ZWL$2 million CUT: 3 Chinhoyi University of Technology students win Zim Hackathon competition

THREE Chinhoyi University of Technology students have booked a place at the Global Innovation Competitions set for Switzerland in April after coming out tops at national finals held in Kadoma this Friday.

Tatenda Chris Chinyamakobvu, Munyaradzi Muneka, and Elvin Kakomo developed what was considered the best innovation prototype or application at the Hackathon competitions sponsored by the Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (POTRAZ) and are now destined for the global stage.

Their innovation was centred on the development of an application that can be used to detect the occurrence of an accident, its impact and location for rapid response. The trio is going into the first semester of their second year at the Chinhoyi University of Technology and studying engineering sciences and technology.

Last year, the students could not make it after their laptop failed them. One of the adjudicators, Tanyaradzwa Mandeya explained what they expected from the innovators.

“We were looking at the feasibility of the design, it’s relevancy, level of creativity, intuitiveness, presentation or team composition and scalability of the prototype,” said Mandeya.

For winning the first prize, the students earned their university 2 million Zimbabwe dollars, which will be retained by the students to further develop their prototype.
They will also compete with the best on the international scene at the global innovation competitions set for Switzerland in April this year.

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