CPUT will defend its title at the Cyber Junkyard Challenge that takes place this week in Johannesburg.

Organised by Siemens, Festo and Lappcable, this annual inter-tertiary competition exposes students on a small scale to real-world, industry-related situations.

Last year’s competition explored alternative energy and saw the CPUT Mechatronics group walk off with first prize for their innovative design of a small, self-driving and air-powered car.

LIFT: The lift mechanism built by the students will carry crates to various levels in a stacking warehouse

This year’s challenge focuses on packaging solutions for warehouses, which would result in space and money savings for local companies.

All participating universities are given the same frame and parts to assemble the system, however, students have to use their ingenuity to upgrade the design.

Leader of the CPUT team, Michelle Mafoumba says they spent the last four months working on the design.

The system consists of a conveyor belt, which transports the packaged goods to an automated forklift. The forklift is programmed to place packages in a systematic order on various racks in the warehouse.

The competition will culminate in a test challenge, where students will demonstrate the automation, speed and mathematical capabilities of their designs.

Student Theo Koboyapudi says the project has been a challenge, but a learning experience.

Theo is positive that CPUT will remain the Cyber Junkyard champions.

By Candes Keating

Written by CPUT News
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Students and graduates came face to face with potential employers at the annual CPUT Career Fair hosted at our Bellville Campus on Tuesday.

The Career Fair, which moves to the Cape Town Campus on 14 August. boasted some of the biggest industry names like Siemens, General Electric, Lafarge, Distell and the Department of Labour to name just a few.

For the first time students also had access to hundreds of job adverts thanks to live streaming monitors that advertised vacant posts for companies not exhibiting.

The Student Career Portal which enables students to load their CVs for potential employers to view was also launched.

Anyone interested in attending on the 14th should bring along their CV’s as well as a pen and notebook to jot down important contact information.

Manager for Co-operative Education, Fundiswa Nofemela, says students should take the opportunity of attending a career fair seriously and come prepared with plenty of questions as well as doing research on potential employers.

Written by Lauren Kansley
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CPUT STEM Club achieved second place in the Siemens Gamesa’s HackStem Hackathon Challenge 2023.

The central theme of the hackathon was climate change, with a specific focus on creating a digital product aimed at raising environmental awareness among children aged five to 12 and promoting stewardship. “Stemming from our passion for STEM, we were enthusiastic participants in this competition,” said Coordinator of the Coding and robotics subcommittee of STEM Club, Simphiwe Makhathini, who added that: “I extend my warmest congratulations to the exceptional members of our STEM club who participated in this event.” Siviwe Tshananda, Manelisi Mpotulo, Ntobeko Xolani and Makhathini dedicated a challenging weekend to coding and worked “harmoniously” as a team. “Our collaborative efforts culminated in the development of an educational game…”

One can explore the project on GitHub by visiting the repository at CPUT STEM DEVS GitHub. Throughout the event, the team engaged in enlightening conference meetings with various stakeholders who offered valuable insights and information. Among the primary stakeholders they interacted with were the India Sesame Workshop, Siemens, UNESCO, WAGGGS, Vianeo, and ITT Delhi. These discussions revolved around the critical role of youth in combating climate change. “Vianeo, in particular, delivered a significant session on developing and pitching a business idea. Siemens Gamesa was also kind enough to acknowledge our achievements in a LinkedIn post, which you can find in Siemens Gamesa LinkedIn Post.”

STEM coordinator, Dr Frikkie Georger, said: “Once again, I want to express my pride in our team's remarkable performance and thank everyone for their hard work and dedication. We look forward to addressing the challenges we encountered and continue our commitment to the CPUT STEM Club Robotics and Programming Division.”

Written by Aphiwe Boyce
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