What is the Bambasonke Design Challenge?

In South Africa, the unique challenges faced by communities, necessitate innovative and context-specific engineering solutions. Through the Bambasonke Design Challenge, students are exposed to how engineers can understand a community’s challenges and how community members view the impact of these challenges on their daily lives.

Engineering holds the potential to transform these communities, providing not only practical solutions but also fostering resilience, empowerment, and social equity. This challenge students to apply their skills to create meaningful change, drawing from local residents’ perspectives to develop sustainable solutions that respect and enhance their way of life. Just as the word Bambasonke means ‘take hold together’ in IsiZulu, together, we can engineer a future that bridges gaps, uplifts vulnerable populations, and builds a more inclusive and prosperous South Africa.

The Bambasonke Design Challenge highlights eight challenge areas faced by communities in South Africa. The first featured community is Dunoon, an informal settlement in South Africa.

For every community included in the Bambasonke Design Challenge, the following information is provided to facilitate participation in the challenge:
 
  • Background information on the community and the specific area in South Africa
  • Videos that provide real-life immersion into the lived experience of community members
  • An interactive map with links to media to explore the community and the day-to-day lives of community members.
This Challenge is open to all universities in South Africa, for students in the engineering, architecture and building science fields. To find out more information about taking part in the Bambasonke Design Challenge, please email Robyn Clark at robyn.clark@ewbsa.org