NWU’s Modiragatsi project kicks off again

The Modiragatsi project of the North-West University’s (NWU) engineering campus has restarted for the first time since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. 

The Modiragatsi project is an innovative competition that encourages young girls between the ages of 15 and 18 to develop and apply analytical thinking skills to solve problems by using technology. 

Prof. Leenta Grobler of the Faculty of Engineering and main organiser of the project, said, “we held our first event in 2019. In 2020, we had to postpone the competition due to Covid-19.”

The project web page states that the engineering sector desperately needs the creativity and diversity in approaches that women bring to the table to solve future problems. It is a field in which women can excel. 

The applicants must identify an issue in their community and develop a solution to that issue by using technology. At least one of the applicants must identify as female. 

The competition outline document states, “document both the problem and your solution to the problem in a 250-word summary and either a 2-minute video or a 15-slide slideshow to help us understand the problem and the solution.”

The applicants that get through to the semi-finals will participate in an online mentorship programme between 12 and 23 July 2021. The final presentations will then be due on 25 July 2021.

The prize of the competition is an all-expenses-paid technology trip to Silicone Valley in the United States of America in 2022. 

Grobler says that applications for the project will be accepted until 6 June 2021.

For more details about the Modiragatsi project, visit the web page or watch the video below for a discussion of the project.