Woke culture Univen team participated in full-scale Hackathon adjudication event that was organised by the State Information Technology Agency (SITA) which took place at SITA Polokwane Office. The Hackathon, “an event in which computer programmers and others involved in software development, including graphic designers, interface designers and project managers, collaborate intensively on software projects.” There were two solution proposals by UNIVEN students, led by Mr Promise Nyalungu who is a Bachelor of Arts Honours in International Relations student and volunteer in the Directorate of International Relations at UNIVEN. The initiative started in August 2018 after Mr Nyalungu was given a short-term scholarship to Tanzania in August 2018. Mr Nyalungu was given a task to implement solutions to problems faced by his own institution by “EXACT4YOU” Hackathon.
L – R: Khoza Clement, Morifi Malapi, Makola Michael, Mudau Mulweli, Lufuno Nengwenda, SITA Representative, Ndlovu Wiseman and Nyalungu Promise posing for a group photo outside the SITA offices in Polokwane.
During the event, participants were tasked to work in teams of a minimum of three (3) and a maximum of five (5) members to design the solutions. The event was attended by both undergraduate and postgraduate students from different institutions of higher learning. The participants had to create proposals indicating the problem statement and the proposed business solutions. The main idea was to find solutions to the complex problems contained in the 15 chapters of the National Development Plan (NDP) 2030. From the University of Venda, two teams consisting of seven (7) students went through to the Adjudication stage and had to present their proposals to a panel of judges.
Solution 1: Their proposed solution “SASSA goes DIGITAL” is a web-based application aimed at bringing some transparency to the South African Social Services Agency (SASSA).
Solution 2: Their proposed solution “Woke Culture Digital Platform” is a web- based application aimed at improving the production and broadcasting of local content and talent.
Issued by:
Department of Communications & Marketing
University of Venda Tel: (015) 962 8525
Date: 10 December 2018
