Electrical Engineering lecturers and students have proved that working together can lead to big things.

After working a full year on developing a Kite-Based Reciprocating Wind Generator, four Electrical Engineering students together with two lecturers, scooped a top prize at the Xplore New Automation Competition that took place in Germany.

The challenge, organized by Phoenix Contact, a leading international electrical company, required participants to design and create any device that involved automation.

Judges were blown away by the team’s innovative design and awarded them second place in the Environmental Category. To top it all off, the team was the only one from the African continent that secured a place in the final round of the competition, which had three elimination rounds.

Lecturers Dr Wilfred Fritz and Deon Kallis, who lead the group, say it is a huge achievement for the institution.

Dr Fritz says in the first round they competed against 300 teams from industry and universities across the globe. The final round saw 29 teams compete.

Kallis explains that the device consists of two kites controlled through a combination of beams. The movement of the kites allow the beams to move and generate electricity, which is then stored.

Btech Student Everett Mthundi says they split the project up, allowing each lecturer and student to work on different elements. He says working on the project was challenging but well worth the effort.

Others that participated in the project include Master Student Solomon Smit and Diploma students Charlis Iyeli-Eney and John Shamu.

Their winnings include electrical equipment for the department.

By Candes Keating

Written by CPUT News
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Conchitta Jacobs who has been awarded the National Diploma: Electrical Engineering: Power Systems Cum Laude during today's inaugural digital graduation ceremony, was once devastated and thought that her career was over when she was diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa.

Retinitis pigmentosa is a rare, inherited degenerative eye disease that causes severe visual impairment. The 24-year-old who hails from an old copper-mining town, Nababeep in the Nama Khoi Local Municipality, says that a compulsory medical test for all technical personnel she underwent during her in-service training changed her life for good.

“It was first discovered by an occupational doctor that something was wrong with my eyes. I had to see an eye specialist, in fact for clarity I saw two different ophthalmologists and both agreed on the fact that I had retinitis pigmentosa,” Conchitta says.

After the diagnosis, she contacted her Work-Integrated-Learning lecturers who said she could complete her training, "I did all my outstanding reports to the best of my ability because I really wanted to finish my diploma.” 

“Sometimes, I am scared to cross the road because I need to triple-check or sometimes someone would greet, waving a hand and I would not see it, afterward I would feel so stupid for not being able to see simple things like that."

However, she says that the experience motivated her academically as she did every report she had to submit to the best of her ability.

The mother of one says the support she got from her lecturers (Dr Panagiotis Lazanas and Pule Tjale), parents, boyfriend, and the whole family helped her through her pain. “I would like to tell students in my position or in any other struggle to have faith, always believe, and tell yourself you can.”

She is currently part of an organisation called Retina South Africa which helps people like her to find the cause and possible treatment for the condition. Her employers, BVi Consulting Engineers in Springbok, Northern Cape, were very helpful as they gave Conchitta the opportunity to finish her training with them, “knowing I won’t be able to do any site visits without supervision”.

Conchitta, who aspires to get her degree in education to teach electrical engineering, says: “It changed my life in a way that I may never be able to drive my own car because I cannot get my licence or the fact that I will never be able to do the practical side of Electrical Engineering especially in areas that are dangerous such as construction sites.” 

Written by Aphiwe Boyce
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Miss CPUT Bellville, Pauline Marere, will soon be jetting off to Seoul, South Korea to participate in the World Miss University pageant.

Pauline will join other beauties from universities worldwide later in November for a month-long stay in South Korea and Cambodia. Before winning Miss CPUT in September, Pauline was voted the “People’s Choice” in the Miss Universities SA competition. The winner in that pageant has not been chosen yet, but fortunately her participation in the international competition is not dependent on her winning the national crown.

Originally from Zimbabwe, this third-year Electrical Engineering student, was delighted when her application to enter the 28^th edition of World Miss University was successful. “I was encouraged to enter the competition by my mentor and friend, Sibonginkosi Hove, and couldn’t believe it when I was accepted,” says Pauline.

Pauline met Sibonginkosi, a fellow Zimbabwean who was first princess to the World Miss University in 2014, through her cousin two years ago. They have maintained contact despite Pauline living in Cape Town and Sibonginkosi in Harare. “Sinbonginkosi is an inspiration, who always tells me to not to neglect my studies. She studied Marketing in Zim and won an academic prize for the best student at her university in the same year as participating in the pageant,” adds Pauline.

