences that keep you coming back for more. This effect doesn’t just happen by chance. Skilled UX design professionals are carrying out several interconnected steps which you should learn during a course in this field, including: Product definition: identifying the target audience, understanding business requirements, and establishing the overall vision for the UX. Research: using various research methods, including interviews and surveys, to gather insights about user needs and preferences. Analysis: analysing the data gathered during the research stage to identify patterns, trends, and user insights to inform the decisions made in the design step. Design: performing information architecture, wireframing, and prototyping to craft a user interface and UX that addresses the user needs and business goals identified in the previous stages. Validation and Testing: testing the design with real users to ensure it meets user needs and expectations effectively and refining where necessary based on feedback received. UX Design Course at Belgium Campus iTversity At Belgium Campus, we offer 3 world-class IT qualifications that include UX design as part of the curriculum. These include our 3-year Diploma in Information Technology course, Our 3-year Bachelor of Information Technology course, and our 4-year Bachelor of Computing course. Each course doesn’t just provide sound theoretical knowledge grounded in real-world application but also gives students the incredible opportunity to work on a UX design project for real stakeholders. Below is a brief description of the UX design project our Bachelor of Computing course students recently worked on. Bachelor of Computing Course UX Design Project Our third-year Bachelor of Computing students recently worked on a real-world UX design project as part of their course. Working in groups of 4, they were required to approach a South African business and propose an improved UX design for their website or app, or in cases where the business did not have a functioning website or app, to develop a UX design for one from scratch. Accomplishing this required the meticulous execution of each stage of the UX design process while implementing the best practices they learnt during their course – no easy task! ‘Working on this project greatly enriched my course. I enjoyed learning about different design software, and it was great to be able to implement the principles I learnt during my course to carry out the design process step by step. Receiving feedback directly from a client taught me the great impact small details, like the shape of call-to-action buttons, can have on the overall UX.’– John-Ross Kockott, Bachelor of Computing course student. The businesses our Bachelor of Computing course students worked with included a comic shop in Cape Town CBD, an air conditioning company, a coffee shop in Gansbaai, a construction company, and a music school in Klerksdorp. Their projects ranged from working with existing websites to improve navigation, create a more personalised experience and increase traffic to designing an app for primary and high school learners and designing corporate image and styling – one group even took on improving the Belgium Campus iTversity student portal! They presented their high-fidelity prototypes to their clients, some of whom were so impressed that they asked them to develop their actual website/ app! We look forward to seeing the finished products! Need More Information About UX Design or a Specific Belgium Campus Course? Would you like more information about a specific Belgium Campus course or the UX design module or project offered as part of that course? Send us an email at [email protected] or call us on 010 593 5368, and one of our student advisors will help you take the first step towards choosing a course that will help you master the in-demand and rewarding skill that is UX design.  -Louise Fuller

Transforming Young Lives Through STEM Education We all have heaps of potential locked inside of us. Sometimes all it takes is for someone to help us find the key. Belgium Campus iTversity recently hosted a 10-day Winter School programme on behalf of leading technology solutions provider Dimension Data. The programme was attended by 50 Grade 12 public school learners from underserved communities in Gauteng and aimed to help them prepare for their upcoming exams. The learners form part of a larger youth development initiative by Dimension Data, which also includes a Saturday School programme. The initiative aims to rewrite the narrative for high-achieving youth from previously disadvantaged backgrounds by broadening their education and career prospects through supplementary STEM classes. The classes are presented by subject experts and qualified educators and, over the past 28 years, have helped over 2000 high school learners achieve exceptional matric results. The initiative boasts a 90% average annual university entrance rate, and the Johannesburg class of 2022 achieved a 100% matric pass rate! The Winter School programme is usually held at the Dimension Data Head Office in Bryanston, but this year we offered to host the programme at our Kempton Park campus. The intention behind this was not only to provide the learners with a space to attend their classes but also to provide an opportunity for them to get a taste of what studying at Belgium Campus is like. “This is our first time hosting our Winter School at Belgium Campus, but we are hoping it is something we can continue. A number of learners have indicated their interest in studying here, and this experience will help them make a more informed decision next year.” – Shakes Makgalemane, Saturday School Programme Manager. This is not the first collaboration between Belgium Campus iTversity and Dimension Data. In fact, the relationship between our organisations dates back half a decade! Sparked by our mutual investment in the field of information technology, our relationship has grown over the years through our shared mission to change the lives of South African youth through education, job opportunities, and economic growth. A crucial part of achieving this is ensuring that the learners who attend this programme not only have the marks to access higher education but also the knowledge to make an informed educational choice for a promising future. With the high and ever-increasing demand for IT professionals, both locally and globally, there has never been a better