The Durban University of Technology Lecturer Prinavin Govender is on a mission to save the planet by using technology and lobbying students to be environmental advocates.
Govender lectures computer science in the department of Information Technology and has since involved himself and his students with Climate Action Project, a movement that campaigns for environmental sustainability thereby saving the planet. The movement is a student-centered project involving 250 schools over 69 countries worldwide.
The Climate Action Project provides a platform for students from different continents to conduct research, brainstorm and discuss ideas about the planet and subsequently share their findings of these topics using videos and online presentations.
“I am a computer programmer and I am teaching my students how to create WebPages using HTML and CSS; so I decided to incorporate the” Climate Change Project” into our curriculum. As I talking about climate change with my students they then decided to create a WebPage.
Students have the existing knowledge of HTML and CSS. They had to have pictures, of which must denote our institution and they included the hyperlinks from the PDF document that I had emailed to them,” explained Govender.
Govender added that the project embraces the 21st century, learning skills and sustainable development goals. It enables students to also use technology in their classroom to find and structure content, as well as present and share their findings.
“This project is the brainchild of Koen Timmers, a Belgian teacher who was a top 50 finalist for the Global Teacher Prize. His last undertaking called ‘The Human Differences Project” provided students from around the world with an opportunity to address the walls, both real and metaphoric that divides us. Students collaborate through 21st-century technologies to learn more about climate issues facing the planet. This platform is also used to address these issues,” said Govender.
Pictured: DUT’s IT lecturer Prinavin Govender and his students who are part of the “Climate Action Project”, a movement that advocates for environmental sustainability.
Sandile Motha
