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Mega Project: Sustainable Living Belgium Campus iTversity has embarked on a new virtual international collaboration project with PXL University of Applied Sciences and Arts (Belgium) and Fontys University of Applied Sciences (The Netherlands). The project, titled Mega Project: Sustainable Living, is a semester long collaboration which challenges students from across the globe to engineer solutions around sustainable living. About the Project Participating students will work in groups with international peers from a range of faculties on overarching innovation projects. The projects will address sustainable living challenges in the areas of waste management and smart cities, with a specific focus on the SDGs. By exposing students to multicultural course content and multidisciplinary innovation, the project aims to promote the innovation and leadership skills needed to drive real change in our increasingly complicated world. “There is a need for global competence and job-ready graduates who understand the complex environment they are entering. Although knowledge is important, possessing the skills, attitudes and behaviours needed to thrive in today’s world is even more important. We need to be able to make connections, even in the virtual world, in order to create respect and understanding, and collaboratively create and critically evaluate sustainable and relevant solutions.” – Belgium Campus CEO, Enrico Jacobs. Kick-Off Event and Challenges Earlier this month, a virtual kick-off event was held to mark the official launch of the project. The event gave participating students an opportunity to meet their international peers and provided a platform for the presentation of the sustainable living challenges they will be working together to address. The challenges, which were presented by representatives from each of the participating organisations, include: Waste Management ChallengePresented by Technology Innovations Agency HOD, Senisha Moonsamy and Elula Group South Africa Director, Alvero Mpofu. Students are challenged to ideate, research and prototype a localised, socially inclusive solution that addresses the negative effect increased urbanisation has on waste management. The solution must move away from the unsustainable wase management method of landfill disposal and instead focus on waste prevention, reuse, recycling and recovery. Students are encouraged to adopt a technological approach, using trending technologies like AI and IoT, to develop solutions which are not only feasible but are also leading and distinct. Air Quality ChallengePresented by Boekel Ecovillage Founder, Ad Vlems. Students are tasked with creating an AI application that will help maintain a healthy environment within the eco-homes in this community. To achieve this, the app must be capable of consolidating information from existing air quality sensors within the homes, weather forecasts, health tables and user preferences, in order to suggest actions that will keep air quality at an optimum. Students must also keep security and user privacy in mind during the development process. Energy Transition ChallengePresented by OpenRemote CEO, Pierre Kil. Students must design software tools that will allow for the development of an off-grid energy management system. The tools created must optimise the management of renewable energy by predicting and creating a balance between production and consumption. This can be achieved with the use of a smart energy storage device which participating students are also challenged to design. In addition to the industry partner representatives and students and staff from the participating institutions, the event was also attended by Dr. Ayodele Odusola, the Resident Representative for the United Nations Development Programme in South Africa. Dr. Odusola gave an insightful speech highlighting the importance of the SDGs, and a project such as this, in realising the UNDP’s goal to achieve an inclusive, just and sustainable future for all. “This initiative is shifting the frontier of market-ready graduates by aligning theory with practical skills and labour market context. I strongly believe that the students who benefit from this initiative will be the drivers of future innovations that lead us in the right direction. -Louise Fuller

Entelect Challenge University Cup 2020 We Didn’t Win the Cup but Our Cup Remains Half Full Belgium Campus iTversity participated in its second Entelect Challenge University Cup earlier this month. Future tech leaders from universities across the country showcased their programming skills at the one day hackathon, which marked Entelects’ 3rd annual event. The event was open to undergraduate students and full time honours students, and we were proud to have 20 students from a range of courses and years, representing Belgium Campus and giving the challenge their all. In teams of 2 or 3, the online event challenged participants to optimise the placement of batteries in a power grid for an alternative fuel company. Successfully doing this would reduce the negative effect that gaps between batteries has on the transmission and distribution of power. Presented with 5 power grids and 25 battery shapes, participants were required to create an algorithm that would place the batteries in an optimal location, while taking into account the space already used for other components within the grids. The hackathon provided our students with a unique opportunity to strengthen their programming capabilities in a fun and rewarding way, while also improving their teamwork and time management skills. Read what some of our students had to say about the experience: “The hackathon taught us to work as a team. We bonded through brainstorms and learnt a lot from each other. As first years, my team and I didn’t have much programming experience but we improvised and learnt as we went. Overall, the hackathon was an amazing experience and I will definitely do it again!” – Francois Greeff, 1st year BComp student. “Working as part of a team to try to solve a challenge under time constraints was a fun and exciting experience. Even though we didn’t win, I learnt a lot and would definitely do it again.” – Elne Van Wyk, 3rd year BComp student. “The hackathon expanded my programming knowledge. I learnt how to use basic Java and Python, two languages I had never worked with before. I also learnt a lot about programming as a team, and it was fun working together to try to solve the challenge. It is definitely an event I would like to participate in again.” – Zandrei Kleynhans, 1st year BComp student. We may not have won the cup but our students’ feedback and positive attitude reminds us that at Belgium Campus our cup remains half full. And don’t count us out just yet, we are sharpening our programming skills and will be back for the cup next year Read about the other hackathons Belgium Campus participated in this year:Hack the Waste (a hackathon which challenged students to develop innovative solutions to the global waste problem): https://www.belgiumcampus.ac.za/News/Hack-the-Waste-2020.html GirlCode (an all-female hackathon that challenged participants to solve the UN Sustainable Development Goals within the context of COVID-19): https://www.belgiumcampus.ac.za/News/Female-Students-Strife-App.html -Louise Fuller

Alumni: Marius Vorster CTO at Inoxico Pty Ltd At Belgium Campus iTversity we view our graduates as a reflection of our institution and the values and work ethic we pride ourselves on. We enjoy finding out the different paths they embark on once leaving us and try to share their achievements whenever we can. Marius Vorster graduated from Belgium Campus in 2011 with a Bachelor of Computing. Since then he has worked at the following local and international IT companies: anaXis, frog, Britehouse, and Inoxico Pty Ltd where he is currently CTO. We checked in with him to find out how his passion for IT developed and to get some advice for our current students. 1. How did your passion for IT develop?“I’ve always liked computers so there was a natural gravitation towards that. My time at Belgium Campus helped me realise my passion for programming and completing my internship in Belgium really broadened my perspective. I realised that there’s so much potential creation power in developing software and solving problems. There’s a unique combination between the creative side and the logical side which play off each other, and that really accelerated my passion for what I do.” 2. What do you think makes Belgium Campus unique?“The sense of community at Belgium Campus really stood out to me. When you join Belgium Campus you join a close-knit community with a similar culture and way of thinking and learning. This community, combined with the exceptional training Belgium Campus provides and being thrown into the deep end, produces graduates who are able to make a real difference, not just in South Africa, but all over the world.” 3. What advice do you have for current Belgium Campus students pursuing careers in IT?“I usually advise graduates to see the first few years of work as the time to build a solid foundation and learn as much as possible, rather than a time to look for the best salary. A lot of companies are going to try to entice you with perks, and although these will sound exciting, perks will not give you the experience you need to stand out in a crowd and advance your career. You need to look for a company that provides an environment for knowledge sharing and room to expand your horizons. This is more difficult than it sounds because we live in a culture that puts value on how much money you earn and what car you drive. However, if you are able to humble yourself in the first few years and focus on what really matters, it will definitely pay off in the long run.”