Wits teams clinch coveted SATNAC Challenge awards

Wits teams clinch coveted SATNAC Challenge awards

15 October 2024 - Wits University

Swelihle Sibiya and Andile Mgomezulu won the R&D Challenge and the Huawei Challenge respectively, at the 2024 SATNAC Industry Solutions Challenge.

More than 300 students from across southern Africa entered this year's competition. The Challenge is an opportunity for postgraduate and undergraduate students to develop innovative solutions that tackle industry-inspired challenges. It forms part of the annual Southern Africa Telecommunication Networks and Applications Conference (SATNAC), an event hosted under the auspices of Telkom.

Sibiya, currently pursuing an MSc in geographic information systems (GIS) and remote sensing at Wits University, led the Real People team whose innovative solution focused on AI-driven hyperconnectivity and groundbreaking advances in network technologies.

Mgomezulu is a third-year aeronautical engineering student at Wits, who tackled the difficult challenge of protecting data and maintaining privacy while enabling the development of robust AI applications.

The judges were impressed by their ability to tackle complex challenges with forward-thinking ideas that promise to transform smart infrastructure, connectivity and privacy protection in AI.

Teams from the Wits Innovation Centre's Telkom Industry Solutions Lab (Telkom ISL) participated in various categories where they had to tackle real-world problems with creativity and advanced technical skills. The teams are:

• Khano Phidane and Emmanuel Nkosi - Theme:Artificial Intelligence; Topic 2: Intelligent Fraud Detection: Securing Prepaid and Postpaid Provisioning
• Madimetja Mojela and Khutso Madiga - Theme:Energy and Sustainability; Topic 6: Industry Solutions in the AI-Driven Hyperconnected Future
• Khomotjo Tsheoga and Orifuna Nemusombori - Theme:Customer Experience and User Experience; Topic: Intelligent Experience Engine for Hyperpersonalized interaction, proactive customer support and AI-powered Quality Assurance

Said Letlotlo Phohole, Director of the Wits Innovation Centre (WIC) and a judge in the Challenge: "This is a great opportunity for students to explore and present innovative solutions to real-world industry challenges using cutting-edge technologies. Congratulations to all participants, especially the winners from Wits University."

Wits Telkom Centre of Excellence also participated in the Research Paper Awards presented at the SATNAC 2024:

• Student: Francis Phiri - Winner of the 2nd Best Paper Award
  • Paper: Machine Learning-based Computation Offloading in Energy-Harvesting eMBB Networks
  • Supervisors: Professor Fambirai Takawira and Dr Chabalala Chabalala
• Wits student: Maunas Mehta
  • Paper: Crack Detection in Concrete Using AI
  • Supervisor: Professor Olutayo Oyerinde