Unite 2030 believes young people can succeed in achieving these SDGs, especially regarding the global challenges of poverty, inequality, injustice, climate change, water and sanitation.
Msiska represented the university at the global event along with Stefani Terblanche, a BA student in international studies. The delegates were divided into 36 mixed groups that focused on different SDG challenges.
Msiska’s group came up with a website application, Maji, as a solution for water and sanitation.
Maji means water in Tumbuka, a language spoken in northern Malawi. The app forms part of his postgraduate engineering studies at SU on existing water quality maintenance challenges in Malawi, his home country. He is also a lecturer in chemical engineering at the Malawian University of Technology and Sciences.
His digital platform provides maintenance services information about water quality in water supply systems, especially in developing countries.
The process will start with its first implementation in the capital of Malawi, Lilongwe.
Msiska’s team members were Ashley Wunsch and Muskaan Waraich from Canada, Felipe Contreras from Mexico, and Inbar Erez from Israel.
The team and Unite 2030 are backing him to get the innovation implemented. “What captivates me even more, is looking at how people and institutions are excited about the innovation and support its implementation,” he said.
Msiska did not disclose more details about how Maji works as the patent has not been registered yet. However, he was willing to reveal that the Maji app will operate on smartphones, computers and even through text messages if there is no internet.
He said the innovation could also address the challenge of unemployment. “The digital platform will create jobs because community members will be employed for data collection about water and systems. I will now be actively involved with stakeholders in implementing Maji,” he said, adding he needed more support as implementation would require resources.
Overwhelmed by her amazing experience at Camp 2030 and her group that focused on finding solutions for gender-based violence and gender inequality, Terblanche said it was interesting to learn about other cultures.
“It was so interesting learning about other cultures and countries on such a scale, and hearing what people are doing within their communities and the world. I also learnt about the different issues that different people face regarding gender-based discrimination in the workplace, women’s health rights, trans-healthcare issues and more,” she said.
Head of the Concordia Residence where Msiska is a resident, Noel Bekkers, congratulated him on his achievement and praised him for his commitment to his PhD studies and passion for accepting challenging assignments as an academic and entrepreneur.
Bekkers credited various staff members for their efforts to enable Msiska and Terblanche to attend Camp 2030, especially Michelle Pietersen, programme manager at the division of social impact, for making last-minute arrangements.
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Stellenbosch PhD student’s water quality innovation draws applause in New York
Image: Supplied
A digital application by a PhD student at Stellenbosch University (SU) that provides information about water quality in water supply systems has taken third place at an international gathering in New York seeking solutions to global challenges.
Engineering student and lecturer Stanley Chindikani Msiska said he was overwhelmed that the judges had selected his innovation at Camp 2030, a project of Unite 2030, a non-profitable global youth community striving to achieve the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by the year 2030. The gathering was attended by more than 250 young leaders from 61 countries, pitching solutions for sustainable development.
“I’m overwhelmed that my innovation was selected by the judges as a winning solution. This is the news that I worked very hard for and hoped for,” said Msiska from SU's faculty of engineering.
“I thank the Lord even more because this is the kind of success that is going to transform the lives of millions of people who live in despair and suffering,” he said.
Image: Supplied
Unite 2030 believes young people can succeed in achieving these SDGs, especially regarding the global challenges of poverty, inequality, injustice, climate change, water and sanitation.
Msiska represented the university at the global event along with Stefani Terblanche, a BA student in international studies. The delegates were divided into 36 mixed groups that focused on different SDG challenges.
Msiska’s group came up with a website application, Maji, as a solution for water and sanitation.
Maji means water in Tumbuka, a language spoken in northern Malawi. The app forms part of his postgraduate engineering studies at SU on existing water quality maintenance challenges in Malawi, his home country. He is also a lecturer in chemical engineering at the Malawian University of Technology and Sciences.
His digital platform provides maintenance services information about water quality in water supply systems, especially in developing countries.
The process will start with its first implementation in the capital of Malawi, Lilongwe.
Msiska’s team members were Ashley Wunsch and Muskaan Waraich from Canada, Felipe Contreras from Mexico, and Inbar Erez from Israel.
The team and Unite 2030 are backing him to get the innovation implemented. “What captivates me even more, is looking at how people and institutions are excited about the innovation and support its implementation,” he said.
Msiska did not disclose more details about how Maji works as the patent has not been registered yet. However, he was willing to reveal that the Maji app will operate on smartphones, computers and even through text messages if there is no internet.
He said the innovation could also address the challenge of unemployment. “The digital platform will create jobs because community members will be employed for data collection about water and systems. I will now be actively involved with stakeholders in implementing Maji,” he said, adding he needed more support as implementation would require resources.
Overwhelmed by her amazing experience at Camp 2030 and her group that focused on finding solutions for gender-based violence and gender inequality, Terblanche said it was interesting to learn about other cultures.
“It was so interesting learning about other cultures and countries on such a scale, and hearing what people are doing within their communities and the world. I also learnt about the different issues that different people face regarding gender-based discrimination in the workplace, women’s health rights, trans-healthcare issues and more,” she said.
Head of the Concordia Residence where Msiska is a resident, Noel Bekkers, congratulated him on his achievement and praised him for his commitment to his PhD studies and passion for accepting challenging assignments as an academic and entrepreneur.
Bekkers credited various staff members for their efforts to enable Msiska and Terblanche to attend Camp 2030, especially Michelle Pietersen, programme manager at the division of social impact, for making last-minute arrangements.
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