The Durban University of Technology took part in the prestigious EU: AFRICA-The Journey Conference and Hackathon held virtually from Thursday, 09 December 2021 to Sunday, 12 December 2021.
The online conference and hackathon was aimed at bringing fresh solutions to socio-economic problems in Africa and in Europe. Across Africa and Europe, the event consisted of about 3000 participants, 100 mentors, 50 speakers and 500+ tech communities.
For four days, there were thought-provoking discussions fuelled by innovation and technology in alignment with the aims set by the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals and the Africa Agenda 2063. The conference was broadcasted live on Facebook and YouTube.
The official launch of this event was held on Thursday evening, 09 December 2021 where the proceedings of the conference and hackathon were unpacked. DUT first made an appearance on Friday morning, where the Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Research, Innovation and Engagement, Prof Sibusiso Moyo was among the experts who spoke on Education. With day two sub-themed, FOUNDATION, she shared the podium with Ms Ditta Trindade, Global Education Specialist from Slovakia, Ms Cindy Adem, CEO: Village2Nation from Kenya and Mr Israel Omidosu from Nigeria but now based in Netherlands, who is the Product Owner of Popup Campus.
Representing South Africa and DUT in the discussion Prof Moyo spoke passionately about her current role in the University of supporting students, researchers and innovators. She explained the role of public higher education institutions within the South African context and their expected contribution to addressing graduate and youth unemployment at large.
“One of the programmes we run at the Durban University of Technology, for instance, is the entrepreneurship programme where we try to ensure that we provide opportunities for entrepreneurial learning and practice in a safe environment. We do also provide seed funding for student start-ups to give them a fair chance to succeed, thus creating work and employment opportunities. Our entrepreneurship policy and strategy is aligned to the Sustainable Development Goals and the strategic goals of the University and the country as well,” said Prof Moyo.
She also mentioned that they are very passionate about supporting girls in the Science, Technology and Engineering areas as well. “We know that as part of creating sustainable communities and economies, equal participation and representation is vital. We aim to train students to be independent, to start up their own enterprises so they can also become active citizens in the economy,” added Prof Moyo.
Three hours later, the DUT Director: Technology, Transfer and Innovation and Founder of Global Health Biotech, Prof Keolebogile Motaung also represented DUT in a panel discussion on Health and Wellness. She shared the stage with Ms Isabella Notarangelo the Value & Innovation-based Access Manager of MedTech Europe from Belgium, Ms Prudence Persson Co-Founder & CEO of Manje Health based in Sweden and based in Estonia Mr Franck Verzefé an AI-Based Detection of Falsified Medicine Lead, ITU & WHO Focus Group: AI For Health, United Nations and Ms Mariin Petoffer Founder and Designer of Mental Pin.
Speaking about becoming an entrepreneur, Prof Motaung said she did not want to train her students to be job seekers but rather job creators as jobs are scarce. She added that she always encourages her students to translate their research into commercialisation. Prof Motaung raised concerns about research at universities that is not commercialised and is collecting dust. She emphasised the importance of students to always have a target market in mind whenever they are developing new products as this will determine their success in the business world.
Day three was sub-themed, DEVELOPMENT and day four, TRANSFORMATION. Also representing Southern Africa in the e-Governance panel discussion was Mr Sikho Msomi, Managing Director of On Point Communications. He shared the stage with Mr Jonas Tesfu, Co-founder and CEO of Pangea Accelerator from Norway, Mr Lavish Mawuena Mensah, Head of Programme – Finance, E-Governance and Internet Governance for Africa (EGIGFA) based in Ghana and Mr Mats Kuuskemaa, Head of Business Strategy of e-Residency based in Estonia.
Mr Msomi spoke about the move to integrated information systems. In South Africa, Msomi noted that from a data perspective the country still needs to work, to unlock the benefits of e-Governance. “Whether it is increasing efficiencies, improving citizen involvement in processes and decision making or even just increasing trust for investors. The digital dividend still need to materialise,” said Msomi.
Additionally, DUT had two Teams participate in the Hackathon. The first team participated under the theme of Education and the participants were: Prof Sibusiso Moyo, Dr Mapula Razwinani and Prof Keo Motaung. Their topic focused on “Commercialisation of Research from the Universities”. The team came up with a prototype for training and empowering researchers and postgraduate students with relevant skills that will assist them to transfer the results of their research into large and small companies to benefit society.
The second Team was led by Mr Muzikayise Mhlongo who participated under the Theme: Vulnerable Population. Mr Mhlongo is the Founder of Ubuntu Fibre which has developed an innovative solution using farming by-products from the farms.
The event ended on Sunday evening with the awards ceremony, acknowledging individuals and teams who have come up with innovative solutions to most of the problems faced in Africa and Europe
Education – Prof. Moyo
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DUn5NH1kNqo
Facebook: https://fb.watch/9P4QFdcFje/
Health & Wellness – Prof. Motaung
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5fHX-9iIg4
Facebook: https://fb.watch/9P4JJpThkD/
E-Governance – Mr Msomi
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hNI05XXrnBk
Facebook: https://fb.watch/9UjK7SS_JV/
Opening Ceremony
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2eXDr8MqSjU
Facebook: https://fb.watch/9Uln1rLQfl/
Awards Ceremony
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fwcOagCPKSk
Facebook: https://fb.watch/9UlkaMHx0o/
Top 20 Demos
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P8FW65MXNjU
Facebook: https://fb.watch/9UlhWcaYGH/
Pictured: Dr Mapula Razwinani, Mr Muzikayise Mhlongo, Prof Sibusiso Moyo, Prof Motaung and Mr Sikho Msomi.
Simangele Zuma
