Belgium Campus ITversity | Thought Leadership

December Exam Results

The December examination results are out and we are so proud of our students for receiving an overall pass rate of 89% with a total of 948 distinctions achieved. We hope you get a well-deserved rest and we look forward to welcoming you back ready to excel in the new year.

MEET YOUR 2020 SRC PRESIDENT

Belgium Campus iTversity provides a unique learning environment that pushes beyond the barriers of theoretical knowledge and skills into real world application and understanding. We challenge our students to partake in projects that simulate the pressures and expectations of the industry while at the same time challenging and expanding their IT knowledge and allowing them to explore their potential as future innovators in the industry.

3rd-Year Innovation Projects 2019

Autonomous Underwater Vehicle Underway Penn State Innovation Project

A new Penn State innovation project is underway. Six Belgium Campus iTversity students have partnered with several Pennsylvania State University students to design and build an autonomous underwater vehicle that detects water pollution.

A Liberty Voyage to Remember

On the morning of October 4th 2019, Liberty passports in hand, our Liberty Group South Africa sponsored students set off on a journey to discover what Liberty has to offer them as future employees. A mixture of excitement and nerves was evident in the air as our students stepped through Liberty’s front doors in Braamfontein. “We didn’t really know what to expect. We just received an invitation to visit their offices but we weren’t told what the visit would entail,” shares Blessed Rapudi, a 1st year Bachelor of Computing student.

September Exam Results

We would like to congratulate our students for their continued hard work and dedication. They achieved an overall qualification rate of 86% and an overall pass rate of 87% for the past September examinations.

BCMusketeers Participate in WRC Symposium Hackathon

Belgium Campus iTversity students, Otshepeng Mashele and Ronald Qobolo, teamed up with Expotech Industries Founder, Joël Tiogo, to participate in the WRC Symposium Hackathon last month. Students were tasked to come up with innovative technological solutions to the water and sanitation challenges facing the African continent. According to UN-Water, “Half of the people who drink water from unsafe sources live in Africa. In Sub-Saharan Africa alone, only 24% of the population have access to safe drinking water.”

Belgium Campus iTversity: A Cultural Melting Pot

There are thousands of different cultures all over the world. South Africa has one of the most diverse with 11 official languages and 8 other recognised languages. “I think we are fortunate to be able to celebrate Heritage Day in South Africa as it gives us an opportunity to recognise our rich cultural heritage and the vibrancy that comes with it,” comments Thinus Kritzinger, Administrative Dean.

Heritage Day Through the Eyes of Belgium Campus Students

“I see Heritage Day as a celebration of the diversity and different cultures within our country. My family and I celebrate Heritage Day by coming together to have a braai. It is a time for us to share the food we enjoy, while also enjoying each other’s company,”

DEAF Careers 365

DEAF Careers 365 is an employment website being created by Belgium Campus iTversity Deaf internship students Thabo Mthimkulu, Nduduzo Miya and Mbuyiselo Ncayiyana. The website, similar to Disability Career 365, is being designed specifically for members of the Deaf community seeking employment and companies looking to hire Deaf employees. “Initially we were going to create a job website for the general disabled community but because most of our experience lies within the Deaf community and most of our contacts are also within the Deaf community, we decided to create DEAF Careers 365 instead,” Mthimkulu shares.

Disability Career 365

With South Africa’s unemployment rate sitting at 29% finding a job can be a tough task, this task becomes even more challenging for the 7.5 percent (2,870,130 people) of the population living with some form of disability. With the above in mind, Deaf internship students Siyanda Kopolo and Sieshane Perumal decided to create an employment website that caters specifically for disabled jobseekers and companies looking to hire disables individuals.

Deaf Information Hub

Deaf Information Hub is a website designed to provide a number of useful resources to hearing parents with children with hearing loss and individuals who suddenly lose their hearing. It is being created by Deaf internship students Chezney van Groeningen, Bongumusa Mlaba and Jolin Jafta. “There are a lot of resources for the Deaf available on the internet but hardly any of these resources are specifically South African. We created this website to provide relevant resources to South Africans who need them,” Groeningen explains.

