Nadia van Jaarsveldt, an Industrial Engineering student pursuing her master’s degree with a topic in agriculture, was recognised for her outstanding presentation at the South African Institute of Agricultural Engineers (SAIAE) and Pan African Society for Agricultural Engineering (PASAE) International Symposium 2024.

Held at the Houw Hoek Hotel in Grabouw, Western Cape, the symposium served as a landmark event. It ran from Wednesday, 23 October to Friday, 25 October, bringing together brilliant minds in agricultural engineering.

Van Jaarsveldt was filled with emotion as she received the award, stating that she had not anticipated it at all – a moment that will remain in her memory books.

“It was a great feeling and a proud moment to stand before all the attendees as an NWU student. I did not expect it all. I had to sit down before I could process everything,” she says.

The award, she continued, enabled the guests to recognise her name and work and provided her with the confidence to pursue a career as an industrial engineer in agriculture.

“I am hoping that, going forward, networking will be easier for me and that I will be able to find opportunities like project collaborations, working with agricultural engineers and gaining knowledge on how to transform my passion into a career.”

Van Jaarsveldt’s presentation, titled Improving cattle handling facilities: A simulation-based approach to enhance safety and productivity, demonstrated how industrial engineering principles can be applied innovatively in agriculture. 

The simulation-based approach allows for the modelling and visualisation of cattle movement within a facility before any changes are made. This predictive capability aids to identify and address problem areas such as points where cattle may balk or become stressed without the risk or cost of trial-and-error adjustments in real facilities.

According to Van Jaarsveldt, the approach provides a clear, visual demonstration of how facility changes will impact operations that can support better decision-making and encourage farmers to adopt facility improvements.

“By accurately simulating cattle behaviour and movement, the model can suggest improvements to facility design that can enhance productivity by streamlining cattle flow,” she concludes.

Nadia van Jaarsveldt posing with her certificate

Best presentation award winner Nadia van Jaarsveldt (left), together with her co-supervisor, Prof Rojanette Coetzee (right), associate professor and manager of the Industrial Engineering Postgraduate Programme, at the SAIAE & PASAE International Symposium 2024.