One of the activities at the GeeXpo was a mathematics Olympiad.

 

According to JT Terblanche, a lecturer in the School of Computer Science and Information Systems and the coordinator of the event, mathematics and science are compulsory if students wish to undertake further studies in a number of fields.

 

These include engineering, natural sciences, information technology and medicine.

Gone are the days when being called a geek was an insult. In this hi-tech era, the geekier the better – just look at the likes of Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg and Steve Jobs.

For all we know, some of the learners who recently attended the NWU’s 5th annual GeeXpo at the campus in Vanderbijlpark, might follow in their footsteps.

 

During the GeeXpo, learners from Grade 7 upwards took part in various mathematics and information science-related activities.

 

These included a mathematics olympiad, a robotics challenge, interactive presentations by the Serious Games Institute of South Africa (SGI-SA) and Robotics, a practical assessment task (PAT) competition, and the NWU Vanderbijlpark Student Challenge.

 

The PAT competition runs parallel with the curriculum outcomes for Grade 10-12 learners with IT as a school subject, while the student challenge is aimed at third-year IT students at the NWU.

 

Geek is the new cool

 

GeeXpo, which is  a highlight on the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences’ calendar, attracted hundreds of learners from across central South Africa. A record number of participants took part in the popular maths olympiad and the PAT competition.

 

According to Daleen Gerber, head of the subject group Mathematics and Applied Mathematics, the annual expo is so useful because it enables learners to grasp the full spectrum of professional opportunities associated with mathematics and computer science.