DeafHUB

Belgium Campus iTversity Deaf internship students Violen Moonee, Yazeed Moosa and Norman Themba, are creating a website to assist members of the Deaf community as well as hearing individuals with Deaf people in their lives. The website, titled DeafHUB, mainly focusses on education and assisting Deaf learners. “We all went to a school for the Deaf and so we have personal experiences with what the issues are in schools like this, which is why we created this website,” Moonee says as he navigates through the site.

Global Partnerships Promoting Global Solutions and Inclusivity

Belgium Campus iTversity and Pennsylvania State University have been working together since 2015 to promote global-thinking and intercultural awareness amongst students. Belgium Campus students work with students from Penn State University’s mechanical and electrical engineering faculties on joint industry innovation projects. These projects prepare students to enter the industry with ease and also provide them with a global perspective, allowing them to assimilate into the globalised world we live in and equipping them to tackle the challenges that come with it.

Like-Minded Partnerships

Belgium Campus strives to provide equal opportunities for all, with a specific focus on females and individuals with disabilities. We actively work with a number of major corporates to provide as many opportunities to our students as possible, both before and after graduation. These opportunities are in the form of bursaries, internships and job placements.

Women’s Month: Alumna: Kholofelo Matimatjatji

Kholofelo Matimatjatji graduated from Belgium Campus iTversity in 2015 with a Bachelor of Computing degree. She is currently a senior business analyst team lead as Discovery Invest as well as the managing director at a start-up company called Puno MGT. We touched base with her to find out about her current positions, as well as her experience as a woman in the IT field.

Women’s Month: Alumna: Kristél Hartmann

Kristél Hartmann is currently working as a practice principle at RedScreen, a consulting company which works in the BI field. She graduated from Belgium Campus in 2018 with a Bachelor of Computing degree. We spent some time getting up to speed with her.

Women’s Month: Alumna: Fay Mpata

Fay Mpata graduated from Belgium Campus iTversity with a Bachelor of Computing degree in 2016. She is currently working as a front-end developer at Twipe Digital Publishing, a Belgian technology company specialising in state-of-the-art digital publishing and analytics. We took some time to catch up with her.

Women’s Month: Internship Students Continued

Companies receive hundreds if not thousands of CVs a day. Securing an internship at a recognised company which shares a similar vision and which provides ample opportunity for growth makes candidates more competitive in the job market. Internships allow students to gain exposure and experience in the field, they also allow them to decide what type of companies are a good fit for them which is equally as important. Many internships lead to permanent jobs, and even if they don’t, internship experience from a top company within your field will help you stand out.

Women’s Month: Internship Students

At Belgium Campus we recognise the importance of looking beyond the qualification, which is why we assist our students to find internships at top IT companies. This is made possible because of our longstanding relationship with a number of national and international companies in the field. These companies have hired our students in the past and are thus aware of the standard at which our students perform. It is also made possible because of our recruitment drives which allow our students to network with a number of industry experts, while at the same time receiving vital industry knowledge.

Women’s Month: Lecturers

At Belgium Campus our lecturers are dedicated and passionate about providing our students witha top IT education so that they can go on to do incredible things within the IT field. We would love to introduce you to all of them, however that would require us to write a book, so in celebration of Women’s Month we have chosen to introduce you to four of our astounding female lecturers: Anila Mundackal, Matildah Chiruka Siakola,Cindy Delport and Privilege Charmaine Tavagwisa.

Women’s Month: Pretoria Female Students

Today we introduce you to some of the remarkable female students at our Pretoria campus. They share their views on the role of women in IT, as well as their future goals as women pursuing careers in IT. We spoke to 1st, 2nd and 3rd year students who prove that it doesn’t matter what year of study you find yourself in, it is never too early to think about the future and with a career in IT the possibilities are endless.