In the month overseas, Pauline will participate in international charity drives and will get trained in make-up and beauty. Participates must bring their own wardrobe and this is the area in which she needs help. She is currently looking for a clothing sponsor.

Her dream is to graduate next year, to be crowned Miss Zimbabwe, which will see her qualify for the Miss World competition.

Written by Abigail Calata

The Centre for Substation Automation and Energy Management Systems (CSAEMS) is offering a new and innovative Master of Engineering in Electrical Engineering in Smart Grids qualification.

Raynitchka Tzoneva, a professor in Electrical Engineering says this qualification is built on the application of the IEC61850 standard in Substation Automation and Smart Grids, which makes CPUT the first institution in the world to offer such specialisation.

“The qualification programme is unique because it teaches integrated knowledge for IEC61850 standard-based technologies for monitoring, protection, optimisation and control necessary for the building of Smart Grids. The subjects have a strong practical component requiring the real-time implementation of the solutions developed by the students in the research laboratory” says Tzoneva.

She said similar Master’s programmes which have been in existence for years all over the world mainly teach the students some aspects of the technology of the Distributed Energy Resources which represent only one part of the Smart Grid. “CPUT’s programme looks at the Smart Grid as a whole,” Tzoneva says.

She adds that the new qualification is developed and accredited under an Erasmus+ K2 capacity building project called “Development of a hArmonized MOdular Curriculum (DAMOC) for the Smart Grid,” aiming capacity building at African higher education institutions.

According to Tzoneva the team consists of three leading universities from Europe and five universities from Africa. “Through the DAMOC project funds, a new Real-Time Digital Simulator, called NovaCor, from RTDS Technologies, Canada, and the only one in South Africa was purchased especially for the implementation of Smart Grid Systems in the research laboratory”.

The duration for this course is two years; the students concentrate half of their time attending classes, and the other half of their time working on their research projects. Tzoneva adds that bridging courses will be presented too to align the initial knowledge of the students.

“The specialist in Smart Grids has to have knowledge of the power systems, control systems, computers systems and communication systems to be capable to work on and lead projects incorporating smart meters, smart appliances, variable renewable energy resources, intelligent power substations, IEC61850 standard-based communication and digital information and control systems.”

The programme has six subjects (five compulsory and one elective) and a research project. It will be presented at the end of March to the local and international specialists during the final dissemination DAMOC meeting/conference at Stellenbosch University.

Written by Aphiwe Boyce
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Electrical Engineering students Benny Moja and Benjamin Senama will represent CPUT at an intervarsity entrepreneurship competition in Johannesburg this week.

The competition is organized by Be Bold Consulting, a company which specializes in taking business ideas from conceptualization to implementation.

The competition tasks students to come up with innovative business ideas, with the winner walking away with R25 000. The best idea will also be implemented with the help of Be Bold Consulting.

The CPUT duo will present their smart USB concept as well as e-technology, an audio device that allows one to read newspapers, magazines and books electronically.

“It’s exciting but there’s a lot of pressure on us because being there means we are playing in the big boys’ league,” says Benny.

“We have presented and exhibited our concepts in the region before and scooped the second prize with our smart USB concept but we will be going to the nationals for the first time.”

The students are members of the Peninsula Business Club (PBC), which was co-founded by Benny and Mechanical Engineering student Tshitso Mosolodi and launched in May at CPUT.

The PBC is a networking organization dedicated to advancing entrepreneurship for both graduates and undergraduates using technology, and its membership is open both to students and professionals.

Written by Kwanele Butana
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Thanks to the generosity of German aircraft equipment manufacturing company, KUNZ, two academically-deserving students have been given a potentially life-changing opportunity.

Litheko Nkabiti, an Electrical Engineering student and Dineo Malaka from the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering have been selected to be the inaugural recipients of full bursaries from KUNZ.

The bursaries cover the entire course of study, from first year all the way through to their BTech year, subject to satisfactory academic performance.

KUNZ GmbH aircraft equipment is a leading supplier of aircraft recovery equipment and aircraft wheel and brake servicing equipment. The company counts among its clients airports across the globe from Athens to Warsaw, airlines such as Lufthansa, Emirates, Air France and SAA, as well as the official air forces of Italy, Japan, Singapore, Finland and the US Air Force and Navy, amongst others.

With such a world of opportunity open to Litheko and Dineo, it’s no wonder they are so thrilled. They’ve both expressed their deepest thanks to the company, and more specifically to Managing Director Gerhard Kunz, who initiated the bursary through CPUT’s Advancement Department.

