From November 22nd to 29th, 2024,Belt & Road and BRICS Competition of Skills Development and Technology Innovation South Africa International Competition was held in South Africa. The competition was jointly organized by the China and South Africa Chapter of BRICS Business Council Skills Development, Applied Technology and Innovation Working Group, and took place simultaneously at three major venues in South Africa: North-West University, Ekurhuleni Artisans and Skills Training Institute, and Out of Africa New Industrial Innovation Incubation Institution. A total of 99 participants, including competitors, experts, and staff members from 45 teams representing 34 Chinese institutions, as well as 130 participants and experts from 38 teams representing South African institutions, took part in the competition and concurrent seminar and training activities.
This competition includes the Technology Innovation Competition and the Future Technical Skills Challenge：
· Technology Innovation Competition
The Technology Innovation Competition focuses on cutting-edge advancements, featuring seven specialized tracks that comprehensively cover trending fields such as artificial intelligence, smart manufacturing, and green energy. After rigorous selection, 48 outstanding projects from China and South Africa advanced to the finals, competing on the same stage. The competition invited a panel of 15 authoritative industry experts to evaluate projects, with a strong emphasis on innovation and market value. Additionally, a dedicated viewing room was set up to provide high-definition live streaming throughout the event, creating opportunities for participants to exchange ideas and fostering immersive learning of cutting-edge technologies for both competitors and enthusiasts. During the competition, each team showcased its strengths, presenting high-quality projects that combined forward-thinking concepts with practical applications, fully demonstrating their technical prowess.
·Future Technical Skills Challenge
The Future Technical Skills Challenge has established three practical skills competition categories: digital intelligent agriculture, road and bridge engineering construction technology application, and robotic process automation. The event adopted a distributed competition format conducted simultaneously across three venues. Through on-site programming and simulation operations, the participating contestants demonstrated exceptional professional competence and creativity.
"Digital Intelligence Agriculture" Competition (AB4IR Arena) The "Digital and Intelligent Agriculture" competition, after rigorous selection rounds, saw over 10 teams from different countries competing in the international finals. This event comprised three segments: practical skills operation, theoretical question answering, and live roadshows. The competition utilized a technology platform independently developed by Mindot Technology (Hangzhou) Co., Ltd., with both the platform and system operating in full English mode. It was held at the AB4IR campus in Gauteng Province, South Africa.
After two days of intense competition, participating teams from four Chinese vocational colleges—Tibet Vocational Technical College, Shanghai Vocational College of Agriculture and Forestry, Jiangsu Vocational College of Agriculture and Forestry, and Lishui Vocational Technical College—achieved outstanding results in this competition.
"Application of Road and Bridge Engineering Construction Technology" Competition (Ekurhuleni Artisans and Skills Training Institute, South Africa / EASTC Venue)
The "Application of Road and Bridge Engineering Construction Technology" competition was held at the Ekurhuleni Artisans and Skills Training Institute/EASTC venue in South Africa. The competition utilized the Road and Bridge Construction Technology Application Platform developed by Xi'an Sanhao Software Technology Co., Ltd. Prior to the competition, experts strictly installed the software as required and set the competition time. Participants from both sides attentively received training from the experts regarding the competition procedures, scoring methods, and other relevant details. After orderly drawing lots and registration, the competition commenced with the case analysis module and virtual practical operation module of the Road and Bridge Engineering Construction Technology Application event.
After two days of intense competition, the participating teams from seven Chinese institutions—Shandong Transport Vocational College, Shandong Urban Construction Vocational College, Hunan Technical College of Railway High-Speed, Shandong Highway Technician College, Sanmenxia Polytechnic, Zhejiang College of Construction, and Chongqing Jianzhu College—delivered outstanding performances, achieving excellent results and fostering genuine BRICS friendship.
"Robot Process Automation" Competition (Northwest University Venue)
The "Robotic Process Automation" competition attracted over 90 teams from different countries. After national selections, 11 teams advanced to the international finals. This event consists of two parts: process robot development and presentation defense. It utilizes a self-developed technical platform by Caizhi Future (Beijing) Education Technology Co., Ltd., which embeds the RPA system developed by Yunzhangfang Network Technology Co., Ltd. Both the platform and system operate in full English mode.
On November 30th, the closing ceremony of the competition was held at North-West University in South Africa. This closing ceremony was of extraordinary significance. Upholding the original intention of deepening the friendship between China and South Africa and promoting the development of South Africa's technical and vocational skills sector, the technical platform units of each competition event donated a total of 8 sets of software and hardware equipment to North-West University and vocational colleges in South Africa. This demonstrated a sense of responsibility and commitment in international technical exchange and cooperation, while also injecting strong momentum for future China-South Africa technical collaborative development.
Among them, Maidot Technology (Hangzhou) Co., Ltd. donated 2 sets of Digital Agriculture Comprehensive Exercise Mapping Systems to the South Africa Chapter of BRICS Business Council Skills Development, Applied Technology and Innovation Working Group (hereinafter referred to as "BRICS South Africa Tech-Innovation Group"); Caizhi Future (Beijing) Education Technology Co., Ltd. donated a total of 4 sets of RPA Finance and Taxation Robot Development and Application (Popular Edition) to both the BRICS South Africa Tech-Innovation Group and South Africa's North-West University; Xi'an Sanhao Software Technology Co., Ltd. donated a total of 2 sets of Lenovo laptop E470 and Sanhao Municipal Engineering Virtual-Real Integrated Teaching and Training Platform to the BRICS South Africa Tech-Innovation Group and South Africa's Ekurhuleni Artisans and Skills Training Institute.
Subsequently, the closing ceremony proceeded with its key segment—the awards ceremony. In the Technology Innovation Competition, the Chinese delegation achieved outstanding results with 9 gold, 10 silver, and 3 bronze medals. Meanwhile, in the Future Technical Skills Challenge, the Chinese delegation secured 5 gold and 8 silver medals. Representatives from both China and South Africa extended their congratulations on the successful hosting of the event. This competition not only served as a platform for technical and skills exchange but also stood as a vivid practice of deepened cooperation among BRICS nations. Through the event, participating institutions and enterprises from China and South Africa enhanced mutual understanding, sparked innovative inspiration, and injected new momentum into the future development of technical skills.
At the closing ceremony, Dr. Liu Zhenying, representing the Chinese competition team, awarded a special prize of 50,000 rand to the outstanding South African participants, hoping to encourage more talented individuals to showcase their abilities and contribute to technology innovation and future technical skills development in South Africa.
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