UJ looks to Finland to encourage local tech startups

22 February 2017 Editor's Choice News

Speaking at a ceremony at UJ’s Auckland Park campus on 31 January, vice-chancellor Prof Ihron Rensburg explained: “We want to see our students and other young people start businesses valuable to the economy. We want them to create jobs and grow local economies rather than to be looking for employment. Obviously we train them to be ready for the workplace. However, we want far more young people to plan and start businesses, understanding what it takes, how it needs to be done, and what support is available to make it a success.”

Based in Helsinki, Laurea University is known for effectively boosting youth entrepreneurship and services to youth across regions in Finland with its EER entrepreneurial ecosystem programme. Helsinki is also home to SLUSH, the annual global technology startup conference, held at the end of November each year.

“In partnership with Laurea University, we want to encourage far more UJ students setting up small enterprises of their own, especially tech startups,” Rensburg continued. “In Helsinki, about ten thousand young entrepreneurs attend the SLUSH conference every year, which is an extraordinary event. They present their startups to venture capitalists for funding and further development. Many of the startups are founded by Laurea students.”

UJ is exploring an agreement to bring this event to Johannesburg, Rensburg says. “For an entrepreneur, going from a working concept to a viable business is a huge challenge. We want to see young people from across Africa present their startups to venture capital and angel capital, and qualify for funding to get their businesses up and running. We hope to start with South African youth entrepreneurs and go from there.”

Prof Roy Marcus, UJ council chairperson, commented: “The Finnish people have a lot to teach us. They have developed very elegant models for creating startup businesses in science and technology. Laurea offers UJ the opportunity to create collaborations, not only between our universities, but also between South African and Finnish businesses, which is a very exciting aspect of this relationship.”

For more information contact Therese van Wyk, University of Johannesburg, +27 (0)11 559 6332, [email protected], www.uj.ac.za

Further reading:

The trends driving uptake of IoT Platform as a Service
Trinity IoT Editor's Choice Telecoms, Datacoms, Wireless, IoT
IoT platforms, delivered as a service, are the key that will enable enterprises to leverage a number of growing trends within the IT space, and access a range of benefits that will help them grow their businesses.

Read more...

---

Interlynx-SA: Engineering SA’s digital backbone
Interlynx-SA Editor's Choice
At the heart of the industrial shift towards digitalisation lies the growing demand for telemetry, Industrial IoT (IIoT), advanced networking, and robust data solutions, and Interlynx-SA is meeting this demand.

Read more...

---

Converting high voltages without a transformer
Altron Arrow Editor's Choice Power Electronics / Power Management
With appropriate power converter ICs, such as the LTC7897 from Analog Devices, many applications can be suitably powered without having to use complex and cost-intensive transformers.

Read more...

---

Grinn Global: From design house to SoM innovator
Editor's Choice
From its beginnings as a small electronic design house, Grinn Global has moved into the spotlight as a system-on-module innovator working alongside technology giants like MediaTek.

Read more...

---

Active event tracking using a novel new technique
Editor's Choice
SPAES (single photon active event sensor) 3D sensing, developed by VoxelSensors, is a breakthrough technology that solves current critical depth sensing performance limitations for robotics applications.

Read more...

---

ABB commits to a more inclusive future as it empowers women and youth in engineering
ABB South Africa Editor's Choice
Through structured development, inclusive hiring, and focused empowerment, ABB Electrification is shaping a more equitable and dynamic future for the engineering industry.

Read more...

---

Unlocking the next frontier – women leading digital transformation in South Africa’s technology sector
Editor's Choice
As South Africa celebrates Women’s Month, it is an ideal time to reflect on the critical role women are playing in shaping the country’s technology sector.

Read more...

---

Why GNSS positioning precision is enabling the next wave of IoT applications
iCorp Technologies Editor's Choice Telecoms, Datacoms, Wireless, IoT
While high-performance GNSS implementations are achievable with few limitations, most real-world applications must balance power consumption, form factor and accuracy requirements.

Read more...

---

5G RedCap: Unlocking scalable IoT connectivity
iCorp Technologies Editor's Choice Telecoms, Datacoms, Wireless, IoT
As 2G and 3G networks rapidly sunset across the globe, the Internet of Things (IoT) market faces a critical challenge: how to maintain reliable cellular connectivity without the complexity or cost of full 5G.

Read more...

---

Is RFoIP technology the future for signal transportation for Satcom applications?
Accutronics Editor's Choice Telecoms, Datacoms, Wireless, IoT
RFoF technology continues to be used for successful IF signal transportation in the ground segment and there is widespread belief that it will be for some time to come, especially for critical communications applications.

Read more...

---