It all starts at the North-West University (NWU), and the Faculty of Engineering on the Potchefstroom Campus has risen to the occasion to fulfil that mission. For many years, the goal of the biennial Engineering Week has been to introduce high school learners from Grade 8 to 12 to engineering as a fascinating career.
This year the project ran from 2 to 5 July, welcoming learners from across South Africa and neighbouring countries as they started an interactive and engaging learning experience at the engineering facilities of the NWU.
Through interactions with engineers, engineering students and professors, the project gave the learners a first-hand experience of the excitement and thrill of being an engineering student. The learners also had the opportunity to see the renowned NWU Naledi 2.0 solar car, highlighting the faculty’s efforts to develop energy-efficient transportation technology.
The undergraduate programme manager at the School of Electrical, Electronic and Computer Engineering, Christo van der Merwe, gave a hearty welcoming speech to kick off the proceedings, and his deft wordplay set the tone for the remainder of the week. Senior marketer Johan Pyper provided an outline of the requirements for studying Engineering at the NWU and expressed the hope that the learners would enrol at this esteemed university.
After they had been sorted into groups that would collaborate for the rest of the week, the learners were introduced to four Engineering schools: Industrial, Chemical, Mechanical and Electrical, and Electronic and Computer Engineering.
Day 2 saw the groups of learners moving between the Engineering schools and having the opportunity to explore and work on diverse fun projects that kindled the spirit of teamwork. The learners constructed basic LED circuits and made rockets from 2 l water bottles. Brewing coffee, building animal structures from colourful objects and evaluating vinegar-infused chemical reactions were among the other fun activities on the day. A number of sponsored learners from the Vaal Triangle and the JB Marks Municipality attended for the day and received a complete engineering experience as they also participated in the fun projects.
The third day of the programme saw the learners visit Jonker Sailplanes, an industry location where they were given an inspiring tour of the manufacturing process of a glider sailplane. The second location they visited was CFAM, an industrial equipment manufacturer, where the learners saw the production of raw steel products. Educating the learners about the production process for a whole-grain and white-maize porridge by the CFAM food processing division formed part of the fascinating excursion.
The exciting Engineering Week came to an end on Day 4, when the learners took a campus tour and visited the iconic amphitheatre, as well as several men’s and women’s residences. The Engineering Week was a remarkable success, as it hosted about 160 learners with a continued aim of providing educational information regarding the field of engineering. Ewan Mans, a learner from the Walvis Bay Private School in Namibia, shared his experience:
“I now have a greater understanding of engineering thanks to the Engineering Week. I had always wanted to study Mechanical Engineering, and after attending the NWU’s Engineering Week and receiving the much-needed exposure, I feel more confident in my decision to continue pursuing this deep-rooted ambition.”
The learners building basic LED circuits.
Launching the 2 l water-bottle rocket made by the learners.
The learners at the CFAM food processing plant in Potchefstroom.
The learners in front of the G23 Res Glider manufactured at Jonker Sailplanes.
The learners were bouncing off the walls during their chemical-reaction activity.
