Botswana Inaugural Makeathon- German Embassy ,Mr Kyreiles
Smart Green Botswana Makeathon is an unforgettable experience for participants and the organisers who showed commitment to the success of this event. Like most things they were hiccups in the early stages of preparation but finally all went well. The event theme was ‘Propelling Botswana towards Industry 4.0’. Speaking at the event opening ceremony was Mr Fabian Kyreiles from the Germany Embassy. He said Germany is happy to support Botswana in working hard to diversify its economy and to drive the country’s economic development by creating value locally. He emphasised that innovation is a key factor to all of this.
“Makeathon are indeed interesting concepts that are value adding towards the development of economies and should be embraced in a sustainable manner,” he explained. The Makeathon had students from different universities and technical colleges from Botswana, Lesotho, Zimbabwe and South Africa. They came together to create, innovate and design smart, green solutions that will alleviate some of the challenges faced in the country.
Mr Kyreiles went on to say, “this move is timely for Botswana to be undertaking especially with the world advancing towards creation of fresh solutions. “He encouraged the students to embrace the knowledge, understanding and experience that they will have acquired during the Makeathon. He concluded by thanking the VDMA and ITQ GmBh for extending the gesture to Botswana and to host its inaugural Makeathon. He reiterated that the Germany Embassy remains committed towards supporting any efforts geared towards advancing Botswana economy.
The Dean of Faculty of Engineering and Technology (UB) Professor Ben Bolaane also agreed with the German ambassador and said that these small steps in innovation will set a platform for Botswana to be an active participant in the fourth industrial revolution. Professor Bolaane noted how the university of Botswana has indeed embraced renewable energy technologies by introducing a Clean Energy Research center. The faculty is also making efforts to develop biodiesel from different stock feeds , jatropha and beef tallow. Amidst all these efforts the faculty also intends to build a solar powered shuttle commissioned to SEZA as well as take part in the Shell Eco Marathon. “All these faculty initiatives are in tandem with the Smart Green Botswana Makeathon. We hope the Makeathon will leave a lasting legacy and strengthen our resolve towards industry 4.0.”he concluded.
