Pretoria schools excel in Smart Young Mindz competition

Hoërskool Pretoria-Wes took second prize for their innovative material made of recycled plastic, from which they created a range of clothing and bags. Hoërskool Eldoraigne took third place for their shoes made of recycled car and bicycle tyres.

Smart Young Mindz is Gauteng's leading competition aimed at stimulating interest among learners in the fields of mathematics, science, technology and entrepreneurship. The 2011 Smart Young Mindz challenge was to create a new innovative material from recyclable or eco-efficient materials. Teams also had to design and make a product from the new material created. In addition to the cash prize valued at R112 500, each individual team member in the top three took home an iPad 2. The first prize winners took away R45 000, second prize winners won R30 000 and the third prize winners received R15 000.

Alumni Association provides mentorship

Smart Young Mindz is a CSI programme of Blue IQ in partnership with Gauteng Department of Education, Sowetan newspaper's Aggrey Klaaste Foundation and The Innovation Hub, a Blue IQ subsidiary. Blue IQ is an agency of the Gauteng Department of Economic Development.

In addition to their cash prizes, the category winners will become part of the Smart Young Mindz Alumni Association. "The Alumni Association exposes past winners to activities and is a platform to discuss issues and share ideas on current matters, careers and innovations. It also allows the competition partners to keep track of the member's academic performance at school and beyond and it serves to provide mentorship to former winners," explains Blue IQ CEO Amanda Nair.