SA students shine in supercomputing competition
Students are exposed to the high-power computer industry
A SOUTH AFRICAN team of students from UWC and Stellenbosch University (SU) flew the country’s flag high when they claimed second prize at the prestigious International Supercomputing Competition in Frankfurt, Germany.
Team No Windows, consisting of UWC students, were guided by their staff mentor from the South African National Bioinformatics Institute, Peter van Heusden, and their student mentor, Eugene de Beste, who was part of the winning team in the 2015 edition of the competition.
“I still remember playing on my dad’s old DOS computer and wondering how it worked, so I’ve always loved computers,” said Mishka Mohamed, who is completing her BSc at UWC.
“My interests shifted to the Supercomputing Competition as soon as I was presented with the opportunity to create a supercomputer,” said Mohamed.
The competition took place over three days, and the South African team competed against 12 other teams.
The team was selected in December at the annual Centre for High Power Computing South African Student Cluster Challenge.
The centre trains computer science and engineering students from various South African universities.
The competition is designed to expose undergraduate students to the highpower performance computing industry.
Team SA have won the competition three times, and it was the second time they claimed second spot.
Team members included Mohamed, Kyle Jordaan, Tyrone de Ruiters and Liam Doult – who formed team No Windows – as well as SU’s Phillip Goosen and Lydia de Lange.
Science and Technology Minister Naledi Pandor honoured the team during her budget vote in Parliament, where she wished them well for the international competition.
BSc computer science student De Ruiters said: “I enjoy breaking down new problems and learning new skills, so I enjoyed the competition.”