Next Engineers in Johannesburg, South Africa, has officially entered its third year of activities! It has been a very interesting journey of growth, loads of learning, camaraderie and extremely fun engineering designs. From Engineering Discovery to Engineering Camp right to the Engineering Academy, learners have gotten the opportunity to engage with GE engineers and senior employees and have had the chance to inquire about not only the Engineering Field, but the general world of work. In the past 2 years of activities, we have had 150 volunteer engagements and a total of 1667.8 in volunteer hours!
In Engineering Discovery, the PROTEC team, in collaboration with the GE Johannesburg City Team, have managed to reach 3,170 learners across the Johannesburg education districts. Over 1 000 of these learners have been reached more than once, and 95% of students report they are more aware of and interested in engineering after participating in Discovery activities. We have witnessed learners who participated in the Engineering Discovery apply for and participate in the Camp program. The Engineering Camp program has hosted 208 Grade 9 learners from all over Johannesburg, with the majority of them showing interest in and applying for the Engineering Academy.
In 2024, our very first cohort of learners will be completing the Engineering Academy program! Our second cohort will be resuming their activities, and we are taking on a new cohort of Grade 10 learners! This year is setting up to be one for the books.
As we wrap up the Cohort 3 applications today, we look forward to new members of the Johannesburg family joining us and… COHORT 1 GRADUATING FROM THE ACADEMY!
