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Forty teams of learners from schools across Gauteng participated in part two of the Wits Integrated Experience (WitsIE) Short Course.

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The journey began in June with part one of the course, as learners embarked on a multidisciplinary real-world problem-solving exercise with guidance from the five faculties at Wits. This year, they were assigned to investigate the methane gas leak that caused an explosion on Lillian Ngoyi Street (formerly Bree Street) that rocked the Johannesburg city centre in 2023.

Learners partnered with Wits academics to investigate ways of assessing failing infrastructure and potential damage caused, as well as the possible impact on local communities, processing data collected and proposing how to deal with such a crisis from various disciplines in all faculties.

Part two of this course saw young minds brimming with enthusiasm as they presented their innovative Response Plans to a panel of experts. A total of 40 teams participated with 8 teams competing with each other per category in five venues. One team from each venue was then awarded a first-place prize.

Five schools emerged as winners of the Response Plan Challenge. On the same day, the collective efforts of all the students culminated in an awards ceremony during which certificates and prizes were distributed

"For the first time, the R25 000 prize money for winning schools was withdrawn and split amongst all participants. The university decided to shift focus from the hyper-competitiveness of the event but rather hone in more on experiential learning that develops critical thinking and where every participant is acknowledged," said Zodwa Ndebele from the School's Liaison Office.

The winning teams included:

1. Al Aqsa High School
2. Eden College
3. King David High School, Linksfield second teams
4. Roedean School (SA)
5. St Dominics Catholic School for Girls

"We had to sacrifice a lot of time during our holidays to meet up, plan, and come up with ideas. We had to do a lot of research. We all contributed equally and it all paid off," said grade 11 pupil Muhammed Raees Kathrada representing his winning team from Al Aqsa High School.

The winning team from St Dominics Catholic School praised Wits for the opportunity to participate in this interdisciplinary course. "We are very excited and we are very proud of ourselves", said team representative Alyssa Joao.

"Wits is a great university, and I really appreciate that they give us opportunities like this to really learn, expand our knowledge and show what we can do," she added

Learners thanked their teachers for the unwavering support they received throughout the process.