Women’s Month: Port Elizabeth Female Students

At Belgium Campus we are proud of our students and we love to celebrate them as much aspossible. Today we took a trip to our Port Elizabeth campus to speak to 3 of our amazing female students. We found out what Women’s Month means to them and why they chose to pursue a career in IT.

Women’s Month: Kempton Park Female Students

We spoke to some of the incredible female students at our Kempton Park campus to find out what Women’s Month means to them and what their future aspirations as women in IT are.

Belgium Campus Recruitment Drive A Win-Win

We are so pleased to be able to welcome so many top industry experts to Belgium Campus. Experiences like these exponentially increase the opportunities and choices available to our students.

A Note from the Administrative Dean

We have entered the second half of the 2019 academic year and I believe it is important to reflect on the achievements of the first semester.

Farewell Mr. Jan Rombouts

It is with heavy hearts but fond memories that we bid farewell to Mr. Jan Rombouts, who will be leaving Belgium Campus at the end of this month to take up his retirement in Belgium. Mr. Rombouts, the visionary who founded Belgium Campus, played a pivotal role at the ITversity from its inception in 1999 until present day and we cannot express enough gratitude for the work he has done as founder and executive chairman.

June Exam Results

Congratulations to our students for receiving an overall qualification rate of 85% and an overall pass rate of 87% for the past June exams. We are extremely proud of all of you and we are excited for the term ahead.

Will Belgium Campus Win the Cup?

Belgium Campus has been invited to take part in the 2019 Entelect Challenge University Cup on the 3rd of August 2019. “This will be our first year taking part in the challenge and I am thrilled that we received an invitation,” beamed Administrative Dean, Thinus Kritzinger.

Introducing Dr. Wernher Friedrich Botlhale Village Head Lecturer

This year Belgium Campus welcomed charismatic, multifaceted Dr. Wernher Friedrich into the Belgium Campus family. He is the new head lecturer at Belgium Campus’ research and innovation hub, Botlhale Village, a position that allows him to showcase both his research and development expertise, as well as his seamless ability to bring this research to life through his lectures.

Top Belgium Campus Students Invited to DVT Open Day

Belgium Campus students have been invited to attend DVT’s Open Day on the 20th of July 2019. DVT is one of South Africa’s leading software development companies, with over 20 years’ experience in industries including: healthcare, retail, financial services, banking, insurance, media and telecoms.

Entering July with a Masterclass

The IBM Masterclass, took place at Belgium Campus’ Pretoria campus on the 1st July 2019. The class aimed to provide students with crucial information surrounding the latest software and technologies and how they are being used in industry today. This specific class focused on database skills using MongoDB, Cloudant and PostgreSQL, with a specific focus on Blockchain. The class was given by Phila Dlamini, IBM Worldwide Developer Advocate and Programme Manager for LinuxONE Africa. “We do these classes in all the universities in Africa, to gage the gap when it comes to open source mainframe.” She said.

Enabel Visits Belgium Campus

Belgium Campus was delighted to welcome representatives from Enabel, the Belgian Development Agency, to our Pretoria campus on the 28th June 2019. The representatives included Managing Director, Jean Van Wetter, who upon completion of the tour expressed his astonishment with the projects at Belgium Campus.

Looking Back at BusIT Week 2019 Smart Aviation

Imagine getting the opportunity to meet people from across the world, to share knowledge and ideas about a range of interesting topics that could potentially change the world. Now, imagine being able to do this and receiving academic credits for it. It sounds too good to be true but at Belgium Campus this is possible every year during the International BusIT Week. Participating Belgium Campus student, Lorenzo Lazarus, saw the week as an opportunity to make lifelong friends, network and push himself to grow outside of his comfort zone.

Still Undecided?

If you haven’t yet decided whether you would like to study with us, why not pay us a visit and experience what Belgium Campus has to offer for yourself. Our admissions department is always on hand and would love to chat with you about your future career path and how a career in ICT will remain relevant for years to come.

