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Coding game opens the door to dream job

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Coming full circle, Buhle Pikoli is evidence of the tangible impact Tangible Africa is having on the youth of the continent.

In less than five years, offline coding games spearheaded by Tangible Africa, head-officed in Gqeberha, have opened up an entire new world to young people across the continent.

The significance and success of this engagement project of the Nelson Mandela University Computing Sciences Department and the Leva Foundation, is that it requires very little resources to introduce coding concepts to the youth.

“Our coding project started in 2017 with Byron Batteson’s Honours project at the Computing Sciences Department. Buhle is the first person we know of who completed the whole journey. May there be thousands more,” said an excited Prof Jean Greyling, Tangible Africa Founder and Associate Professor at the Nelson Mandela University Computing Sciences Department.

Batteson developed both the TANKS & RANGERS coding applications, which has become Tangible Africa’s flagship apps played offline at schools and coding tournaments across the continent.

For Buhle Pikoli, 21, the course of his entire life changed one July afternoon – on Mandela Day in 2018 – when he played TANKS for the first time at his school, Cowan High School in New Brighton, Gqeberha.

“Within three days he completed all 35 levels. To acknowledge this, we took him for a visit to S4 Integration. After matric he enrolled for the Diploma in Software Development at Nelson Mandela University, which he completed in 2022. Yesterday [9 January 2023] he started as Software Developer at S4,” said Greyling.

S4 (https://www.s4.co.za/) is an award-winning international technology company, based in Nelson Mandela Bay, specialising in software development and industrial automation solutions.

Speaking during his first week on the job as Junior Software Developer, Pikoli said it was a great feeling to achieve one of his goals and return to the facility that impressed him so much in Grade 11 with its sophisticated technology and robotics.

“I need to thank Prof Greyling and Tangible Africa for introducing me to coding and inspiring me to follow this career. I feel proud and honoured to be the first to have come full circle, but I know I will not be the last. There are many talented young people living in the township who lack access to resources and will benefit greatly from exposure to coding concepts at a young age,” said Pikoli.

While high school learners are still included in the coding clubs and tournaments hosted across the continent, Tangible Africa also expanded its reach by introducing the coding games and concepts to senior primary school learners.

This has so far resulted in four bursaries sponsored by corporate companies for talented learners to attend the technology-strong high school Alexander Road High School.

While Culumanco Komanisi from Zwide was the first young Tangible Africa coder sponsored to attend Alexander Road High School, thanks to Dimension Data, this year three additional learners will join Alexander Road High thanks to the generous donation to Tangible Africa by Amazon vice-president David Brown.

Brown, who is an alumnus of Alexander Road High School, will sponsor Norman Msaka (previously from Swartkops Primary School), Shaun Johansson and Rayhanah Walters (both previously from Parsons Hill Primary School) who have all three excelled as winners of local coding competitions hosted in Gqeberha in 2022.

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Alan Straton

Chief Cook, Bottle Washer and Broom Mechanic at MyPE
Passionate about Port Elizabeth and definitely NOT packing for Perth. Alan's ethos is epitomised in the words of Nelson Mandela; "I have fought against white domination and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the idea of a democratic and free society. If need be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die." See more articles by Alan.