Ignite IT is a programme that encourages the study of information communications technology (ICT) in high schools. It is run by Neotel in association with Huawei, the Sci-Bono Discovery Centre, and many other ICT companies.
The awards ceremony was the culmination of the 2013 Ignite IT competition which asked high schools to submit a presentation on one of the following topics: The most influential woman in ICT, the coolest career in ICT, or driver distraction: interacting with technology while driving.
The top five schools used animation, editing and voice overs to get their points across.
In attendance on the day were Gauteng MEC for Education, Barbara Creecy, Deputy Minister of Communications, Stella Tembisa Ndabeni Abrahams, COO of Huawei, Christina Naidoo and CEO of Neotel, Sunil Joshi, as well as a host of top minds in the ICT sector.
The awards ceremony was hosted by Talk Radio 702 presenter Aki Anastasiou, who kept the audience riveted while he introduced the videos of the five finalists.
The teams from the various schools were all on the edges of their seats, anxious for the winners to be announced: up for grabs were the incredible prizes of ICT labs for the top three teams, up to the value of R200 000.
Kingsway Secondary School from Benoni took the first prize for their heartfelt presentation about the dangers of using technology while driving, while Thembisa’s Phomolong Secondary School walked away with second prize for their presentation on ‘the coolest career in ICT’.
Residentia Secondary was given the People’s Choice award.
Phomolong was also a favourite with the audience and judges because the team was an all-girl effort.
MEC Barbara Creecy said, “We need to encourage young women to pursue ICT as a career. As educators we need to change the way we teach female students in order to encourage an interest in ICT.”
COO of Huawei, Christina Naidoo added, “We congratulate each and every one of the students who participated, but at the end of the day it’s actually not about who’s the best but rather what you’re going to do with your prizes and recognition afterwards.”
