CPuT collaborates on The Long Walk project

Mr Matt Silver-Valance and Mr Braam Malherbe plan to prove that the impossible is possible, by walking nonstop from robben Island to Cape Town – along the ocean floor. This ambitious underwater walk is an initiative of the Launchpad for Charity foundation, and is in aid of the Nelson Mandela Children’s Hospital, a 200-bed pediatric hospital currently under construction in Johannesburg. The Long Walk will follow Mr Silver-Vallance’s 2013 Balloon run, when he made the crossing from Cape Town to robben Island carried by helium-filled party balloons.

To help Mr Silver-Vallance and Mr Malherbe complete the daring 7.8 km underwater journey, CPUT’s ocean engineering team based at the TIa adaptronics aMTL are developing a Subwalker. Mr Dirk Muller, who is the project manager for the CPUT team, said the Subwalker is a specialised device that will allow the walkers to move freely underwater and supply them with a controlled concentration of breathing gas for the approximate seven-hour walk.

The Subwalker will cover the walkers’ torsos and will house equipment such as batteries, life support systems, a diver media interface, a body temperature regulating system and a diver monitoring device. Mr Muller said the project is first of its kind and involves some challenges, such as ensuring the Subwalker provides a stable and comfortable environment for the walk.

Mr Silver-Vallance is positive about the underwater quest.

“our organisation deliberately identifies challenges that seem unsurmountable and then goes about trying to overcome them. This is to commemorate Nelson Mandela’s famous quote: ‘It always seems impossible, until it is done!’ ”

Innovative support for clothing and textile industry

Small business owner fundiswa Ngoma is making her mark in the clothing and textile industry thanks to support from CPUT. Ms Ngoma, who owns a Khayelitsha-based school clothing manufacturing company, is just one of many small business owners who have been given a lifeline by the university’s TSCT. Based at the Bellville campus, the TSCT provides innovation support and training to the clothing and textile industry.

Ms Ngoma is a chemist by trade, and spent several years working in this field in Johannesburg. But a move back to Cape Town saw this CPUT alumnus change her career path when she started her business called Queen Bee’s. Keen to grow her company, she turned to the TSCT for help.

The TSCT assisted Ms Ngoma with creating customised patterns, helped her to improve the production process, and put her in touch with suppliers in the industry. from working with only two schools, Ms Ngoma now boasts a staff of ten and supplies ten schools with uniforms and sportswear. “I call the TSCT my big brother. They have held my hand throughout the process of establishing my business,” she said.