The Teams of the IEEE Entrepreneurship University of the Witwatersrand (WITs) Johannesburg Workshop
Photo: Participants at the IEEE Entrepreneurship University of the Witwatersrand (WITs) Johannesburg Workshop 2024 in Johannesburg, South Africa
The IEEE Entrepreneurship University of the Witwatersrand (WITs) Johannesburg Workshop 2024 (also offered as the Prospector in Entrepreneurship Short Course) was held from 01 – 05 July 2024 at the E-Hub of the Wits University.
The workshop was inaugurated by Prof. Lynn Morris, DVC of Wits University. Approximately 35 participants with backgrounds in Science, Engineering, Construction, Business, and Health Sciences participated in the workshop. Four representatives from Afretec – two from U. Rwanda and two from U. Nairobi also attended the workshop. The course consisted of presentations, group exercises, panel discussions, and a final pitch by the teams formed at the beginning of the workshop.
The main course instructors were Surya Raghu and Ken Stauffer (IEEE Entrepreneurship) with invited speakers consisting of Dr. Solomon Assefa (C1 Ventures), Mr. Mark Harris (Tshimologong), Prof. Thembela Hillie of CSIR, Mr. Ntuthuko Nyandeni of the Gauteng Innovation Hub, Mr. Munya Nyikavaranda of Tshmilogong, Ms. Mmamose Seloane – Director, Technology Localisation, DSI, Ms. Tasneem Wadvalla of Wits Legal and Dr. Adam Pantanowitz of the Wits Innovation Center. An excellent panel discussion on the experiences of entrepreneurs was conducted by Dr. Angela Dudley with Dr. Raj Lalloo (OptimusBio), Mr. Dean Sher (SmartSpot) and Prof. James Larkin (Rhisotope,) sharing their experiences of innovation and entrepreneurship.
IndiCare Team at the WITs Workshop 2024
On day one, projects were chosen based on an exercise consisting of a marketplace session for ideas and skills – individuals proposed their innovative ideas and others chose the teams they wanted to be in to take these ideas to market. Six ideas were down-selected from an initial 13 ideas proposed and the following teams were formed:
- AI Learning Platform (6)
- Easy Move (Assisted Mobility)
- EcoMed (Reduction of medicine waste)
- GenPro (Pollution Control)
- IndiCare (Smart Heal bandages)
- Safe Beat (Personal safety device)
On day five, a panel of judges comprised of – Wesley Hood, RS South Africa, Ms. Charmaine Twala (CSIR,) Ms. Kelahloko Mashiloane (WCE,) Mr. Ken Stauffer (IEEE Entrepreneurship,) and Nic Cloete-Hopkins (WIC,) provided feedback to every team on their pitch. The IndiCare team took home the prize, as voted by the judges, and, RS South Africa sponsored their prizes! CONGRATULATIONS to them and all the teams for their great ideas!
Feedback forms were provided to participants and the feedback indicates that the workshop met or exceeded the expectations of almost all of the participants.
