On Friday 12th August 2016, the grade 9 and 10 learners were fortunate to spend some time with employees from Pricewatercoopers (PwC). It was an exciting afternoon for our learners as they were only expecting a talk before getting back to their books. Instead the PriceWaterCoopers employees brought along board games marking the beginning of a fun-filled afternoon.
The learners were divided into small groups and played different games including 30 Seconds, Monopoly, Twister, Wikipedia, Dominos, Snakes and Ladders and many more. With music playing in the background and the learners having fun with the guests, it felt like a celebration.
One of grade 10 learners, Yolanda Ntesha said: “It was enjoyable and it would be really great if PwC employees decided to come back again and spend time with us. We enjoy having visitors at the branch.”
It is always great to see people taking time out of their lives to give back to young people. We appreciate PwC for availing their employees. We are grateful as IkamvaYouth and our learners definitely enjoyed it. At the end of the event, PwC handed over food packs for the learners and trust me when I say it was a wonderful treat for our learners.
Thank you PwC ?
The University of Cape Town Graduate School of Business, through two of its specialised units, continues to invest in Africa’s future leaders, and is calling for scholarship applications from across the continent for its 2017 academic year..
The UCT Graduate School of Business (GSB) is inviting motivated leaders from across Africa, with a track record of action who would like an injection of skills to help them go further to apply for one of several scholarships available at the school in 2017. In recent years the GSB, through the Bertha Centre for Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship and the MTN Solution Space, has made significant investments in the development of Africa’s future leaders through access to scholarships.
To date over R6 million has been committed in scholarship funding for GSB Masters and PhD programmes. This has been made possible through the generous support of funders, including GSB Alumni, the Bertha Foundation, the Canon Collins Trust and the MTN Group. “We’re delighted to be able to continue this funding into 2017 and are inviting prospective African students who would like to study either towards their MBA or Master of Philosophy in Inclusive Innovation at the UCT GSB to apply for a scholarship,” says Dr Francois Bonnici, Director of theBertha Centre.“Through the scholarships the Bertha Centre hopes to support those who want to address our continent’s greatest challenges. We want to encourage especially those seeking social change to apply and those interested in understanding and/or challenging the current ideas of business and what it does and is used for,” says Bonnici.
The Bertha Centre, a specialised unit at the GSB established in 2011 in partnership with the Bertha Foundation, seeks to support: changemakers; social activists, entrepreneurs and innovators and out-of-the-box thinkers. Previous Bertha Centre Scholars include co-founder of Lumanki, Francois Petousis; Pimp-my-Book founder Mpodumo Doubada as well as Business Day columnist, and Livity Africa Deputy Managing Director Zamandlovu Ndlovu. “Through the generous support of our donors and sponsors we are able to cover tuition fees for our Masters programmes and provide additional financial support for living and travel costs where needed,” says Sarah-Anne Arnold, Manager of the MTN Solution Space.The MTN Solution Space, established at the GSB in 2014 in partnership with the MTN Group, seeks to support problem solvers – doers, makers, thinkers and creators – who continually seek to advance and leverage technologies for the well-being of Africans. Previous MTN Scholars include Rudzani Mulaudzi co-founder of Gradesmatch and Lianne du Toit Vice Chairperson of Silicon Cape and founder of GovHackSA. “While scholars are distinct in their professional goals and ambitions and hail from all over Africa, they are united in their common goal: to have a significant impact in the world,” says Arnold.
Geoff Bick, Acting Director of the GSB, says that the school continues to enjoy an outstanding reputation both in Africa and more broadly and is well placed to further the careers and increase the impact of committed change makers.“The UCT GSB full-time MBA is still the only MBA in Africa to be ranked in the Financial Times ranking of the top 100 MBAs in the world and it offers one of the best business educations on the continent. The GSB MBA curriculum is also the first in Africa to incorporate social innovation as a core subject. Equally groundbreaking is the MPhil in Inclusive Innovation – an interdisciplinary research-based degree that leads to the practical prototyping of new business models aligned to African markets – a first of it’s kind on the continent,” he says..
To be eligible for the scholarships, applicants must be a citizen of an African country, and must first be accepted onto the programme of their choice.
Anyone interested in applying for a Bertha Centre or MTN Solution Space scholarship should visit the GSB Scholarships information web page here. The deadline for applications is 31 October 2016.
Watch the MBA and MPhil videos on YouTube for more information on the programmes.
