Girl learners transformed into Fab Kids
Kgomotso Rammebe and Selina Rampou of Bakwena High School hard at work
It took only two hours for 15 Girl Learners in Mathematics and Science (a project of the Platinum Development Trust initiative), sponsored by ABSA, to fall hook, line and sinker for the magic of the FabLab. The girls are the final 2007 group (of 60 learners) from the North West province who have participated in the Meraka Institute's Fab Kids initiative.
The Department of Science and Technology-sponsored Fab Kids project is part of the Meraka Institute's Young Engineers of South Africa (YESA) programme, which promotes learning in mathematics, science, engineering and technology through specific interventions geared at different age groups. The Meraka Institute is a national research centre managed by the CSIR.
Manager of the Girl Learners project David Semela has been responsible for arranging visits to the FabLab by several groups for Fab Kids sessions. As an incentive to learning, participation in Fab Kids is proving to be a winner. He notes, “Learners are selected on merit for participation in this programme. With each visit, enthusiasm has been growing and I am swamped with requests from learners to become Fab Kids.” FabLab activities appear to be virtuously addictive, as learners cannot be easily persuaded to take a break from their given tasks!
Meraka Institute’s Ron Beyers with ABSA’s Beatrice Mushazhirwa and Sue Vermaak and David Semela of the Platinum Development Trust
The Meraka Institute's Ron Beyers is responsible for running the Fab Kids project. During a session, learners are required to form groups of four to tackle a given challenge, in this case, the design and manufacturing of a desk tidy. Each team member has a distinct but complementary role in the process, from design to construction, electronics, team management and media elements.
Sue Vermaak, programme manager of the Platinum Development Trust, is enthusiastic about the synergies between the two projects, Girls Learners and Fab Kids. Grade 11 girls from North West province achieving in mathematics and science are selected to participate in the Girl Learners project. Sue is adamant that girls should be encouraged in this way to become confident of their ability to tackle careers historically dominated by males, such as engineering and architecture.
This emboldening effect is borne out by comments from Bakwena High School learners Selina Rampou and Kgomotso Rammebe, who now see the world as their oyster, “We have lots of career options to consider when we leave school.”
Rebaona Tlhapi and Refilwe Matjabe of Lerothodi High School found their first experience of the FabLab to be both educational and fun, “We have a challenging and exciting task to finish, but we don't mind doing it!”
Refilwe Matjabe and Rebaona Tlhapi of Lerothodi High School in conversation with a FabLab facilitator.
Beatrice Mushazhirwa of ABSA, whose company is sponsoring the Girl Learners project through its corporate social investment programme, also paid a visit to the FabLab to meet the learners. She was delighted with the evidence at hand of girls enjoying themselves. “Girls must realise that they can do mathematics and science,” she stresses. “Gone are the days when they had only a limited number of career options to consider.”
Ron is confident that Fab Kids provides a unique experience, which will play a significant role in the lives of these girls as they start making important career decisions.
The FabLabs project is an initiative of the Department of Science and Technology's Advanced Manufacturing Technology Strategy (AMTS), which is managed by CSIR Materials Science and Manufacturing. FabLab, an abbreviation for Fabrication Laboratory, is a hands-on laboratory that provides science, engineering and technology platforms for social development, while enhancing competitiveness and growth in the private sector.
Implementation of national research cyberinfrastructure takes another step
The South African National Research Network (SANReN), a major research infrastructure initiative of the Department of Science and Technology, is commencing with its national implementation phase after detailed planning and subsequent proof of concept phases.
SANReN was announced by the Minister of Science and Technology, Mr Mosibudi Mangena, in the 2006 budget speech. It forms a key pillar of the DST-driven national cyberinfrastructure initiative together with the recently established Centre for High Performance Computing (CHPC). The Meraka Institute is responsible for the implementation and management of both SANReN and the CHPC. The institute is a national research centre managed by the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research.
“These two major information and communications technology initiatives play a key role in putting South Africa on the brink of an exciting chapter in research infrastructures that enable relevant, cutting-edge science for the enhancement of our global competitiveness and quality of life,„ explains Johan Eksteen, Technology Research Programme Manager at the Meraka Institute. “We see infrastructure as an integral ingredient towards the development of a world-class science and technology landscape,” he comments.
The network design is done in collaboration with the Tertiary Education Network (TENET), key technology providers and telecommunications operators. Input is obtained from the research community, relevant metropolitan councils and provincial and national government departments. Guidance from international bodies, such as the Delivery of Advanced network Technology to Europe (DANTE) - which is responsible to the European Commission for the implementation of the pan-European research network (GeANT) - has proved to be invaluable.
The design is based on the establishment of an overall national network linking core nodes in Pretoria, Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban. Each of the main centres will be provided with local ring networks. These ring networks have been designed to allow easy access to the core network by all SANReN and TENET sites as well as many potential sites. Other sites will be connected to these core sites.
“In contrast to most commodity or commercial networks currently implemented, this public-good research network is based on the provision of lit fibre (lambdas or wave lengths) obtained from licensed telecommunications operators, supplemented by fibre cable installed directly by SANReN or obtained from relevant metropolitan authorities,” says Eksteen. “This approach is necessary to provide the gigabit per second and higher speeds required for research networking that is essential to empower our science community,” he says.
A formal Request For Proposal (RFP) will be issued to telecommunications providers in the following weeks for the provision of the national connectivity (lambdas) required for the national backbone.
While a number of national research sites will not have a dedicated connection to SANReN immediately, the network design allows for an easy extension to the main core network to be installed as and when required. The first phase of the SANReN roll-out requires that the Johannesburg nodes and in particular, the collocated node at the Johannesburg Internet exchange (JINX), is installed and working by 31 March 2008 with most major research institutions connected by the end of 2008. A small number of sites require significant fibre installations to be connected to the network; the projected completion of the national SANReN network is in 2009. “We have already commenced with Interactions with individual research institutions and these discussions will continue,” Eksteen concludes.
Contact details:
Meraka Institute
Geoff Daniell at 012 841 2624
Christiaan Kuun at 012 841 2876
Johan Eksteen at 012 841 4686
CSIR Communication
Biffy van Rooyen at 012 841 3887
Lest we forget 16 June 1976
15 June 2007
Tomorrow, 16 June, South Africa commemorates the courage of young people, the stand they took for a fair and better life, against oppression and the system of apartheid, the sacrifice they made with their lives and the change for the better in the education system and for the rest of the nation. Their actions contributed towards bringing into sharper focus the importance of intellectual liberation and in particular, the imperative of being equipped with skills that contribute to this country's future. The Meraka Institute salutes the youth of South Africa and the class of ’76.
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For 16-year-old Delisile Khumalo of Gatang Comprehensive in Mamelodi, the FabLab with its hi-tech look and limitless possibilities is like a dream come true. "I would like to work here one day," says Delisile, a Grade 10 learner and a member of the latest group of 10 Fab Kids inspired by a day at the Pretoria-based FabLab on 8 February 2007. Meraka Institute researcher, Ron Beyers, is delighted with the benefits offered to learners through this experience. Beyers, who is responsible for the Fab Kids project, is a member of the ICT for Education research group within the Meraka Institute (a national research centre managed by the CSIR).