Good News

BULLETIN 8 August

Good afternoon, here is your Good News:

# South Africa’s Grammy-award winning superstar Tyla has been nominated for two MTV Video Music Awards. The 23-year-old singer is nominated in the categories of Best Choreography and Best Afrobeats for her chart-topping single Push 2 Start. The song has garnered over 100-million views across platforms and sparked a viral dance trend globally. Lady Gaga leads the pack with a total of 12 nominations, while Bruno Mars follows closely with eleven nods and Kendrick Lamar with ten. The awards will be held on September seventh in New York.

# The University of Pretoria has received a donation of 18-million-rand from Google to support the African Institute of Data Science and Artificial Intelligence. AfriDSAI is an institute at the university that brings researchers, technologists and communities together to reimagine how data science and artificial intelligence can work for Africa. The continent currently contributes only 0.9-percent of global AI research output. The university says the funding marks a major step forward in Africa’s drive to become a significant contributor to the global AI research landscape.

# The University of the Free State’s Enactus Qwaqwa’s groundbreaking project, Root Rescue, will compete at the Enactus World Cup in Thailand in September. The project recently won the Enactus 2025 Early-Stage National Exposition. The university says Root Rescue emerged from a pressing need to address critical challenges in agriculture. These include over-reliance on chemical fertilisers, unsustainable farming practices, inadequate power supply, and water shortages for irrigation. The university says Root Rescue’s success is a demonstration of the collaborative spirit and entrepreneurial drive of the Enactus team.

# The University of the Western Cape says the regional round of the World Robot Olympiad drew learners as young as nine-years-old, all eager to prove their robotics mettle on a competitive stage. This competition is a gateway for primary school learners to establish and progressively develop their coding and robotics knowledge. World Robot Olympiad Western Cape chairperson, Cedric Esterhuizen, says the Olympiad featured the Explorer Lite and Explorer Prime divisions, specifically designed for younger participants under the age of 15:

# And finally: Electricity and Energy minister, Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, unveiled new science laboratories in four schools in Atteridgeville, Pretoria. This is part of a public-private partnership where companies such as the South African Nuclear Energy Corporation and the Chinese tech giant Huawei have donated equipment and technology. Ramokgopa says the goal of this initiative is to enhance the quality of science education in township schools by providing crucial infrastructure that encourages problem-solving, critical thinking, and innovation among learners:

Stay tuned for more news………….