Advancement Officer Niven Maree is confident that partnerships with internationally renowned and cutting-edge companies such as KUNZ can only go from strength to strength.  

“Advancement plays a vital role in cultivating long-term mutually beneficial relationships,” says Maree.

“We prefer to pursue alliances in a strategic manner, with a longer-term nurturing mentality, as opposed to a ‘here today, gone tomorrow’ philosophy. In doing so, our goals of meeting financial targets, focusing on stewardship and friend-raising result in a win-win situation – for the university, our students and the companies we partner with.”

Written by Janyce Weintrob
Tel: +27 21 460 3514
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South Africa’s future technicians will soon be training in state-of-the-art laboratories thanks to a partnership between CPUT and engineering industry specialist RS Components.

RS sponsored equipment to the value of R250 000 to be used in the project labs run by the Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering at CPUT’s Bellville campus.

“The four project labs will be used by over 450 students annually to learn about electronics, mechanical and electrical engineering. The students will get the opportunity to learn about and work with actual engineering equipment by doing various assignments and projects according to their course curriculum,” says Ben Groenewald, Head of Electrical Engineering at the launch of the labs.

The equipment supplied to the labs is from RS’s private label range, called RS Pro, and include top of the range components that students can expect to encounter in a future workplace.

Brian Andrew, GM of RS Components South Africa says that a partnership with CPUT was a natural fit.

“Being the global distributor for engineers, it made sense to partner with the CPUT as they are developing the next generation of engineering technologists  who are going to be required to be multi-skilled across disciplines. We wanted the students to have access to the necessary tools and equipment so that they could practically put the theory they are studying into practice and have a taste of what the professionals use. Our RS Pro range matched the requirements of the labs by having great quality and performance while being affordable. We are extremely excited to see what these young engineers will be cooking up in the labs.”

Groenewald adds that, “investment like this illustrates industry’s increasing involvement in the education of engineers and for that we are very grateful.”

Written by Abigail Calata

Hard work pays off.

Just ask Anton van Niekerk who graduated with his National Diploma in Electrical Engineering (Power Systems).

Anton was one of 12 graduates selected to receive the Dean’s Medal at this year’s Autumn Graduation.

This prestigious award is given to two graduates in each of the six faculties who excelled in all aspects of academic life.

Anton obtained distinctions in all but two of his subjects, with an aggregate of 82% for his diploma.

Currently studying towards his BTech in Electrical Engineering, Anton credits a passion for his career choice and good lecturers for his success.

“I feel very proud of this achievement. The hard work paid off,” he says.

Keynote speaker at the graduation ceremony, Ambassador Elisabeth Barbier, also reflected on the success of hard work, which has resulted in a long and fruitful relationship between various French entities and CPUT.

INSPIRED: Elisabeth Barbier, the French Ambassador to South Africa reflected on the successful relationship her country has with CPUT

Barbier, who is the French Ambassador to South Africa reflected on F’SATI, a joint venture between CPUT and ESIEE-Paris, a graduate school in France.  

Established several years ago, F’SATI houses CPUT’s postgraduate programme in Satellite Systems Engineering. The unit is responsible for building and launching Africa’s first nanosatellite, TshepisoSAT.

Barbier says other notable partnerships include the establishment of the Product Lifecycle Management Competency Centre at the Bellville Campus as well as the recent signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with the university’s School of Sport, Events, Tourism and Hospitality and the Ferrandi French School of Culinary Arts.

She says the French Embassy and CPUT will soon also sign an agreement that will see the roll-out of French lessons at the university.

Written by Candes Keating
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Provides coverage for the Engineering and Applied Sciences Faculties; the Bellville and Wellington Campuses, and research and innovation news.

From designing the latest cellphone technology to manufacturing satellites, Electrical Engineers are at the forefront of technology and innovation.

The benefits of obtaining a qualification in Electrical Engineering were recently highlighted by a group of CPUT students who participated in an initiative, driven by the South African Institute of Electrical Engineers, to expose Grade 9 learners to this exciting field of study.

With Grade 9’s set to make subject choices later this year, the institute sponsored schools from disadvantaged communities to visit the Cape Town Science Centre in Observatory.

Here learners had an opportunity to conduct electrical experiments and interact with Electrical Engineering students who are based at the university’s F’SATI unit.

Amelie Viollet, a French exchange student at F’SATI, encouraged learners to opt for a career in Electrical Engineering.

“If you love science, then opt for a career in Electrical Engineering,” she said.

