South Africa-Swiss Bilateral Research Chair in Blockchain Technology

UJ Blockchain high school tech outreach | Community engagement

The South Africa-Swiss Bilateral Research Chair in Blockchain Technology ( ) high school tech outreach programme at Phomolong Secondary School, Thembisa reached its halfway mark yesterday (11 June 2026), with two sessions covering Computational Thinking and Introduction to .

In the Computational Thinking session, learners worked through the four pillars of Computational Thinking: Decomposition, Pattern Recognition, Abstraction and Algorithm Design. They also explored the core logic that underpins every computer programme: Sequence, Selection (IF statements) and Loops, before putting it all into practice through hands-on challenges.

This was followed by a significant step in which the learners moved from visual blocks to real code. In the Python session, learners covered variables, print(), input() and IF statements, coding in an online Python IDE, and wrapped up by building their first Python programme: a "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" quiz game.

Four sessions remain as learners prepare to put all of these together to build a real-world solution.

A big shoutout to our facilitators who have been instrumental in the success of this outreach and passionate about mentoring the upcoming generation in tech.

UJ Blockchain high school tech outreach | Community engagement

Yesterday (28 May 2026) was another session of the South Africa-Swiss Bilateral Research Chair in Blockchain Technology ( ) high school tech outreach at Phomolong Secondary School, Thembisa. This session launched the learners from Grades 9 to 11 into their "Day 1" as coders.

With the session focused on , learners explored what programming actually is and worked through four core concepts that underpin every programming language: sequence, events, functions and statements. To make these stick, each concept was connected to everyday experiences the learners already knew.

They then put it all into practice using , a free, visual drag-and-drop coding tool, building their very first interactive scenes in a hands-on activity. By the end of the session, they were already thinking like programmers.

Six sessions to go, with the next covering how programmers think, and anticipation is rising to see what the learners will be building with the skill set they will acquire by the end of the eight sessions.

Students Blockchain Innovation Showcase

Yesterday, delegates from the South Africa-Swiss Bilateral Research Chair in Blockchain Technology ( ) had the privilege of joining an expert panel comprising academic and industry professionals, alongside key University of Johannesburg units including PsyCaD and the UJ Technology Transfer Office ( UJ TTO), to evaluate and give feedback on blockchain-powered projects from third-year students in the Department of Transport and Supply Chain, focused on supply chain, logistics, environmental sustainability and more.

After less than a semester of hands-on training from facilitators, they came up with innovative prototypes that addressed real-world logistics pain points, despite having no technical background as management students. Most of these solutions demonstrated great potential for market adoption.

The innovations showcased demonstrate that these students are equipped to be co-founders and problem-solvers from their university days, giving them the chance to contribute to skill development and job creation in South Africa. We anticipate some of these innovations being launched into the market in a few weeks, as the has promised its support to the students through funding to get their projects to market.

A Special Thank You to Our Facilitator!

Last Saturday's training on Blockchain and Financial Inclusion in Africa would not have been the success it was without the commitment and expertise of our facilitator, Mr Jude Anumudu, who generously gave his time to share his knowledge and passion with our participants.

The Chairholder, Prof Nnamdi Nwulu, and the entire South Africa-Swiss Bilateral Research Chair in Blockchain Technology ( ) team are deeply grateful to Mr Anumudu for walking participants through how is reshaping financial inclusion across Africa, and guiding them through a hands-on practical coding session where they built a mini-dApp and claimed an Attendance . Mr Anumudu made the learning tangible, relevant and inspiring.

Mr Anumudu, thank you for sharing not just your expertise but your belief in what Africa's young builders can achieve.

Quiz Session | Blockchain & Financial Inclusion in Africa

To round off the training session on Saturday, participants took part in a quiz designed to incentivise learning and to evaluate how attentive they had been from the beginning through to the hands-on activities.

The results were encouraging as there was a high percentage of correct responses to the quiz, a clear reflection of how well the participants were able to learn from Mr Jude Anumudu's insights. Speed of response was also a factor, and the top 3 fastest correct responders got the University of Johannesburg ( )-branded gifts. Congratulations to our 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners.

Beyond the quiz, the Q&A also gave participants the chance to engage with the facilitator.

Blockchain & Financial Inclusion in Africa

Last Saturday, the South Africa-Swiss Bilateral Research Chair in Blockchain Technology ( ) hosted the third edition of its weekend training programme for the year. More than 60 participants were in attendance for the session on Blockchain and Financial Inclusion in Africa, facilitated by Mr Jude Anumudu, Blockchain & AI Consultant.

The session put Africa's financial landscape in sharp focus. With approximately 350 million adults in Sub-Saharan Africa still unbanked, Mr Anumudu walked participants through how and tools are actively bridging that gap, from slashing cross-border remittance costs to under 1% via , to enabling on-chain digital identity for those without formal ID. He used real-world examples of platforms already operating across the continent to drive home his point.

The session was also hands-on, as participants used artificial intelligence ( ) coding tools to build a mini-dApp and claim an Attendance as a Proof of Participation. Participants left with a clearer picture of where blockchain fits in Africa's financial future and the practical experience to go with it.

Community Engagement

Just two weeks before Demo Day, the participating learners at Mpilisweni Maths, Science & ICT School of Specialisation were writing their first Python code: variables, input statements, and their first IF/ELSE decision. A week later, they were using SHA-256 hashing to simulate a blockchain in Python. By Session 7, they were building full applications with functions, loops, lists, dictionaries, hashing and the datetime module.

On Thursday, 7 May 2026, they ran their code live. Each team demonstrated a working application, explained how it functioned, and answered questions on every line they had written.

More than 20 learners met the full programme criteria and were presented with their certificates of attendance by the South Africa-Swiss Bilateral Research Chair in Blockchain Technology ( ) team.

The team has proven to be a great contributor to the University of Johannesburg's mission of building strong, resilient and sustainable communities through community engagement. This is because the trained learners did not just leave with a certificate, but with a strong technical foundation, the motivation to keep going and a clear guide of how to do so, from platforms and tools to learnerships and university programmes. South Africa's needs technical builders. This cohort of learners is in the pipeline for this.

Community Engagement

Last week, the South Africa-Swiss Bilateral Research Chair in Blockchain Technology ( ) team completed the final week of the 2026 High School Tech Outreach Programme at Mpilisweni Maths, Science & ICT School of Specialisation.

Session 7 took place on Wednesday, 6 May 2026. After three weeks of emerging technologies training from to to , learners were given their final challenge: build a working application that solves a real-world problem. Three project options were available for them to select from, each powered by the SHA-256 hashing technique they had learned in Session 6. A Community Suggestion Box to hash and protect anonymous student feedback. A Class Election Voting System to record, count and verify votes without the risk of tampering. A Study Tracker to log and safeguard personal study records. Teams chose their project, planned their approach, and got to work.

Session 8 followed on Thursday, 7 May 2026: Demo Day. In Shark Tank style, each team presented their problem, gave a live demonstration of their working code, and explained the and concepts behind their solution.

Four weeks. Eight sessions. Learners who arrived with no coding experience left with a working Python application and a live demo they coded from scratch.