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Stellenbosch - Two computer students at Stellenbosch University have made it to the final round of an international competition.
Rijnard van Tonder and Jacques Marais could stand the chance of winning €25 000 (about R360 000) in the internationial Ericsson app competition, because of their WorkMode smartphone app.
The winners will be announced on April 24.
WorkMode helps people to work together on projects when they are not all based in the same geographic space.
Van Tonder also achieved a second place in IBM's Mainframe World Championship in New York.
He was the only South African chosen for this competition, regarded as the largest and most competitive mainframe computing competition in the world.
The championship is designed to assemble the best university students from around the globe, who have demonstrated superior technical skills through participation in the regional contests.
Van Tonder said he decided to enter the preliminary round, because of his interest in solving problems in the context of computer systems.
The challenges were time-consuming and required perseverance.
“Perseverance is a state that I would describe as ‘I'm completely stuck, I'm pressed for time, I've tried everything, I'm tired, and I've had enough’, followed shortly thereafter by ‘it's time to try harder’,” Van Tonder explained.
“It's an obstinate - but not foolish - refusal to give up. Eventually you get that ‘aha' moment.”
He thinks students in South Africa exaggerate the fact that programming is too challenging.
"At first it is intimidating, but like any other skill it develops over time. Programming requires a large initial investment of time,” he said.
“I think one of the best things that any student could do in this technological era of ours is to learn how to program, and to cultivate the skill."
Rijnard van Tonder and Jacques Marais could stand the chance of winning €25 000 (about R360 000) in the internationial Ericsson app competition, because of their WorkMode smartphone app.
The winners will be announced on April 24.
WorkMode helps people to work together on projects when they are not all based in the same geographic space.
Van Tonder also achieved a second place in IBM's Mainframe World Championship in New York.
He was the only South African chosen for this competition, regarded as the largest and most competitive mainframe computing competition in the world.
The championship is designed to assemble the best university students from around the globe, who have demonstrated superior technical skills through participation in the regional contests.
Van Tonder said he decided to enter the preliminary round, because of his interest in solving problems in the context of computer systems.
The challenges were time-consuming and required perseverance.
“Perseverance is a state that I would describe as ‘I'm completely stuck, I'm pressed for time, I've tried everything, I'm tired, and I've had enough’, followed shortly thereafter by ‘it's time to try harder’,” Van Tonder explained.
“It's an obstinate - but not foolish - refusal to give up. Eventually you get that ‘aha' moment.”
He thinks students in South Africa exaggerate the fact that programming is too challenging.
"At first it is intimidating, but like any other skill it develops over time. Programming requires a large initial investment of time,” he said.
“I think one of the best things that any student could do in this technological era of ours is to learn how to program, and to cultivate the skill."