Amelie said this field of study and work allows individuals to innovate and with technology constantly changing, electrical engineers are guaranteed to always be involved in new and exciting ventures.

Education Manager at the Science Centre, Guy Lynton, said it was good for learners to interact with the CPUT students, who were able to give them first-hand information on electrical engineering.

Applications for 2015 close on 30 September 2014.

Written by Candes Keating
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Provides coverage for the Engineering and Applied Sciences Faculties; the Bellville and Wellington Campuses, and research and innovation news.

The Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment once again demonstrated its commitment in supporting students to achieve their highest potential when it delivered its first woman to graduate with a Doctoral degree in Electrical Engineering.

Nomzamo Tshemese-Mvandaba was one of the PhD candidates from Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment [FEBE) who obtained their Doctoral degrees during the one-day Summer Graduation today, 13 December 2022, at Bellville Campus. Her research title was: Modelling and controller design of a flotation column. Tshemese-Mvandaba’s doctoral study addressed the advanced controller design for a multivariable system. Advanced controllers are needed to address the intricate interactions that characterise complex industrial processes.

Tshemese-Mvandaba who was born in Tsolo, a small town in the Eastern Cape, attributed her success to her late supervisor, Prof Raynitchka Tzoneva. “I have mixed feelings, I am very excited but at the same time I am very emotional right now. I always dreamed that she [Tzoneva] would be here to witness and celebrate with me, however it wasn’t meant to be. We always discussed my future, we both decided that at 35 I must have PhD, and it really happened,” Tshemese-Mvandaba reminisces.

“I believe she is currently looking at this moment from above and congratulating me. Thank you to all my colleagues at DEECE [Department of Electrical, Electronic and Computer Engineering].”

Tshemese-Mvandaba also acknowledged the role played by her co-supervisor. and colleague. "I would like to thank Dr Mkhululi Mnguni for his dedication and support throughout my work, especially during the writing-up process and when Prof's health started to be a challenge. Last but not least, I thank Dr Carl Kriger for his leadership and the excellent job that he accomplishes today."

Written by Aphiwe Boyce
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Efforts to develop Africa’s future energy workforce will receive a welcome boost with several universities in Africa identified to benefit from the roll-out of Electrical Engineering Masters and Doctoral programmes specializing in Smart Grids.

The DAMOC project, short for the Development of a Harmonized Modular Curriculum for the Smart Grid, is an ambitious programme funded by the ERASMUS + KA2 initiative, which promotes platforms for cooperation in innovation and the exchange of good practices in the international higher education sector.

CPUT’s Centre for Substation Automation and Energy Management Systems (CSAEMS) has been identified to participate in the DAMOC project, along with Stellenbosch University, University Of Pretoria, as well as two Tanzania-based institutions, which include The Nelson Mandela African Institute of Science and Technology and the University of Dar Es Salaam.

Director of the CSAEMS and a leading expert in Smart Grids, Prof Raynitchka Tzoneva, will lead the CPUT delegation, who this month will attend the project’s kick-off meeting in Germany.

Smart grid technology is a highly specialized area of electrical engineering, which focuses on development of standard-based monitoring, protection and control integrated power systems that allow electricity suppliers to monitor the flow of electricity, improve transmission and storage, as well as facilitate the distribution of energy generated from alternative sources, such as wind turbines. The skills developed in this area are crucial for the development of the energy sector and will help address Africa’s energy woes.

“Envisioned outcomes of this project are new, interdisciplinary master and doctor courses implemented at partner institutions in Africa, running laboratories, online courses, and improved networking between the partners,” says Tzoneva.

The Masters and Doctoral courses will include modules such as emerging standards for smart grid, power electronics, integration of renewable energy into the power system, cyber security, and virtual power plants.

Tzoneva says specialised laboratories will also be set up at CPUT and the Nelson Mandela African Institute Of Science and Technology.

The European partners include Dresden University of Technology in Germany, Università degli Studi Guglielmo Marconi in Italy, and Karlstad University in Sweden.

The project will receive support from the South African National Energy Development Institute – South Africa.

The DAMOC project will run over the course of three years.

Written by Candes Keating
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Provides coverage for the Engineering and Applied Sciences Faculties; the Bellville and Wellington Campuses, and research and innovation news.

The Centre for Distributed Power and Electronic Systems is very proud of their two doctoral and five master’s graduands who will be among the last students capped at this year’s Summer Graduation.

The students studied Electrical Engineering and Ayonkunle Oluwaseun Ayeleso and Gunjan Gupta are Doctor of Electrical Engineering graduands supervised by the CDPES.

