Maroela man, Bereket Demeke, making waves

After matriculating from the Sol Plaatjie Secondary School in Mafikeng, North West, Bereket enrolled for a bachelor's degree in Electrical, Electronic and Computer Engineering at the University of Pretoria.

According to Prof Sunil Maharaj, who supervised his final-year design project, Bekeret is an intelligent, disciplined and diligent scholar. "This has led to him being a top performing student," says Prof Maharaj. "He works hard and applies his mind to the challenge that he needs to address. He works well in a team, yet also excels when required to work independently."

Bekeret's excellent performance in Mathematics, Physics and Computer Science in matric was rewarded with a bursary from the SENTECH Chair in Broadband Wireless Multimedia Communications (BWMC). This paved the way for a successful academic career.

His hard work resulted in him obtaining his degree with distinction, and also receiving the Wilhelm Leuschner silver medal and prize for outstanding performance in the third and fourth year of study in computer engineering. He will receive this award at the University's autumn graduation ceremony in April.

Bereket's choice of the University of Pretoria for his undergraduate studies was based on the excellent reputation of the University's School of Engineering, as well as the Department of Electrical Electronic and Computer Engineering. He has been a Maroela resident since his first year of study, and was able to take part in every aspect of student life.

During the course of his studies, Bereket put his excellence in Mathematics to good use by participating in the Dr Maths on MXit programme. This is an initiative of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), and has been incorporated into the University of Pretoria's community engagement programme. School learners who struggle with a particular problem receive virtual tuition from a team of students like Bereket.

The highlight of his undergraduate studies was undoubtedly his final-year design project. This provided him with the opportunity of applying the theory he had learnt to a real-life situation. His project entailed developing a system of counting the number of passengers travelling in a particular taxi in a single day. It made use of video technology, as well as face recognition and tracking software. This would enable taxi drivers to monitor their earnings by keeping record of the number of passengers they transported on a daily basis.

Bereket obtained a distinction for his well-researched investigative design project. He is enthusiastic about his postgraduate studies in Computer Engineering. Bereket is completing his honours degree within the SENTECH Chair in BWMC at the University of Pretoria, where he will have the opportunity to undertake research in the dynamic and innovative field of telecommunications.

"There are so many opportunities for both research and practical design projects that can lead to the development of new products, which is very exciting," he says.

For Bereket, the world is his oyster. During the course of his honours studies he intends to identify a field of specialisation within the many challenging aspects of telecommunications.

He plans to continue with his master's study in this field, and then to use his knowledge to the benefit of society by working in industry. This African scholar sees an opportunity in every challenge and is sure to make a name for himself in the exciting world of telecommunications.