Siyabuswa (Mpumalanga) July 2015

It’s not easy teaching a group of 60 high school kids how to code and helping them create their own ICT solutions and/or businesses. But thanks to a team of dedicated mentors, the recently rounded-up Geekulcha VacWork program managed to do just that.

Geekulcha runs an annual program to introduce youngsters in and around the City of Tshwane to ICT and coding. This year’s edition was again held at The Innovation Hub in Pretoria and launched on June 29th just after schools in the province closed and finished on July 10th with an awards ceremony to recognise the best performers.

The learners were sorted into different groups according their individual inclinations and interests. The program’s main agenda involved teaching the kids all about collaboration, a glimpse into ICT as a career, business and entrepreneurship.

The group also got the chance to visit South African National Space Agency (SANSA) Space Operations centre to learn about space exploration.

A total of 10 groups were formed with each being allocated under mobile apps development, web applications, electronics/robotics, graphic design and business analysis. The teams were then turned into companies that the learners had to develop and brainstorm a product or service their company would create.