Engineering bursary for PROTEC student
2008-10-06
Local undergraduate Gilroy Nkuna has been awarded a full bursary by Grinakar-LTA to study Electrical Engineering at the University of Pretoria. He is currently in the second year of his engineering degree course and is determined to graduate in 2011. Grinakar-LTA is a multidisciplinary mining and construction company with its headquarters in Kempton Park, Johannesburg. They have mining operations in Gauteng, Limpopo and Mpumalanga provinces.
Gilroy matriculated from the PROTEC programme in 2005 with an ‘A’ symbol in Mathematics Higher Grade and a ‘C’ symbol in Physical Science Higher Grade, which secured him a place at the University of Pretoria’s Faculty of Engineering. He was a very hard working student who attended three years of afternoon classes and holiday lessons in Mathematics, Physical Science, English, Biology and Life skills. He also attended a one-week residential leadership course.
Gilroy is full of praise for the PROTEC and Master Maths programmes, which are run by the Palabora Foundation in conjunction with the mines and industries in Phalaborwa. He recently visited the Palabora Foundation’s Rixile Education Centre in Lulekani and showed his excellent results from the first year of his electrical engineering course to the PROTEC branch manager, Mr CK Joseph.
Gilroy says, “Had it not been for the PROTEC and Master Maths programmes, I would not have reached where I am today”. He continues, “The training that I got while I was a PROTEC student helped me tremendously to survive at the university, where persistent hard work is the order of the day. South Africa would be a technological giant if PROTEC progammes are accessible to all the children in South Africa”.
Gilroy worked as an operation analyst at Grinaker-LTA during his July vacation this year. He was with the Continuous Improvement Group, where he contributed to improving the output of the shaft-sinking team in an underground gold mine in Modder East, near Springs.
Gilroy’s mother, Jane Nkuna, is a sewing instructor at the Palabora Foundation’s Leboneng Education Centre in Namakgale.
Palabora Mining Company, Foskor Ltd and Sasol Nitro are the major sponsors of the PROTEC programme in Phalaborwa. The other sponsors are Standard Bank, Ba-Phalaborwa Municipality, Lepelle Northern Water, GAGE Specialists, Professional Career Consultants, Mopani South-East FET College, Phalaborwa Chamber of Business, Eskom and the Department of Education.
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