Industry Experts Look to Recruit Belgium Campus Students

Belgium Campus students have a 100% employment rate to look forward to once they graduate. This is possible because at Belgium Campus we tailor our curriculum to suit the needs of the current job market. In addition, we provide our students with opportunities to network with industry experts one-on-one, at events like our recruitment day which took place on the 7th of June 2019.

Graduation 2019 Belgium Campus

On the 17th of May 2019 our class of 2018 adorned themselves with caps, gowns and Cheshire cat smiles to receive their qualifications. All their hard work paid off and this was a day of celebration and pride, not only for the students and their families, but for Belgium Campus as a whole. Prof Thinus Kritzinger, IT Faculty Administrative Dean, referred to the day as “One of the happiest days for us as a campus every year.”

International Hackathon 2019 Hack the Waste

Hack the Waste, a 24 hour international online hackathon, took place on the 9th and 10th of May 2019. It challenged students from a number of different universities across the world, to come up with innovative solutions to the growing global waste problem. The aim was to make the global community more cognisant of the problem and create a conversation around feasible technological solutions.

Mimicking Mars A Trip to Pennsylvania State University

The 2019 Capstone Design Project Showcase took place on the 25th of April at the Bryce Jordan Center in Pennsylvania. Belgium Campus software engineering students, Adam Britz, Sumare Maritz and Abigayle Gagiano, travelled to Pennsylvania to present the project they worked on, in collaboration with Pennsylvania State University engineering students.

The IBM Masterclass

Belgium Campus has a number of strategic industry/university alliance partnerships with companies including IBM, Microsoft, CISCO and INFOR. These partnerships provide students with vital knowledge on the latest technologies and how they are used in industry today.

Winter School Classes for Grade 11 and 12 Students

All our campuses will be hosting free winter school classes for grade 11 and 12 students, from July 1st until July 5th, 2019. The classes help students prepare for the preliminary examinations and in the past, students who attended the classes saw their marks improve by 10%!

Belgium Campus Joins #HacktheGoals

The 2018 edition of Hack the Goals was a series of seven hackathons in six countries: Senegal, Niger, Palestine, Morocco, Uganda and Belgium. These hackathons brought together Enabel experts, government officials, digital experts and ordinary citizens to develop innovative solutions for the Sustainable Development Goals.

The Time is Now to Future-Proof Learning

CEO of Belgium Campus, Enrico Jacobs, explains the importance of preparing students and the workforce for Industry 4.0.The world labour market is at the dawn of a significant transformation as it prepares to maintain pace with the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Industry 4.0 is here and it is calling for future-oriented skills and educational reform. Nowhere is this felt more than in sub-Saharan Africa, where more than 60 percent of the population is under the age of 25, making it the world’s youngest region.

How to Prepare for a Career that Doesn’t Exist Yet

On 12 September, 2018, UNICEF hosted the TomorrowReady event — a discussion about how tech and innovation are going to shape the future for children and young people."We have to prepare the children across the world for the churn that’s coming" – Nicholas Thompson, WIRED

Botlhale Village Partners with La Pieus Aqua in Agri-Tech Venture

All activities undertaken in Botlhale Village are intended to improve the lives of community members in this region. “Research at this innovation and incubation hub will always be conducted with the purpose of serving the needs of citizens in terms of learning and teaching,” shares professor Kris Willems, the Executive Director of Botlhale Village.

What Heritage Day Means to the Community of Belgium Campus

"Belgium Campus has its own traditions, practices and beliefs. It is important for individuals to share in these ideals as it creates a culture that is unique to our campus and helps to distinguish our students from any other institution,” shares Deputy Head Lecturer Cindy Delport as the celebration of Heritage Day approaches.

New Hi-Tech Flutter Based Aquaponics App To Be Developed At Botlhale

Our team of developers at Botlhale Village have embarked on developing a next-generation App with Flutter for aquaponics. This is a move that is set to depart from the use of technology as we currently know it. Alicia Cameron, one of the developers at Botlhale Village, says that there are a myriad of benefits of such an App for people who work on the farms.

