Every year, final-year students in electrical, electronic and computer engineering at South African academic universities and universities of technology are required to complete an intensive design project.

The best student project nominated by these educational institutions competes against other presentations in the National Student Project Competition of the South African Institute of Electrical Engineers (SAIEE), and prizes are awarded to the adjudicated winners.

This year the North-West University’s (NWU’s) Faculty of Engineering played host to the SAIEE’s competition. Competitors from nine universities competed against each other for their share of the R25 000 prize money.

The NWU’s participant, Riekert Jansen van Vuuren, presented on the development of a DC power-quality emulator for the evaluation of appropriate power-quality standards.

This year’s winner, all the way from the University of Cape Town, designed an educational solar car for the use of high school outreach projects.   

According to the SAIEE’s operations manager, Leanetse Matutoane, the competition provides the perfect platform for the public and private sectors to forge close links with South African universities and universities of technology, and to recruit the best-of-the-best students in electrical, electronic and computer engineering.

“This year, we had a very difficult task to determine the winner, as all the project presentations showcased the highest skill and quality. Well done to all the participants. We cannot wait to see where your passion for engineering will take you in the future.”

The NWU’s participant, Riekert Jansen van Vuuren, presented on the development of a DC power-quality emulator for the evaluation of appropriate power-quality standards.