The finals of AQUALIBRIUM exciting SAICE-Rand Water Schools Water Competition 2014 will be held at the Sci-Bono Discovery Centre in Newtown, Johannesburg on Friday 25 July 2014
This year the winners of the regional competitions will come to Johannesburg from as far as Bloemfontein, Cape Town, Buffalo City (East London), Nelson Mandela Bay (Port Elizabeth), Dendron and Kimberley to battle the local winners for top honors. Many of the teams are flown to Johannesburg and accommodated in a good hotel.
The 2013 champions with 60 penalty points conceded were the team from the Eqinisweni Secondary School from Ivory Park, Midrand. In second place was Diamantveld Hoërskool from Kimberley with 80 penalty points. Hoërskool DF Malan from Cape Town shared the third prize with Mfesane Senior Secondary School in Port Elizabeth (Nelson Mandela Bay) with 90 penalty points each.
As a direct result of this competition there are presently three students studying civil engineering. These young people from disadvantaged backgrounds are determined to go MAD, i.e. make A Difference in their communities. We just have to continue with these kinds of projects in order to make a difference to the scarce skills situation and the lives of many people!
As in 2013, AQUALIBRIUM again had the honour of being chosen as one of four finalists in the National Science and Technology Forum (NSTF) and BHP Billiton Awards, the oldest and most prestigious in South Africa, in the category where an individual or team is recognised for their outstanding contribution to science, engineering, technology and innovation (SETI) through science communication and through creating science awareness. Making it to the NSTF-BHP Billiton Awards as a finalist is therefore an exceptional achievement. The SAICE team comprises Prof Kobus van Zyl from UCT, Marie Ashpole and Fridah Mahlangu from SAICE National Office.