Ayeleso’s research for his DEng Electrical Engineering focused on a novel alternative energy conversion and generation system based on Magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) and the fourth state of matter known as plasma. He built a prototype MHD system and published seven accredited journal and conference papers for the work that led to his thesis, An improved plasma energy conversion system for Electric Power Generation.

This focus on alternatives is a big focal point of the CDPES, headed by Prof Tariq Kahn, who supervised Ayeleso.

“The Energy sector is at the forefront of everyone’s mind. Do we have a solution for a seemingly dystopian future? On the one hand there is space exploration but that would be pretty useless if you go into space but Earth falls apart. Spaceship Earth has limited resources and the allocation from our current lifestyle simply uses too much. The world has to adjust and new forms of energy generation are needed,” said Kahn.

Director of CPUT’s Energy Institute, Kahn says while they realise the need to encourage students to research alternative energy sources, they cannot ignore the fossil fuel mix and the gas reserves of Mozambique and Namibia need investigating. The Western Cape’s dire water situation also means relooking how steam is utilised in power stations with an eye on desalination technology.

Another important focus area is power grids, featured in Gunjan Gupta’s DEng Electrical Engineering thesis An analysis and improvement of selected features of power quality of grid-tied alternative energy systems. Gupta, supervised by Prof Wilfred Fritz, has published her simulation results in two journal publications and six conference proceedings.

Dr Atanda Raji supervised Gideon Joubert’s Master’s thesis Advanced technological solutions to the negative perceptions of nuclear power plants. Joubert, who will graduate summa cum laude, looked at how nuclear technology has evolved into a safer and cleaner alternative method of power generation since it was first introduced.

Like Joubert, Hlonela Gesha did the new MTech Energy Coursework which is a Masters course that runs parallel to the regular Master of Electrical Engineering course. Gesha was supervised by Kahn for the thesis An analysis of the environmental impacts of biomass application hybrid Microgrids in South Africa.

Tariq Lameen, also supervised by Kahn, wrote the Master’s thesis Development of a photovoltaic reverse osmosis fogging demineralizer for improved gas turbine generation output.

William Murray, who will graduate his MEng Electrical Engineering summa cum laude, was supervised by Dr Marco Adonis for his thesis Energy Wheeling viability of distributed renewable energy for industry. He investigated the economic viability and technical concerns of transporting electricity generated by an Independent Power Producer directly to an industrial consumer.

Supervised by Dr Wilfred Fritz and Kahn, Nkusi Emmanuel will graduate as a Master of Electrical Engineering having written the thesis Modelling of Harmonic Stability and Voltage Distortion between Electrical Grid and Renewable Generation Technologies.

Written by Theresa Smith
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Growing up in Lady Frere in the Eastern Cape Sinamandla Maqina was that child who would take apart the radio. He wanted to know where the voices were coming from, but would always end up with pieces of unidentifiable equipment strewn on the floor.

“Unfortunately, I cost my parents a few of those,” he remembers with a wry grin.

Today Sinamandla graduates with a Master’s in Electrical Engineering and the confidence to build a radio from scratch.

The 28-year-old has already done more than reconstitute a radio, his Master’s thesis was “X-band Antenna Design for Nano-Satellite Applications”. This means, supervised by Prof Robert Lehmensiek, he designed an x-band antenna, modelled and simulated it on a computer and then built a working prototype. This antenna has since been built and installed on CPUT’s second nano-satellite which will be launched into space on Christmas Day.

While the nano-satellite uses the S-band for communication, the X-band antenna will be used when it has to send large amounts of data down to earth.

Sinamandla picked this particular thesis topic because of his interest in communication, but he didn’t start out in this exact field. When he registered at CPUT he had to enter the Mechanical Engineering department as his first choice was full. Once he graduated with his Diploma he switched to Electrical Engineering like his older sister.

He describes his first few months at CPUT as difficult, confusing even, because everything was studied through English only. “The problem was in class it would be difficult to understand, but as you go through the work you would see there are things you understand, but they are just moving really fast. Group study helped a lot.”

It also helped to realise that he wasn’t the only student who was struggling: “It’s not anything new, this idea of learning, it is just how it is being done and the speed at which it comes at you, that is different.”

Sinamanda figures next up he had better get a job in the real world of space aeronautics communication, but he doesn’t discount starting on a DEng in the near future. It’s just a case of fine-tuning what he wants, something he learned over the years at CPUT.

Written by Theresa Smith
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