AFTER a 4000km roadshow through several African countries, the UJ Energy Movement made its way to to the Green Business Platform (GBP) meeting at the Thaba Eco Hotel.
On August 7, guest speakers Nickey Janse van Rensburg, the programme manager of the UJ Energy Movement, and Warren Hurter, a mechanical engineer, project manager and co-founder of the UJ Energy Movement, elaborated on the importance of energy innovation and public participation.
The UJ Energy Movement’s participation in solar racing has developed a platform through which they can engage with communities and industry on energy innovation. “This started as a platform to encourage research, we use it to promote innovation and use it as a platform to start conversation. It’s an educational tool,” said Janse van Rensburg.
The UJ Energy Movement is a programme promoting Science Technology Engineering and Math (STEM) education, research, industry participation and functions as an educational tool to train and develop graduates with real-world experiences and projects. It also serves as a platform for promoting innovative sustainable energy solutions at high school and tertiary level.
One of their flagship projects, the African Solar Drive saw students design and build a solar-powered vehicle that received acknowledgment for its advanced technology. “The African Solar Drive is an advocate for green solutions, we got sponsored by Mitsubishi and we visited universities and schools and we get them connected. In terms of connecting the community through research I think there’s a lot that can be done there, we want to connect communities through our research, public lectures and initiatives,” continued Janse van Rensburg.
There are many opportunities for job creation in such initiatives with the majority of new jobs created in companies younger than five years. According to the guest speakers, SMEs account for 68 percent of the jobs in South Africa and to create sustainable jobs the SME survival rate needs to be increased by identifying and supporting more high-potential enterprises and high calibre entrepreneurs.
Hurter noted that the groups of individuals who engage with these initiatives will be the people to create jobs when they build their own companies. “With the need for electricity storage growing rapidly, industry is looking at using low cost manufacturing i.e. shipping containers in innovative architectural designs. This is where engineering meets design.”
