The 2025 SAICE National Intellectual Property (IP) Showdown, a much-coveted event where final-year Civil Engineering students from leading universities across the country go head-to-head presenting their groundbreaking research projects – all for the chance to win a substantial cash prize – took place on 6 March at Wits University, Johannesburg this year.
This year’s SAICE IP Showdown winner, final year student Rachel van Zyl, from the University of Pretoria, caught the eye of the judges when she asked them to picture a world where every drop of rain on a roof is captured and conserved, maximising one of South Africa’s most precious resources, and introduced the possibility of the percentage volume of harvested rainwater dependent not only on the characteristics of a roof but also on the unique properties of each rainfall. As she explained her project, presenting the findings of her study that demonstrated the effectiveness of a pressurized rainfall simulation system in determining roof runoff coefficients used in rainwater harvesting practices, Rachel convinced the esteemed judging panel that she deserved the top prize, sponsored by BVi Consulting Engineers, which included a R20 000 cash award. Second and third prizes went to Reeyaz Martin, from the University of Cape Town and Abraham Louw from Stellenbosch University respectively for their IP projects on Nutrient Trading from Source-Separated Human Urine and Enhancing Extreme Rainfall Event Estimation in South Africa.
SAICE 2025 President, Friedrich Slabbert, encouraged the finalists to continue to “think beyond technical feasibility, consider society and the impact of what they desire. And secondly, to prioritise equity alongside efficiency, with the aim to design not just for today but for the future.”
The SAICE National IP Showdown features projects categorised primarily into three main areas: sustainability, infrastructure development and technological innovation, allowing students to showcase their research and create solutions to pressing industry challenges while displaying creativity and the practical application of civil engineering principles.
Addressing the finalists, Dr Premala Singh, Marketing Director at BVi Consulting Engineers, main sponsor for the SAICE National IP Showdown, shared with them the many challenges facing the civil engineering industry today, from water infrastructure development, energy security with an emphasis on expanding the renewable energy sector to modernising transport and logistics infrastructure.
“It’s an honour for us to invest in our young professionals as we believe that by supporting new graduates this strengthens the engineering sector. It not only ensures a steady supply of qualified individuals but also with them comes new ideas, innovation and updated knowledge,” Dr Singh remarked.
This year’s IP Showdown brought together seven of the brightest young engineers from six universities in the country. This year’s finalists included Reyaaz Martin from the University of Cape Town; Uzair Mohamed from the University of Johannesburg; Muhammad Azeez from the University of KwaZulu Natal; Rachel van Zyl from the University of Pretoria; Abraham Louw from Stellenbosch University as well as Monty Thovhakale and Bandile Makha from WITS University. This year’s panel of judges included:
- Victor de Abreu, Regional Manager at SMEC, Member of the SAICE Transportation Division
- Teniel Ramjogi (Pr Tech Eng, PGDip, FIPET, FSAICE), Technical Director at Trinfinity, Member of the SAICE Johannesburg Branch
- Noqobo Bongoza (Pr Tech Eng, PMP), Project Manager at Hatch, Chairperson of the SAICE Membership Committee
- Ntebo Ngcobo (DPhil, Civil Engineering), Head of Department for the Department of Civil Engineering Technology at University of Johannesburg Doornfontein Campus
- Helmutt Blumenthal (PrEng, PMP, MSAICE) , AECOM Project Delivery Lead, Africa and SAICE Pretoria Branch Chairperson, and
- Andile Mndzebele (PrCPM, PrCM, Pr Tech Eng., MSc, MPhil), Chairperson of the SAICE Project Management and Construction Division (PMCD), Director, Technical Advisor and Independent Consultant at Avenir Holdings
“Today we witnessed the passion in innovation and brilliance of the next generation of civil engineers and I have no doubt that the future of our industry is in great hands,” complimented Sekadi Phayane-Shakhane, SAICE CEO. “I’d like to congratulate all three winners and commend all the finalists for their great effort across the board, as well as thank all of our sponsors, judges and everyone who made this event such a success.” For more information, visit https://saice.org.za