Dare To Disrupt

In the tech space, it’s expected that people who choose to work in this world are natural game changers and innate innovators. But it’s important to realise that you don’t get to that place of vision and excellence overnight. The greatest tech geniuses in this world have wisdom to share on how to find the inner and outer resources you need to, well, change the world. But as any tech icon will tell you, it takes time, patience, multiple failures, and a good, hard look at what makes you tick.

The Future of Flight: South Africa

A small university in Pretoria has become the first to develop this technology, long before the MiTs and Tesla’s of the world. “Never underestimate the creativity and potential of a young mind,” Jan Rombouts, the Chairman of Belgium Campus, tells us early one autumn morning as we sit in an airplane hangar, built for an innovative group of technology students.

The democratisation of space… and science!

When Elon Musk’s Falcon Heavy took to the skies on a balmy afternoon on February 6th this year, the event marked more than just the thrilling launch of the most powerful rocket booster in the world. Impressive as the launch was, what was really significant was that it signaled what Bill Nye, charismatic CEO of the Planetary Society, called ‘the democratisation of space.’

Let technology set you free

We’re moving towards an increasingly virtual world, which, in spite of the pitfalls, offers us tremendous personal freedom. Think of driverless cars and smart supermarkets like Amazon Go, which promise queue-free, check-out free shopping. With technology set to liberate us increasingly as the future unfolds, we can look forward to the advent of dramatically increased individual autonomy. But, as always, with great freedom comes great responsibility.

From ‘tweet to street’: Real world applications in real time.

The gap between an idea and its execution – between thought and app – is growing increasingly narrow, opening up a rich playing field for youthful innovators. Today, more than in any previous historical epoch, the arc from the conception of an idea (dreaming it up) to its execution (creating a product in the real world) is shorter than ever before.

Be the change, because change is opportunity.

As we embrace change and disruption as the new normal, we need to abandon a fear-based response, and see the challenges of change as a gateway to new opportunities. Our typical human response, when confronted by the new and unfathomable, is the ‘fight or flight’ instinct with which we are all hardwired. We either try to deny that change is happening, and cling to outdated beliefs and stratagems, or we kick back with resistance.

How do we set our youth up for success in 2018 and beyond?

Another academic chapter has closed, and while we reflect on the achievements of 2017, we also look toward the future. It’s increasingly obvious that the way we do things is changing at a faster rate than ever before. Society, communities and businesses are advancing rapidly and becoming smarter.

3rd-Year Showcase

On 10 November 2017, Belgium Campus celebrated the 3rd-year students’ innovation projects. This event gave the students an opportunity to showcase the various projects they have been developing throughout the year. The annual event allows students to flaunt their skills as well as advocate the flexibility and adaptability of IT. The different projects on showed how IT can provide solutions to a very wide range of societal challenges.

THE POOL OF TALENT

Friday 29 September, Belgium Campus held the 3rd and final 2017 recruitment event. This day concluded a series of expos where students and companies met to discuss possible employment or internship opportunities. The events’ success was a true representation of how coveted IT skills are, more especially if one holds a Belgium Campus qualification.

Infor Signing Ceremony

On Wednesday, 20 September 2017, Belgium Campus and Infor signed the Infor Education Alliance Program agreement. The contract earmarked Belgium Campus as the first partner of the program in Africa. Infor is the world’s 3^rd largest ERP technology provider after SAP and Oracle

The Versatility of IT

The world runs on innovative ideas and ICT is the platform that endorses the manifestation of these ideas. The beauty of IT is the dexterity with which it adapts to other disciplines; its ability to transform other vocations sets an IT practitioner apart from other professionals and distinguishes it as the most dynamic and invigorating profession.

BC 3rd-year Projects

Our third-year students are currently involved in various projects that do not only challenge their IT acumen but also test their resilience to industry pressures. Although the situations we have created are mere simulations; they give the students an idea of how dire the industry demands may get. In the coming weeks, we will be relaying each project’s progress whilst piling on the pressure-this after all is how gems are formed

Minister President visits Belgium Campus

22 August 2017, Belgium Campus, Pretoria- Minister-President Geert Bourgeois and his delegates took time off his African tour to visit our Tshwane Campus. The Minister was impressed with our achievements and the quality of education that Belgium Campus provides. Some of the milestones that the Minister-President pointed out were: our collaboration with industry leaders; the students’ ability to develop innovative programs that assist in the country’s technological growth.

