GYSEOY Challenges on INCOSE South Africa Chapter

Breaking the Plastic Wave

Tue, 20 May 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Problem Statement #

Breaking the Plastic Wave is not about fighting plastic—it is about fighting plastic pollution by creating a circular plastic economy.

Julia Quill is the newly appointed Chief Plastic Process Developer at Recycling SA (RecSA). RecSA is a large organisation with several subsidiary companies focusing on recycling aspects, including buying recyclables from informal waste pickers, who are responsible for over 51% of all recycling in South Africa.

The Trade in Donkeys

Mon, 20 May 2024 00:00:00 +0000

In recent years, there’s been a huge, rising demand for donkey hides in China, where they are used to make an ancient health-related product called ejiao.

Ejiao is made from collagen that’s been extracted from donkey hides. It’s the essential ingredient in products such as powders and chewable snacks which are used for health or beauty purposes. The huge demand for ejiao has led to a massive shortage of donkeys in China, and a massive increase in the poaching and theft of donkeys in Africa and other parts of the world.

Ampie's Endgame

Mon, 28 Oct 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Hansie Steyn, 37 year old, lived in Jamestown, one of the suburbs of Stellenbosch, and was the only son of Ampie Steyn and his wife Katryn. The three of them lived together in a 3 bedroom house on a double plot in Jamestown. Ampie was born in 1935, and lived in the area his whole life. His father originally was a sharecropper on one of the strawberry farms in the area, but Ampie started working at the municipality after school. Through hard work, Ampie worked himself up to the position of foreman in the parks department of the Stellenbosch municipality. During this time, he bought the plot in Jamestown, and had the house built over a number of years. Katryn died in 2011, and he and Hansie continued living in the house.

Teaching Science

Sun, 28 Oct 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Parvati Mara has recently retired from her post as school inspector of science in Gauteng. She has dedicated her professional life to the emotional and cognitive development of children. She was a renowned and well-liked science teacher, before her promotion to inspector. Even as inspector she liked nothing better than to visit schools, observe classes and provide support to the science teachers.

She has long maintained that school children only learn optimally when their different senses are engaged, when they can play and touch things, have fun and share the learning experience with each other. This is especially true for the learning of science. However, the schools that Parvati visited were mostly severely under-resourced, and usually lacked laboratories and basic scientific instruments. As a result, teachers simply talked and children tried to absorb the learning material, with very little physical engagement with the fascinating world of science.

Better Meals for Everybody

Sat, 28 Oct 2017 00:00:00 +0000

Aamilah Slamet was a young lady from Macassar in the Western Cape. Her favourite school subjects were science and biology, in which she excelled. She had a passion for helping the underprivileged. She wanted to become a dietician so that she could make sure that people ate healthy and nutritious food.

Her parents died in a car accident when she was twelve years old and she went to live with her grandmother who supported them with her old age pension. Unfortunately her grandmother passed away while Aamilah was in grade 11. Due to financial constraints, she had to drop out of school and started a job as a packer at the local supermarket to support herself. She gave up on her dream of becoming a dietician. Instead, she decided to start a feeding scheme for the poor people of her community to make sure they had one healthy and nutritious meal a day.

Musa's Story

Fri, 28 Oct 2016 00:00:00 +0000

Problem Statement #

Musa Composano is a world renowned conductor who conducted the World Unified Philharmonic Orchestra (WUPO). Musa’s knowledge of music and his astute ability to connect with musicians allowed Musa and the orchestra to produce enthralling performances. Unfortunately, Musa was involved in a terrible accident that caused him to lose his right hand, left arm and leg below the knee. Consequently, Musa is no longer able to conduct and the World Unified Philharmonic Orchestra can no longer produce stellar performances.

Cancer Catcher System

Wed, 28 Oct 2015 00:00:00 +0000

The mission of the Cancer Catcher system is the early detection of colorectal cancer. One of the biggest challenges faced by the medical profession with regards to colorectal cancer is how rapidly it takes hold and metastasises. By the time colorectal cancer is detected, it may already be too late. Currently the only sure way of diagnosing colorectal cancer is with a biopsy. The goal is not to eliminate this, but rather to find a way to test for the possible presence of colorectal cancer that will then justify a biopsy.