PAT Competition
Three Grade 11 learners – with a knack for mathematics, science and computer programming – won study bursaries from the university’s campus in Vanderbijlpark to the value of more than R100 000 by taking part in the annual PAT Competition. The winners are: Seth Froneman (Potchefstroom Gimnasium), Johann Scheepers (Randburg High School) and Matthew Townsend (Linden High School).
The Practical Assessment Task Competition or PAT, as it is most commonly referred to, represents one of the highlights of the expo. The competition runs parallel with the curriculum outcomes for learners in high school (Grade 10-12) with IT as a subject at school. The aim of the competition is to encourage learners to enter their individual IT PAT projects and by doing so not only monitor the standard of their projects against those of their peers, but also to entice talented learners to consider a career in information technology.
Each participating grade has a first, second and third place on the day, however, the day belonged to the Grade 11 PAT winners who will walk away with:
- First place: Seth Froneman
A three-year bursary towards a BSc degree in information technology at the NWU’s campus in Vanderbijlpark and supplementary prizes.
- Second place: Johann Scheepers
A two-year bursary towards a BSc degree in information technology at the NWU’s campus in Vanderbijlpark and supplementary prizes.
- Third place: Matthew Townsend
A one-year bursary towards a BSc degree in information technology at the NWU’s campus in Vanderbijlpark and supplementary prizes.
Prof Herman van der Merwe, Seth Froneman, Johann Scheepers, Matthew Townsend and Suné van der Linde.
IT Britehouse Competition
This year saw current students – and more specifically final-year BSc IT students – also taking part in the GeeXpo fun. The IT Britehouse Competition saw Britehouse, an African based company that provides industry leading digital solutions to African and global companies, put final-year students through their paces by means of project brief detailing their need for an innovative IT solution for a real-time task.
The winner of the competition, Zack van Nieuwenhuizen, walked away with a brand new laptop and an IT Honours bursary for next year. The runners-up in this competition were Letlhogonolo Molwana and Jacqui Muller.
Zack van Nieuwenhuizen and Prof Herman van der Merwe.
