On Wednesday the 23^rd of July 2024, consortium members from the Rhodes University Chapter of the Grow Green Africa (Gr2A) project and representatives of the Masifundise Community Family Care and Development Centre (MCFCDC), a non-profit organization that is based in Makhanda, met to forge a partnership with the purpose of working together in the renewable energy space.

While the Gr2A is a consortium of researchers from various universities based in the SADC region that are conducting research on technologies to support climate change mitigation through green computing, the MCFCDC is involved in various projects for the development of township and rural communities in the Makana Municipality. The Gr2A consortium consists of researchers from the Copperbelt University in Zambia, Rhodes University in South Africa, the National University of Science and Technology in Zimbabwe, Namibia University of Science and Technology in Namibia, and the University of Eswatini in Eswatini, each with specialization in a particular area of green computing. The University of Turku in Finland is the European Union (EU) technical partner of the project.

What brought the Rhodes Chapter of the Gr2A consortium and the MCFCDC, is that both are interested in community development and both are working in the renewable energy space. The Makana Energy landscape is an initiative of the MCFCDC, to redraw the energy supply landscape in Makana through the introduction of renewable energy. The Rhodes University Chapter of the Gr2A falls under the auspices of the ICT4D (Information and Communication Technology for Development) research group whose mandate is to harness computing technologies to develop both rural and township communities and bring about socio-economic change to such. This Gr2A chapter of the project will be supporting both local and postgraduate students in community-based service learning, meaning that the students will be offering their research and computing skills in renewable energy to developing Makana communities, while they will in turn gain practical industrial experience. The MCFCDC will be the link between the Gr2A consortium to their broad base of industrial partners from the Makana municipality in renewable energy.

As the partnership meeting drew to a close, the participants emerged with a newfound appreciation of the need for university, industry and community partnerships that can result in community development.  Speaking on the sidelines of the meeting, Lungile Mxube, the Executive Chairman of the MCFCDC said, “I look forward to the outcome of this partnership for the betterment of our communities”. Adding to the call for university-community partnerships, Professor Philip Machanick, the Director of MCFCDC, Emeritus Associate Professor at Rhodes University and a community activist said, “Community development has always been at the top of Rhodes University’s agenda and like in all previous projects, I am looking forward to this partnership enhancing the livelihoods of the local communities”.

From L-R: Prof Philip Machanick, Dr. Zelalem Shibeshi, Mr. Lungile Mxube, Prof. Nomusa Dlodlo, Mr Tyron Ncube, Dr. Gugu Baduza

The Gr2A Consortium Project team members attended a Curriculum Harmonization Workshop hosted by the Copperbelt University in Solwezi District of North-western province of Zambia (27-29 May 2024). The Workshop was held to develop content on climate change and ICTs applicable to Green Computing. The curriculum seeks to address challenges of Climate Change in Sub-saharan Africa.

The attendees of the workshop were tasked with designing a green computing curriculum that can equip the youth across Africa with the knowledge and skills to address the challenges brought about by climate change in a systematic way. The curriculum will lay the foundation for both course-based and research-based Masters in Computing Science programmes, with a specialization in climate change.  The workshop created a dynamic curriculum that encompasses study programmes in climate science, machine learning, applied Internet of Things (IoTs), applied data science and climate modelling. 

As the workshop drew to a close, the Gr2A team emerged with a newfound appreciation for collaboration and innovation in developing a curriculum that will shape the future agenda of climate change. Speaking on the sidelines of the workshop, Prof Josephat Kalezhi, the Dean of the School of Information and Communication Technology at the Copperbelt University, who was also the convener of the workshop said, “This workshop has set a precedence for the consortium and I look forward to many such workshops in various consortium member institutions as we share knowledge and implement our Gr2A project”.

Left to right: Dr Nikodemus Angula Namibia University of Science and Technology, (Namibia), Dr George Mufungulwa (CBU), Dr Derrick Ntalasha (CBU), Prof Jameson Mbale (CBU), Dr Zelalem Shibeshi (Rhodes University, SA), Mr Khulekani Sibanda (National University of Science and Technology, Zimbabwe), Prof. Santhi Kumaran (CBU), Dr. Cuthbert Makomdo (CBU), Mr David Ruwodo (University of Turku, Finland), Prof. Josephat Kalezhi (CBU), Ms Edna Musonda (CBU), DrWisdom Dlamini (University of Eswatini), Dr Charles Chisanga (CBU), Dr Alice Shemi (CBU).