time to promote IT education amongst the youth. According to an extensive report by the global organisational consulting firm Korn Ferry, there is projected to be a staggering global IT talent shortage of more than 85 million people by 2030. By promoting IT education among the youth, we can address this talent gap, which holds the potential to not only provide lucrative career opportunities for young individuals but also to play a transformative role in solving our country’s unemployment challenges. To this end, we host Dimension Data’s learners at our Pretoria campus open days – the next of which is on 26 August! During these events, these learners can explore the field of information technology and the diverse career opportunities within this dynamic industry. They also have an opportunity to engage with our student advisors to decide whether this is a field they would like to pursue and what study options are available to them at Belgium Campus iTversity. “The reality is that we have a lot of students who go to uni and come back with no employment, so for us making sure the students we support are employable and can be easily integrated into the business is extremely important. This is one of the key reasons we chose to partner with Belgium Campus, as they have a track record of producing work-ready IT graduates.” – Shakes Makgalemane, Saturday School Programme Manager. Dimension Data provides bursaries to any learners from their programme who would like to pursue higher education in the field of information technology. They are currently sponsoring 30 students pursuing their IT studies at Belgium Campus iTversity, 20 of whom attended their programme and 10 of which are Deaf students in need of financial support. To date, the organisation has provided close to 100 bursaries to Belgium Campus students, many of whom complete their internships at Dimension Data before becoming qualified professionals who make their mark in the IT industry. “I am delighted to share that I am living my passion as a Business Intelligence Developer at Nedbank. However, I must acknowledge that, given my background, my journey wouldn’t have been possible without the invaluable support and opportunities provided by Dimension Data and Belgium Campus. After completing the Dimension Data Saturday School programme and receiving my matric results, Shakes informed me about a scholarship opportunity to study at Belgium Campus. I applied and secured the scholarship, thanks to my matric results. Receiving that scholarship turned my dreams of pursuing higher education into a reality. The practical knowledge and training I gained during my Bachelor of Computing degree and internship at Dimension Data provided the strong foundation I needed to aim for the stars in my career.” – Gladys Dube, BI Developer at Nedbank and Belgium Campus iTversity alumna. Ms Dube’s story is just one of many lives transformed by Dimension Data’s youth development initiative and quality education received from Belgium Campus iTversity. Together, we eagerly look to the future, committed to transforming even more lives through quality STEM education and educational support. -Louise Fuller

Software Engineering Course Students Develop Smart Wearable Solutions Software engineering course students from Belgium Campus iTversity partnered with students from UCLL in Belgium to develop smart wearable solutions that promote well-being in the workplace. This entirely virtual collaboration forms part of Belgium Campus iTversity’s larger goal to address the Sustainable Development Goals through cross-cultural collaboration. Research shows that the more diverse a team is, the more likely they are to produce novel solutions because they can draw on multiple perspectives during the ideation process. What Is Workplace Well-Being? Workplace well-being incorporates all aspects of working life that influence an employee’s health and happiness. It includes physical factors, like how safe a work environment is, and emotional factors, like the treatment an employee receives. Most of us spend the bulk of our time at work, and it is not surprising that more and more organisations are realising how crucial workplace well-being is for employee retention and productivity. What Are Smart Wearables? Smart wearables are electronic devices people can wear on their bodies to collect, transmit and process data. Some examples include smart jewellery, smart clothing, smart glasses, and smart watches. The most well-known application of smart wearables is to track goals in the fitness world, but they can be designed to support health and well-being in any industry. The Project Divided into three multicultural and multidisciplinary groups, participating students had to combine their knowledge and skills to develop unified smart wearables solutions. For some students, this meant using their graphic design skills to design posters and logos to promote the solution. For the students from Belgium Campus iTversity, this meant incorporating all the skills they learnt during their software engineering course. “I was able to implement all the modules from my course so far. Software engineering doesn’t just involve coding. You need to be able to go through each step, from coming up with the idea to delivering the finished product. This includes research, planning, testing, and presenting.” – Kingsley Letlotlo Sepeng, Belgium Campus iTversity student. The Solutions Smart Wristband Group This group focussed on improving employee well-being in the mining sector. They designed a smart wristband to monitor employees’ steps and heart rates and to detect harmful gasses in the mine. If an anomaly is detected, for example, a spike in an employee’s heart rate, the wristband transmits this data to a device where a supervisor is notified and can investigate. Smart Chair Group Sitting in a chair all day without maintaining the correct posture can cause back injury. This group decided to solve this problem by designing a mechanical chair programmed to adjust depending on how its user is sitting to improve posture. Well-being App Group As mentioned earlier, employee well-being isn’t just about the physical factors that affect working life. How an employee feels at their workplace also has a significant influence on their well-being. This group developed an app that enables employees to send anonymous messages of encouragement to their colleagues. We are very proud of the solutions our software engineering course students were able to develop in collaboration with their international peers. This year, a new set of students will take on this project, and we will be joined by an additional Belgian institution – Hasselt University!  Would you like to study a software engineering course that will let you work on projects like this? Send us an email at [email protected] or call us on 010 593 5368 to find out about our Bachelor of Computing degree. Our friendly admissions team is ready to give you all the necessary information and will even take you through the application process. -Louise Fuller

