A Hermanus student has won bursaries from three prestigious South African universities for his science project at the recent Eskom Expo finals and is set to travel to Stockholm to present his science project to the king and queen of Sweden next year.
Fransie Streicher, a 17 year old grade 11 learner from Curro Hermanus in the Western Cape, said he would like to use his achievement to inspire learners at township-based Mt Pleasant Secondary School near Hermanus.
The plan is to help the school set up structures so that it can participate in the Eskom Expo competition in future.
Among other successful learners, Streicher was awarded a silver medal at the Eskom Expo and was named recipient of the Derek Gray Memorial Award. He received a full bursary to study towards any degree at the University of Pretoria, while Wits University and the University of Stellenbosch awarded him with bursaries worth R50 000 and R30 000 respectively.
Alongside his R3 000 cash prize, he has received the opportunity to travel to Stockholm to attend The Nobel Prize, and will also be presenting his project at the Swedish International Youth Science Seminar where he’ll meet the King and Queen of Sweden.
These victories highlight the strength and focus of Curro schools in the field of science, technology, engineering, maths and innovation.
The learner gained recognition for his project on microbial fuel cells which involved the use of bacteria to produce electricity. “I have a passion for the environment and investigating ways to produce electricity efficiently”, he comments.
The Eskom Expo provides learners with the opportunity to showcase projects of their own scientific investigations, and can discuss their work with judges, teachers and students from other schools.
The Expo has been running for 36 years and 580 young scientists competed in the finals this year. At the regional level, close to 9 000 learners participated.
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And this is how students succeed. Well done!