Faculty technician and Engagement Officer, Ugeshni Moodley, Faculty 4IR technician, Fanie Ndlovu and DUT Alumnus and Microsoft Cloud Advocate, Someleze Diko, who is formally from the Faculty of Accounting and Informatics, hosted a Hackathon 2.0 using Microsoft Power Platform Technology. The event was held from 21 April 2023 to 22 April 2023 at the DUT MICT SETA 4IR Centre of Excellence, Ritson Campus, recently.
The hackathon was a continuation of the Power Platform bootcamp held in partnership with Greenlight Solutions from 10 September 2022 to 7 December 2022. This event was aimed at building employable skills and fostering productive private and academic collaboration among faculty, students, and staff members.
The results of last year’s Power Platform bootcamp was impressive, with all 20 students certified with Microsoft Power Platform fundamentals (PL-900). Eight of these students were also certified with Microsoft Power Platform App Maker (PL-100) certificates.
It was mentioned that these certifications are crucial for students to achieve, alongside their formal qualifications as they acquire skills and knowledge that are in high demand within the industry, giving the students competitive advantage in the job market.
As a pre-qualifier to the Power Platform Hackathon 2.0, students had to complete 12 Power Platform modules from the Microsoft Learn website and build a project around the Power Platform technologies. There were 30 students who had completed these activities, and selected to participate in the hackathon.
During the hackathon, students were presented with scenario problems that existed within the university and asked to solve them using Microsoft Power Automate. The participants were grouped into nine teams and designed automated solutions that will be rolled out to the university in few weeks. The hackathon gave students simulated work experience in acquiring requirements and building real projects that have a significant impact on the organisation.
The hackathon’s structure is aligned with DUT FAI Executive Dean Professor Oludayo, O Olugbara’s vision of students learning through product development-based learning, where students building real solutions that are used by organisations or consumers, to solve their daily problems. He explained that his approach not only provided students with skills based experience but also prepared them to face the challenges of the industry.
Another critical aspect of the Power Platform Hackathon 2.0 was the certification process. During the hackathon, participants were strategically grouped, and one member of each team became a VarsityGenie Guru.
“The aim was for each VarsityGenie Guru to mentor the other members to be certified with PL-900 by May 30, 2023. This process helps students to build their professional career profile and stay ahead of their peers in the job market. The Microsoft Clouds’ Someleze Diko designed a challenge to help participants learn easily,” said Ndlovu. To learn more, go to https://aka.ms/Fundamentals-Challenge-Durban
“The Power Platform Hackathon 2.0 was a tremendous success, showcasing the potential of work-integrated learning programs in building employable skills and promoting productive private and academic collaboration,” said Nomfundo Manyoni, one of the students who attended the Power Platform Hackathon.
He further added that the certification process also provided students with an opportunity to improve their professional profile, making them more competitive in the job market. “The Power Platform Hackathon 2.0 is a testament to DUT FAI’s commitment to providing students with practical, industry-focused and skills build education that prepares them for the challenges of the future and solving socio-economic problems,” he said.
Pictured:DUT students are all smiles at the event.
Siphokazi Dlamini