The vibrant and inspiring vocal ensemble Mzansi Youth Choir has been making waves in international choral music since 2003, and now they have captured the hearts of the world with their captivating Golden Buzzer-winning performance during the latest season of the America’s Got Talent (AGT) reality show. Of course, students and staff at Belgium Campus ITversity have always been proud fans of the Mzansi Youth Choir because of our institution’s shared connection: Their co-founder and former musical director is none other than Belgium Campus’ Chief Executive for Education & Academic Collaboration, Dr Jannie Zaaiman, who along with wife Marina, took a moment of near-tragedy and turned it into a legacy of musical hope and transformation for the youth of South Africa. The birth of the Mzansi Youth Choir The genesis of the Mzansi Youth Choir began in the early 2000s, when the Zaaiman family was hijacked in Gauteng. An all too common occurrence in the lives of many South Africans, both then and now, but one that gave Dr and Mrs Zaaiman a moment to reflect on how to turn this traumatic event into something more proactive and positive. Instead of looking to punish the young perpetrators of the crime, the couple decided to find out what the societal factors were that drove them to commit the crime in the first place and try to find a way to help solve the problem. “The boys who hijacked us were barely old enough to be driving,” Dr Zaaiman told the Creative Feel arts news website in 2018, “[the family and I] tried to imagine the circumstances that could have led them to this point and decided we needed to make a positive difference.” There had to be a way, Dr Zaaiman thought, to inspire young people growing up surrounded by crime and poverty, and influence their lives through the healing power of music, which is something close to the Zaaiman family’s heart. Starting with a small group of aspiring Soweto youngsters as the choir’s first members, the Mzansi Youth Choir slowly grew their reputation as one of the country’s most dynamic and versatile singing groups. Twenty years later, the group is a choral force to be reckoned with, performing to standing ovations at choir competitions and events around the world, at some of the greatest venues in the world – including London’s Royal Albert Hall (including a detour for an impromptu performance outside Buckingham Palace) and Soccer City, Soweto during the 2010 World Cup. The choir’s connection with Belgium Campus remains strong, with the choir performing regularly at our Graduation and Academic Opening Ceremonies.   The Mzansi Youth Choir’s triumph on America’s Got Talent Now, with a singing talent pool of over 45 young South Africans and a diverse repertory of classical, jazz, gospel and traditional music, the Mzansi Youth Choir have made fans out of Simon Cowell, Howie Mandel and the other judges of America’s Got Talent, along with millions of American viewers and a huge global online audience with their most recent performance. The audition earned the choir the show’s very first Audience Golden Buzzer accolade for a group, awarded to a performance unanimously loved by the studio audience and all the America’s Got Talent judges. This honour means the Mzansi Youth Choir will be going directly to the show’s semi-finals where their next performance could see them in with a chance to the finals where the choir could win a $1 million grand prize as well as a Las Vegas concert residency.    While the choir’s audition itself is a tour-de-force of emotion and powerful authenticity, the story behind the Mzansi Youth Choir’s version of the song “It’s OK” by the artist Nightbirde is even more poignant. Play Play Previous Next The musical connection between the Mzansi Youth Choir and Nightbirde Nightbirde, also known as Jane Marczewski, was a previous AGT Golden Buzzer winner in 2021, where she not only impressed Simon Cowell enough to use his Golden Buzzer privilege to move her on to that season’s semi-finals, but also brought this notoriously indifferent talent show judge to tears. Sadly, before Marczewski could perform again, she withdrew from the competition due to a worsening cancer diagnosis, and in 2022, sadly passed away at the age of 31. Inspired by Nightbirde’s energy and positivity in the face of adversity and her beautiful song, the Mzansi Youth Choir paid tribute to her legacy with an emotional acapella performance that brought down the AGT house and brought the world to tears. Watch Nightbirde’s America’s Got Talent performance here. “Nightbirde and her music has been such a pillar of strength for our choir through difficult times,” Mzansi members said after their performance, adding “We want to continue her legacy…that’s why we chose this song.” Alfred Phakathi, Mzansi Youth Choir’s artistic director, told the show how proud he was of the performers, praising their hard work and ability to handle the intense pressure of the competition with grace, adding that “it was an immeasurable experience for each of them and also for their proud families at home.” Marczewski’s brother tweeted his thanks to the Mzansi Youth Choir for their emotional tribute, saying “Jane would be so proud. Simply amazing” and wished them luck for the rest of the competition. From a beginning borne out of a moment of near-tragedy to giving life to music on the world’s stage, the Mzansi Youth Choir’s rise to stardom is far from over, with all South Africans and everyone at Belgium Campus cheering for them all the way.     Don’t forget to catch news and videos of the Mzansi Youth Choir’s next highly-anticipated performance in the America’s Got Talent semi-finals, starting on 22 August 2023. Show your support and follow the Mzansi Youth Choir on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube. Facebook Instagram Youtube -Chris Anderson