Max Coyle, a recent Biology graduate from the US, voluntarily came during his holiday time to introduce the foldscope to the Masinites. Max wanted to share his experiences of using the Foldscope with the learners, to feed their minds and make them think and see that the world is much more than what we see with the human eye.
This foldscope is a low-cost optical microscope that can be assembled from simple components, including a sheet of paper; a light-emitting diode; a watch battery that powers the LED and a lens (although natural light of lamp light can easily substitutde for the LED). This tool was developed by a team led by Jim Cybulski and Manu Prakash, an assistant professor in Bioengineering at the Stanford University. For more information you can click here and here.
Max introduced the microscope and its purpose to the learners and further took them through the assembly of the kit and how to operate it. By assembling the foldscope themselves, they got a chance to follow the instructions given by Max and put it together perfectly. The learners placed a small piece of leaf on the lens and what they saw was amazing and interesting, it brought up a lot of exciting questions! The fact that this foldscope is adjustable (can be moved up/down and side-ways) allowed the learners to see the microscopic world clearly and from different angles.
The Foldscope also comes with a feature which permits one to attach a smartphone to it, allowing the learners to take pictures and zoom into what they see. This experience left our learners quite scientific- minded :). They got to keep their foldscopes as well as extra lenses that they got from Max. Experiments like these help boost how people see and think of things. Our learners can now be their own scientists and use their foldscopes to explore what they cannot see with the naked eye!
Thank you to Max for this DIY / Biology workshop and the Masinites that took part!
Watching their delighted faces as they entered the gates of CPUT and UWC brought nothing but joy to my heart. This is a dream coming true and the beginning of greater things for all of them.
Knowing that the future is in their hands, IkamvaYouth learners from Masiphumelele walked bravely to all the faculties’ stalls, showing huge interest; looking for courses that best suit them and asking the exhibitors all the right questions. The learners gathered as much information as they could and went home with an idea of what they would like to study after passing matric this year. From the smiles on their faces, one could tell that they were happy and ready for the next step.
Thank you to CPUT and UWC for being so accommodating, the learners went home with some goodies – handy backpacks and lip balm ?. Our Grade 12 Masinites took the first step and acted on their dreams of pursuing their studies at their desired university. Nothing can hold them back.
With this can-do attitude and enthusiasm towards education, poverty will be bypassed and chances of employment will rise ,together with our rising youngsters.
So go on, DARE to dream BIG!!!
My passion for writing stories. Sive Ncanywa grade 8 learner
First of all I love myself, I want to see myself successful so that I can be able to provide for myself and my family. I want a bright future and I know the key to a bright future is education, so I thought to myself, let me work hard at my studies so that I can be able to live my wish.
For the Year Beyond Programme to come at my school was like a dream come true to me and it was a great opportunity to motivate me to work hard. Then I joined.
In the programme we had two sessions, Mathematics and English. For Mathematics we attend Olico sessions online/offline and for English we attend Fundza sessions online/offline. I remember one day after reading a story from Fundza, at the end of the story it had the name of the writer. I so wished that it was my name that was written there. I’ve always had the dream of being a young author, but i gave up since i couldn’t find the right people to help me. I always write stories on books and never got the opportunity to show them out.
I wished to write for Fundza. So I asked one of the tutors if I can write stories or poems for Fundza, I was so happy when she said yes. I I’ve always had the passion for writing but never got the right people. It’s like a dream come true; God has finally opened doors for me.
This programme has bought up my self-esteem and confidence. I am so proud of myself for being part of this programme.
I’m good at writing and reading it’s like I was made for it.
Sive Ncanywa Grade 8 Student @GUGULETHU COMPREHENSIVE HIGH SCHOOL.
Four Grade 12 learners from Ocean View High School used the opportunity presented to them by a life orientation assignment to share with the Masinites their research on what is known as the silent emotional killer: RAPE.
They were tasked by their school to compile and share the topic with 50 people, and also give them questionnaires to answer based on the information shared with them. They felt compelled to share the information they had with the Masinites in all grades, so they could learn about rape and know that SILENCE DOES NOT MEAN CONSENT!
Nothing was as inspiring as watching them confidently delivering their presentation; Janice (the Masiphumelele English FUNdamentals Tutor) was also thrilled to witness the quality of their delivery. The learners sat quietly, digesting the information passed on to them, listening to their fellow school-mates and when the time came, asking questions; I believe that was the best part, we knew that they were engaging with the information. I can safely say that the learners left there with so much information on rape, thanks to the friendly presenters.
BIG UP MASINITES!!! With that confidence, you will go places!
Speak out!!
Lloyd Lungu