Mandisa Shiceka High School Named as Winner of the 2024 Samsung Solve for Tomorrow Schools Competition.

The 2024 Samsung Solve for Tomorrow school’s competition concluded with the announcement of the overall winner on Wednesday, 2 October at Aha Kopanong Hotel and Conferencing Centre in Benoni, Johannesburg. Among the dignitaries at the function was the Deputy Minister of Basic Education, Dr. Makgabo Mhaule.

Mandisa Shiceka High School, from Krugersdorp in Gauteng, took the honours after beating nine fellow finalists to be crowned the winners of the latest edition of the competition. In second place was Mbilwi Secondary School from Venda (Limpopo), who took first prize last year, while Adam’s College from Amanzimtoti (KwaZulu-Natal) rounded off the top three.

Run in partnership with the State Information Technology Agency (SITA), Solve for Tomorrow gives Grade 10 and 11 learners from underserved communities a unique opportunity to learn, and apply themselves as they solve some of the challenges in their communities through the practical application of Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM). In this process and as intended by the competition, the learners get the level of exposure that shows them their areas of interest, while also gaining invaluable experience and skills that help harness their path toward a career in the STEM fields.

As the overall winner, Mandisa Shiceka was awarded a R100 000 cash prize, while second-placed, Mbilwi Secondary received R50 000, and Adam’s College got R30 000 for third place. All the cash prizes will go towards purchasing STEM equipment for each school, according to their various unique needs. Samsung placed the cherry on top by rewarding each learner from the top three teams with a new Samsung Galaxy device.

The participating schools identify problems within their communities and use STEM to solve them by conducting research and developing prototypes. Samsung further enabled the schools with resources and mentors to guide them through the process.

To emerge victorious, the learners of Mandisa developed an automated hydroponic structure that grows food without using soil. They identified food security as the main challenge because their township, Kagiso, predominently a mining environment, which affects the quality of the soil, air and water (resources necessary for growing healthy food). To mitigate this, their innovative system would use greenhouses as well as rain water and boreholes as their source of water. “We came into the competition with a strong belief that we would win because we believe in our idea as a great solution – that’s the attitude that the entire team carried until the end. We’d love to thank Samsung for the opportunity to improve our community and learn some valuable skills,” said Makhosazana Mazibuko, team member and grade 10 learner.

Their educator, Nonki Motlogelwa, who also helped guide them in their project said, “When we entered, the excitement of winning this competition was high from all the learners. Even though they started feeling the pressure as soon as the work began, they always had faith in themselves and that pushed them through. We are proud especially because we won at our first attempt. I am so excited for the learners, they have shown so much courage, creativity and teamwork that I am sure they are heading in the right direction. Overall, the experience was amazing and thought provoking.”

Speaking at the ceremony, Deputy Minister Mhaule said, “Well done to Samsung for recognising a gap and walking the talk by working to fill it with this initiative. Their efforts and commitment to contributing towards educating our youth are highly commendable. It’s easier to stand by and criticise but with such a programme, Samsung is showing that doing will always be better than talking. Every learner and school that participated in the Solve for Tomorrow competition is a winner, simply for getting up and doing something, to solve problems in their community and also skill themselves and prepare for the future. This initiative is not just a competition; it is a beacon of what social responsibility should be.”

Solve for Tomorrow is one of Samsung’s corporate social investment initiatives and an ambitious effort to increase interest and proficiency in STEM, and help the country contribute to the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Innovative thinking, creative problem-solving, and teamwork form part of what the competition seeks to encourage among the learners as they learn important skills that could benefit them in their future careers.

Lenhle Khoza, Manager for BBBEE & Transformation at Samsung highlighted the importance of corporates supporting the youth with such platforms that could be a catalyst for their futures and the country’s destiny. “Since its launch in 2023, Solve for Tomorrow has grown into an annual creative thinking playground for underprivileged high school learners. The youth is key to Africa’s development potential and it is our ambition as a business to spread the competition to more countries on the continent for transformative ways to solve societal issues through STEM initiatives like these. Now more than ever, we need to guide young learners on the value of STEM skills to solve the greatest issues impacting our communities. Samsung is a firm believer in the power of education to drive positive change and we remain committed to unlocking the potential of Africa’s abundant resource, the youth,” said Khoza.