The Samsung & SITA 2024 Solve For Tomorrow Competition is back!

The Top 20 public schools have been announced, and the contest promises to be a more thrilling experience in 2024.

Samsung and the State Information Technology Agency (SITA) have joined hands to launch the 2024 Solve For Tomorrow Competition, aimed at bringing the best out of public schools and learners. The competition has attracted a large number of entries from schools across the country, with the Top 20 schools now officially announced. This is an opportunity for these schools to showcase their innovation and creativity in solving real-world problems.

In the State of the Nation Address (SONA) this year, it was mentioned that the power of collaboration in overcoming challenges can lead to significant achievements. The country has made progress in the last three decades, thanks to the spirit of partnership. The Solve For Tomorrow competition is a testament to the impact of public-private partnerships and when these sectors come together, remarkable results can be attained.

Launched in Africa in 2023, this unique competition provides an opportunity for grade 10 and 11 learners from public schools in underserved communities to apply Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) education to address the challenges faced by their respective communities, while fostering creative thinking, problem-solving skills, and teamwork among learners. Its goal is to nurture socially innovative ideas, with a specific emphasis on environmental challenges.

Lenhle Khoza, B-BBEE and Transformation Manager at Samsung said: “As a global electronics giant that has, in the past 30-years consistently been supporting the country’s transformation agenda, we are well aware of the great importance of education through technology. This global Solve For Tomorrow initiative which uses STEM as the critical component of empowerment is helping us, together with our valued partners, to continue our quest of equipping young people from local public schools with critical skills and knowledge that they will need to not only build a better local economy, but also the world at large.”

Since its inception last year, the competition has helped learners grow and develop invaluable skills for success in the present and future. In conjunction with SITA, 51 pre-selected schools were piloted nationally. This competition is an excellent way for learners to gain a deeper understanding of STEM and display their scientific talents.

Tlali Tlali Head of Corporate Affairs at SITA said: “We understand the importance of collaborations and are very excited about the future prospects of our continued partnership with Samsung. As SITA, we remain committed to leveraging IT to support the delivery of e-Government services to all citizens and we are always keen to be part of impactful programmes such as the Solve For Tomorrow competition that allow us to effect positive change in both our youth and communities at large.”

The programme is designed to proceed through a phased approach. In the entry phase, schools across the nation are encouraged to participate in the competition. In phase one, the preliminary stage of the competition, the Top 20 schools with the best entries for 2024 are announced, and they will proceed to the next phase. These schools will have the opportunity to address an environmental challenge and come up with concrete innovations to assist in the betterment of society. They will be supported by assigned Samsung employee-mentors throughout the process.

In the second phase of the program, Samsung will provide resources to the learners while mentors guide them. During this phase, the learners will be required to conduct research, develop and submit their paper prototypes for the challenges identified in the preliminary phase. To support the teams from the Top 20 schools for 2024, they will attend Design Thinking workshops in their respective regions. Additionally, the selected schools’ teams will be sponsored with a Samsung tablet and data to assist them in research and communication with their mentors. This is a critical stage of the program, and with Samsung’s support, the learners will have the resources they need to succeed.

The Design Thinking workshops aim to teach learners valuable skills on how to approach their work, think critically, and act like designers. The workshops will provide a cognitive and structured process for human-centred, creative problem-solving and encourage learners to build strong teams. Additionally, learners will learn how to conduct research to develop workable solutions that can address environmental issues in their communities.

The Top 20 Finalists will be required to submit paper prototypes of their solutions, which will be evaluated by judges to determine the Top 10 schools that will proceed to the next phase. The Top 10 teams will receive funding to develop physical prototypes of their solutions and present them to a panel of judges in the final stage of the competition.

The Top Three schools with the winning prototypes will win cash prizes of up to R100,000 each, which will go towards STEM equipment based on the unique needs of each school. Additionally, Samsung has decided to reward each learner in the Top three teams from schools with a Samsung device. The ultimate goal is for the winning schools to be like Mbilwi High School from Limpopo, which was the winner in 2023.

The Top 20 schools that have been selected include: