Tshwane University of Technology projects shortlisted for Dubai Global Grad Show to address COVID-19

The Tshwane University of Technology’s Wheeler Hub and Micro-Mask are among Global Grad Show proposals to address the COVID-19 pandemic.

Created as a response to the Coronavirus outbreak, the COVID-19 open call invited Global Grad Show’s community of over 260 universities to put forward solutions to the escalating challenges faced by people, communities and governments across the world and the initiative received 390 applications between March 16 and April 2, 2020. Applications were evaluated by a jury of senior representatives from 4 leading private and public organisations in Dubai: ICD, A.R.M. Holding, Wamda and the Art Dubai Group, whose inputs will inform the next assessment phase.
Below are the details of projects that were shortlisted from the Tshwane University of Technology, South Africa:

Wheeler Hub – Food trucks on the move

How to support the street food movement while keeping citizens safe? Wheeler Hub projects puts food trucks at the community’s service, providing self-isolated people the opportunity to shop from right outside their homes, from repurposed food trucks. It also enables these vendors to stay in business, by becoming a mobile seller of food and other household necessities. By Denzill Bothma, Tshwane University of Technology

Micro-Mask – A smart mask for uninterrupted protection

The usual way mobile phones are used can increase the risk of contamination, due to their frequent exposure to surfaces and proximity to the face. Micro-mask repurposes old materials, such as pillow cases and Bluetooth headphones, to create a smart mask. The headphones keep the mask in place and allow users to attend to calls without bringing their phone to their face. By Denzill Bothma, Tshwane University of Technology

“It is extremely encouraging to see, in critical times such as this, that one of Dubai’s own homegrown initiatives calls on to the world to come together and find solutions for current and future problems posed by the spread of COVID-19. Global Grad Show has been one of the first to put forward such a proactive initiative, receiving a multitude of incredible proposals by young, brilliant minds from around the world. This initiative and the rapid response it received shows the importance and impact of human creativity and humanity selflessly coming together to provide collective solutions to combat obstacles, no matter how large. Dubai Culture, together with its partners, will continue to support and nurture this important initiative, and to do what we can to see our community thrive through this current crisis.” said Her Highness Sheikha Latifa bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairperson of Dubai Culture & Arts Authority.

For the next phase, Global Grad Show will engage with the students and professors behind these applications to analyse their development requirements, with a view to identify proposals that can be supported towards testing and implementation. The creator(s) of any selected proposal will be awarded the tuition fee of their current studies, or equivalent scholarship for the department of selected professor(s) along with support for concept development and business building.

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