CPUT is the breeding ground for South Africa’s future innovators and entrepreneurs.

Thanks to the Idea-Create Student Innovation Competition, students were given the opportunity to develop innovative products, service and business plans.

The brainchild of the Technology Transfer Office and the Office of the Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Research, Innovation and Technology Transfer, this inaugural competition was a huge success, drawing close to 50 innovative entries.

Competition coordinator Halimah Rabiu says all the entries were very impressive.

“This was a difficult task, but the students all stepped up to the challenge. They produced good business plans and novel ideas. All the students should be proud of themselves,” says Rabiu.

Simon Longela, a Mechanical Engineering student, clinched first prize in the postgraduate category for the design of a high-tech artificial hand. The artificial hand, unlike conventional prosthetic limbs, shares a number of properties of a human hand.

Runner up in the postgraduate category was Electrical Engineering student Paul Bayendang and Information Technology student Melo Forchu who took third place.        

The winners of the undergraduate category were Mechanical Engineering student Tshitso Mosolodi and Building student Mohlomi Raliile. This creative duo designed a USB that has a number of innovative security features.            

Close on their heels, were joint third prize winners, Accounting student Vuyelwa Skosana and Industrial Design student Gavin Redman.          

Dr Chris Nhlapo, Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Research, Innovation and Technology Transfer, says CPUT is creating the right platform for students to become inventors.

Nhlapo urged the winners to take their ideas and products a step further and commercialise them.

By Candes Keating

Written by CPUT News
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CPUT students are thinking big.

A wide range of bright ideas and products was showcased at this year’s CPUT Idea-Create Student Innovation Competition.

A beer keg that has been recycled into a barbeque, a snack dryer, a solar wonder cooker and a device to find lost items, are just some of the inventions thought out by students.

Director of the Technology Transfer Office, Prof Gary Atkinson-Hope says the competition is in its third year and is gaining popularity, with more than 70 students taking up this year’s challenge.

This year’s top innovators hailed from the Industrial Engineering and Mechanical Engineering Departments.

A group of Industrial Engineering students created The Braai Tool, a sleek-looking and versatile device that can be used as a bottle opener, tongs, fork and spatula.

“We are ecstatic and positive about the future of the braai tool,” says Sebastian Bosman, who represented the group at the prize giving.

The invention was part of the BTech Industrial Design R5k project, an official World Design Capital project that tasked students with producing and selling a product with the ultimate aim of earning R5000 or more.

Mechanical Engineering student, Musa Morgan, created a unique pair of briefs called Manhood Underwear. The briefs are designed for use by males after they are circumcised and assist in the healing process by protecting the area that was operated on.

“I feel honoured to have won this prize,” says Musa who plans to take his idea further and turn it into a business.

Musa, along with a group of four friends also scored another prize at the competition for the design of their website, Ad4All, an online classifieds for students.

Guest speaker at the event, entrepreneur Vuyisa Qubaka, encourage students to keep on innovating.

“The most successful entrepreneurs succeed because they are passionate,” he says.

“They moved from trying to do something to mastering it. Work on something because you are passionate about it.”

Deputy Director of Enterprise Development from the Western Cape Government, Deon Damons, whose office has funded many of CPUT’s innovative students, says the ideas unveiled at the competition have the potential to grow into big businesses.

Written by Candes Keating
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Provides coverage for the Engineering and Applied Sciences Faculties; the Bellville and Wellington Campuses, and research and innovation news.

CPUT students are being urged to think out of the box and take part in the 2014 Idea-Create Student Innovation Competition.

The competition has been running for the past two years and so far has uncovered some of CPUT’s most innovative students.

From last year’s entries, three patents were registered and the ideas of six students have been turned into products, says competition coordinator Halimah Rabiu.

“This competition is a great opportunity for students,” she says.

Hosted by the Technology Transfer Office (TTO), the competition challenges students to come up with new products, services or business plans.

Rabiu says it’s the ideal platform to help budding innovators turn their ideas into successful products and to help students start their own businesses.

Those who enter are invited to attend a series of workshops presented by industry experts, who will share tips on innovation and how to start a business.

Thereafter students will have to submit their business plans to the TTO, with the finalist afforded the opportunity to pitch their ideas to a panel of industry experts.

Rabiu says students who manage to come up with the best ideas will walk away with cash prizes and a once in a lifetime opportunity to commercialize.

The competition will be launched early next month.

Queries can be directed to Halimah Rabiu at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Written by Candes Keating
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Provides coverage for the Engineering and Applied Sciences Faculties; the Bellville and Wellington Campuses, and research and innovation news.