DUT tech stars make waves around the world
DURBAN University of Technology (DUT) computer whizz-kids Gomolemo Mohapi and his mentor, Pivendren Naik, are making waves in the information technology space.
Fourth-year engineering student Naik, 24, was recently announced a top 10 finalist in the Facebook starter programme for his messenger bot (app) which helps people find their nearest police station.
“Earlier this year, someone reversed into my car in my absence and I had to report the matter to the police. When I finally found a police station, I was told it was the wrong one. My frustration motivated me to create a tool that would make people’s lives easier,” he said.
In a world in which people often fear for their safety, Naik hopes the bot will help crime victims as it is accessible to everyone who has a Facebook account.
Naik’s bot was chosen out of 1 000 submissions from 64 countries in Africa and the Middle East. He is one of 12 students who learned how to create a bot for the first time and had Facebook judges blown away with his creativity.
“Of all the amazing bots submitted, the judges unanimously agreed yours stood out for its innovative use of the Messenger platform features, unique attributes and creative characteristics, and strong user experience,” read a Facebook e-mail to Naik.
As a result of his achievement, Naik will be added to the Facebook programme for startups to further the development of the bot with assistance from the social media organisation in the form of technical assistance, mentorship and partner deals worth $40000 (R516 000) and, as a student, a cash prize of $2 000.
“I hope to win the competition so that I can work on other developments with them, but for the next two years we are going to work on the bot,” he said.
Naik spends some of his spare time mentoring young developers such as secondyear information technology student Mohapi, 24.
Next month Mohapi will fly to Virginia after being selected by the US embassy to study at the Northern Virginia Community College until May.
“I loved IT and from a young age knew I wanted to be a developer. I had to convince my parents their choice of medical science was not for me,” he said.
When Naik left the Microsoft Student Partner (MSP) programme last year, Mohapi took over the reins and is now part of the computer software conglomerate’s (Microsoft) programme which spans more than 100 countries.
Selected students become technology leaders in their communities and campuses and are entrusted with the responsibility of sharing the exclusive knowledge gained from their time at Microsoft with their peers.
As part of his application, Mohapi submitted his newly created computer game called “Guesstheword”.
“The title is self-explanatory – it’s really just a game; when a player logs in, he or she is given three chances to guess a word from the clues given. The score is saved in the game’s database for other players to see and hopefully beat,” he said.
Mohapi plans to make the most of his experience in the US so that he can come back home and share his new skills.
“I hope to make my parents proud. My mother (Moipane Mohapi) was actually more excited about this than I was.
“She told all in our extended family as well as our friends that I would be going to the US even before I was selected,” he said.