Student Project Fund | South Africa 2025 - Winners Announced

Optimised for indoor and GPS-denied environments

All hardware sourced from RS

Promoting open source and laying groundwork for autonomous humanitarian drones.

The focus is on creating a locally built, touch-based communication tool that can be used in schools, homes, and healthcare environments across South Africa.

The goal through this project is to help both assistive technology and healthcare engineering in South Africa by showing that nearby, low-cost AAC devices can be useful and accessible to many. Low-income areas have people who cannot get commercial speech-assistive devices since they are both costly and not widely accessible. I am trying to address the issue by making a system that is affordable and can be customised using common components.

Help small rural pharmacies to manage their inventories to avoid stockouts, human errors and wasted resources.

3-axis gantry robotic system aiming to bring accessible automation which brings meaningful change in healthcare, particularly in rural settings.

This competition encourages student teams to create a functional rover capable of completing technical and operational missions inspired by real Martian exploration. As a student-driven initiative, our goal is not only to succeed in the competition but to foster hands-on learning, teamwork, and innovation in robotics, control systems, and mechatronics.

Beyond competition goals, the project seeks to empower students through project-based learning and build a strong technical portfolio. Through structured team collaboration, we hope to build problem-solving, project management, and technical documentation skills—critical abilities for careers in engineering and technology sectors. Furthermore, we want to raise awareness around robotics and aerospace engineering in South Africa and across the continent, encouraging more student teams and universities to participate in future challenges.

The Cars4Mars challenge provides a unique opportunity to experience a multidisciplinary engineering environment

Creating a reliable solar-powered charger capable of supporting both 36V and 48V e-bike batteries, particularly for areas with limited grid access. Through optimised power electronics and intelligent control systems, I seek to demonstrate a sustainable alternative to conventional charging while maintaining high performance standards.

My project seeks to transform micro-mobility by providing a sustainable charging alternative that reduces dependence on grid electricity. By enabling reliable e-bike charging in areas with limited infrastructure, it could significantly expand the adoption of electric micro-mobility. The system's use of renewable energy aligns with global decarbonization efforts. Successful implementation could inspire industry-wide innovation in solar-powered transport infrastructure and encourage the development of similar systems for other electric vehicles.

This project addresses a significant gap in the additive manufacturing industry; the lack of accessible, integrated MES solutions for small to medium-sized operations

The key objectives include monitoring and controlling critical plant growth parameters such as pH, electrical conductivity (EC), temperature, humidity, water level, and light intensity. The system is designed to automatically regulate nutrient delivery and environmental conditions to ensure optimal plant health, while also offering remote monitoring and manual override capabilities through a mobile IoT interface using Blynk. Ultimately, the goal is to create a user-friendly, cost-effective system that supports sustainable agriculture and can be adopted by small-scale farmers, urban growers, and educational institutions.

To do this, I am looking to create an easy-to-assemble hydroponics farm kit that can be bought by an individual and used to farm their own produce.

By allowing lay people to access hydroponics farming, you will be affecting the industry from hobbyists up to subsistence farmers and so, this project hopes to democratise the farming industry. If this is achieved, there are many benefits to the industry.

One of these is the ecological benefits. Hydroponics uses up to 90% less water than traditional farming because water is recirculated. More than this, crops can grow vertically, in an urban setting, making for reduced land dependence. It also calls for less (sometimes no) pesticide use.

The system architecture involves transporting a 2.5 GHz RF signal over a 10 km analog optical fibre link and subsequently transmitting it over a 10 m wireless link, simulating a last-mile 5G deployment. This hybrid system is aimed at combining the low-loss, high-bandwidth capabilities of optical fibre with the flexibility and mobility of wireless communication

It investigates battery charging methods, cell balancing techniques, and integrated safety systems to prevent overcharging, overheating, and electrical hazards. The design focuses on a compact, lightweight, and durable enclosure with an effective cooling mechanism to ensure portability

The aim of my project, is to develop an affordable, discreet, and locally-adapted personal safety solution that empowers women in South Africa to protect themselves from gender-based violence (GBV). The project combines a physical wearable panic device with a mobile app to create a smart, real-time safety ecosystem for individuals and their trusted networks.

South Africa faces one of the highest rates of GBV in the world. Existing safety tools, such as mobile-only apps, are often ineffective in real emergencies where pulling out a phone is not possible or safe. Additionally, they are not always tailored to the local context, lack offline functionality, or are too expensive for widespread access.

Instead of allowing these batteries to end up in landfills, I aim to collect, test, and integrate them into a practical energy storage solution.

The main objective is to design and build a large power bank using these reclaimed batteries