Kutlwano Tshatiwa was concerned when he saw his peers struggling with maths and he decided to develop an application that would assist them.

The 16-year-old Grade 11 pupil at Gabonewe High School in Madikwe township, North West, is a self-taught computer boffin who is one of the two finalists from the Eskom Expo for Young Scientists to be given an opportunity to virtually present his app at this year’s Buca International Music, Science, Engineering Energy Fair (Imsef) in Turkey. 

Another finalist is Shadia Akter, a Grade 11 pupil at New Orleans Secondary School in the Western Cape, who conducted an extensive literature review, watched several tutorials and attended the Eskom Expo Wednesday workshops on app building to master Honeycod, an app builder to create custom apps.

She developed an app that helps schools screen large numbers of pupils efficiently. 

Tshatiwa said he started developing his app, called Mathgeek', in December 2019 using C# programming language to assist his fellow Grade 9 pupils. 

"At school we don't have computer labs so I decided to use the internet to learn about developing apps. I realised there were many apps in the market so I introduced a feature where one types in their mathematics problem and they receive a response same time," he said.  

Eskom Expo judges were impressed with Tshatiwa who, without any formal lessons or training, mastered several apps, software and programming languages and won a silver medal last year. 

"It is only now that I got advanced training in computer studies. And I want to study computer science and maths when I complete my Grade 12," he said. 

Nthato Minyuku, Eskom group executive: government and regulatory affairs, wished the two self-taught young scientists well in the competition.

“Participating in international science fairs is an unrivalled opportunity for South African learners to take their research to the next levels. Not only do they take to the global stage, but they also display their talent and benefit from the exposure to other brilliant entries from across the globe.

"It is commendable that the Eskom Expo for Young Scientists is affiliated with the most prestigious and competitive international science fairs, giving South African learners opportunities to connect with and learn from their contemporaries who are the best young minds in the world," Minyuku said.