Women Inventing Tomorrow

Africa is on the cusp of a digital revolution. A new paradigm of creativity and innovation is manifesting in virtually every pocket of the continent, stemming from a surge in information and communications technology (ICT), accelerated by its most powerful resource – its people.

IBM and Infor courses at Belgium Campus

Belgium Campus has partnerships with various ICT corporations. These organizations allow our students leverage when entering the job market. Also, with the aid of these interactions, we are able to provide a unique learning experience; this further endorses our unparalleled 100% graduate employment rate. Our collaborations with industry leaders present us with many opportunities that add to the improvement of our students’ education. IBM and Infor are some of the companies with whom we partner. This collaboration ensures that the Belgium Campus learning experience provides technical advancements and that we are aligned with industry needs.

International week (Smart Farming)

The integration of ICT and agriculture started with the subtle use of satellite images. Now the growing popularity of drones has virtually put the control of Geo-positioning systems in the hands of farmers. The use of drones has optimized area usage and increased land usage. Although revolutionary, this does not begin to encompass the many probabilities that ICT can initiate in agriculture.

International week (Smart Cities)

The Belgium Campus international week started on Monday, 27 March 2017 and ended, 31 March 2017. A group of BC students together with students from Belgium and The Netherlands; visited the Tshwane Call Centre and received a warm welcome from management and the staff. Considerable progress has been made in the integration of municipal services. But there is still a lot to do before the communities can enjoy the full benefits of Smart City innovations.

Great response for the BC Open Day

The Belgium Campus Open Day held on Saturday 29 July was a great success and a true reflection of how interested people are to learn IT the Belgium Campus way. We want to thank Sybrin for joining us on the day and reaffirming the importance of our relationships with corporate institutions. All three of our campuses had good attendance from prospective students; some even took this opportunity to save their spots for the 2018 academic year by enrolling on the day.

BELGIUM CAMPUS’S 2ND OPEN DAY- 29 JULY 2017

You are about to be introduced to a whole new world designed by your imagination. You know how much influence IT has had in the development of… well, the development of everything. What you do not know, at least until Saturday 29 July 2017, is how you can become part of this exciting and innovative industry.

ACADEMIC UNION, OXFORD NOMINATION

Belgium Campus’s international academic prominence was articulated in no uncertain terms when we were nominated by The Academic Union, Oxford for The European Quality Award in Education. This recommendation was made by the Socrates Nomination Committee after having evaluated our implementation of a modern quality education system.

BC STUDENT INNOVATION TEAM WINS 2ND PRIZE

Between February and May 2017, Belgium Campus students partnered with the Electrical Engineering students of PennState University, Pennsylvania, USA. The students from the two Universities were tasked with designing and creating a way to tilt and rotate Horizon Signal Technologies’ solar panels on portable traffic signal systems. This challenge was intended to help the panels receive the maximum solar energy without having to move the whole system.

THE MARS ROVER INNOVATION

The use of robotics to explore celestial bodies has become the most popular and cost effective. Boeing: the world’s largest aerospace company brought us the challenge of designing a Mars rover that is capable of operating within 100 feet of its starting position and can collect rock samples. In addition, the system had to be controlled over the internet.

School Visits

Hoerskool Die Anker and Hoërskool Warmbad came to see us this week. When is your school visit? Are you joining us at our #OpenDay on 22 April 2017?

Women in ICT

The ICT sector remains a buoyant and rapidly growing sector for employmentand a key economic factor underpinning both national and International development. This growth in employment, however, has not yet led to a parallel increase in women in this industry. Statistics show that women in South Africa only make up 20% of the ICT sector workforce compared to a 56% representation globally.

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