The STEM Academy is a project established by CUT in partnership with the Free State Department of Education. Its mandate is to support school curriculum delivery and inspire learners' interest in STEM subjects. Learners are exposed to Science experiments and mentored by science experts. CUT partnered with the Eskom Expo for Young Scientists in 2019 and through this partnership, primary and secondary school learners receive mentorship from CUT academics. The mentors assist these learners with conceptualising science projects in response to challenges within their communities.

Mr Tshepo Lenkoe, a Free State grade 12 learner from Senakangwedi Secondary School in Botshabelo, was awarded the coveted gold medal and a cash prize at the 2020 Africa Science Buskers Festival for his scientific invention in August 2020. He is also a gold medal winner in the Free State Regional Science Fair held at the CUT's Boet Troskie Hall in 2019. Tshepo's project involved building a prototype umbrella that can convert solar energy into electrical energy. Tshepo's project dubbed 'Five Steps into the Future' also competed amongst many in the 2020 virtual i-GYM Innovation Challenge that took place from 22 September 2020.

Tshepo is part of the Eskom Expo/STEM Academy Science Camps launched at CUT in February 2020 but due to the pandemic, his and other young scientists' projects have been receiving support and mentorship virtually from the Department of Electrical, Electronic and Computer Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Built Environment and Information Technology and the Department of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education in the Faculty of Humanities. The support received from this team of experts has played a prominent role in Tshepo's invention.

In Tshepo's case, the Provincial Coordinator for the Eskom Expo, Mr Nicho Swartz, identified the potential of the project and approached the CUT Centre of Sustainable Smart Cities (CSSC) and the STEM Academy for this learner's guidance. The CSSC focuses on research that can produce new technology, products, devices, structures, methodology contributing towards the development of a Sustainable City of the Future. The centre has in the past worked closely with the Eskom Expo to identify experts in relevant fields to guide learners with their projects, which led to participants receiving gold prizes at international level as well as mention in the South African parliament. "It is worth noting that many of these learners come from quintile 1,2,3 schools and lack basic resources, so just giving the learners access to computer labs with internet access, has expanded their horizon," said the Provincial Coordinator for the Eskom Expo Mr Nicho Swartz.

Mr Swartz applauded Dr Izabeth Conradie, Manager: CUT Ideas Generator, who saw it fit to include the Eskom Expo projects in their annual challenge, not just to allow them an opportunity to win some cash, but rather, provide them with training on business and entrepreneurship skills. "This was because the expo project was just a school project and it ended with that, while so many of them had real-world applications and the potential to be commercialised. This, I believe, is the vision for this partnership to see these projects through to complete development and possibly assisting the innovators in marketing their products and possibly even start their own businesses," said Mr Swartz.

Dr Nicolaas Luwes, an activity leader in the centre, was approached to test the project and identify the scientific methods needed for such a system. With this guidance, Tshepo was able to produce scientific method results validating the specifications of his system. The role of the CUT CSSC Expo mentor program is only to guide the learners for quality improvement, but the onus of the work, innovation and experimentation still fall on the learners. "In the case of Tshepo, he is the innovator and young scientist that was able to take away some scientific guidance and won an accolade. With Industry 4.0 making manufacturing easier and more cost-effective, young scientists like Tshepo and his love and focus on STEM, could only improve South African industrial capabilities," said Dr Luwes.

The learners are scheduled to submit their online assessments on 04 December 2020 and winners will be announced soon after.

Caption

Mr Tshepo Lenkoe from Senakangwedi Secondary School showing off his invention at the 2019 Free State Regional Science Fair.