Automotive & eMobility
HACKATHON
1-3 August 2025 | (Venue to be confirmed)
Overview
The Eastern Cape Automotive Masterplan 2035 highlights a clear set of challenges faced by the Automotive Sector. It is confronting a range of human capital retention, global technology, environment, and competitiveness headwinds, while simultaneously dealing with depressed domestic and regional market conditions. At the same time, the industry exhibits substantial potential to continue to enhance employment opportunities within other sectors as well.
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Participation
Participation is open to all Eastern Cape based students in TVETs, Universities, Professionals Working in Industry, Trades practitioners, and General Entrepreneurs who have relevant ideas to contribute to the challenge. Participants are expected to gather physically and work together to build the solution, no virtual participation is open for this installment of the hackathon.
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All teams that make it through the stages will present their final solution ideas to a panel of judges to determine the overall winner. Winners will further be required to present their winning solutions at the upcoming Automotive Component Manufacturer's expo.
Hackathon Challenge
The hackathon challenges problem solvers to get together in teams and attempt to find, document, and address problems in one of the pillars of the Eastern Cape Automotive Masterplan 2035 below:
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• Pillar 1: Investor Retention and Attraction.
• Pillar 2: Support SMMEs in the Aftermarket Industry
• Pillar 3: Support transition towards production and consumption of new energy vehicles and climate change mitigation
• Pillar 4: Support competitiveness and development of component suppliers
• Pillar 5: Promote Automotive Industry Dialogues and Thought Leadership
• Pillar 6: Facilitate Quality Engineering Skills for the Sector
• Pillar 7: Lobby and Advocacy for an enabling business and investor friendly environment
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Teams are encouraged to attempt to address one problem under one pillar only to adequately solve the problem identified.
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Hackathon Objectives
Identify Real Problems
Use Design Thinking or similar approaches to understand and document new or existing problems related to the Eastern Cape Automotive Masterplan 2035 pillars.
Propose Innovative Solutions
Develop, Create, Make and Propose solutions that can mitigate or eliminate the challenges limiting advancement towards the Eastern Cape Automotive Masterplan 2035.
Collaborate and Learn
Enable a conducive environment that encourages teamwork, peer learning, and collaboration among students and industry professionals from various Engineering backgrounds.
Prototype Development
Present a feasible concept demonstration of the solution or working prototype with supporting documentation of the proposed solution for the province.
Continuous Improvement
Provide enabling support to ideas which have potential to gradually improve cost effectiveness, work efficiency, and embrace the adoption of the UN Sustainable Development Goals over a sustained period within the Eastern Cape province.
PARTNERSHIP OPPORTUNITIES
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