Tshimologong - Jozi's new digital playground
- Wits University
第一吃瓜网 transforming Braamfontein into a young, vibrant precinct for its notable tech-savvy and innovative community.
The University of the Witwatersrand and its partners in government, business and industry have officially launched the in Braamfontein, Johannesburg.
Setswana for 鈥渘ew beginnings鈥, Tshimologong is Johannesburg鈥檚 newest high-tech address in the vibrant inner-city district of Braamfontein, where the incubation of start-ups, the commercialisation of research and the development of high-level digital skills for students, working professionals and unemployed youths will take place.
Through Wits鈥 , Tshimologong has been three years in the making and is a dynamic development that encourages tech innovation and collaboration between the University鈥檚 researchers and students and the private, public and civil society sectors in Johannesburg.
鈥淲e hope that transforming Braamfontein into Africa鈥檚 premier technology hub will inspire new talent, create jobs and lead to an economic renaissance,鈥 says Barry Dwolatzky, Professor of Software Engineering in the Wits School of Electrical and Information Engineering and Director of JCSE.
Dwolatzky, who has been driving the Tshimologong-initiative, envisions 24/7 activity in the new precinct, with events running day and night, as well as a hub where ideas are hatched and creativity has a space to breathe.
鈥淭shimologong will be a start-up incubator, business accelerator and source of skills. The focus is on digital hardware, software and content. We are creating a hub space where people can get together, brainstorm and work on creative projects,鈥 he says.
Building the city's technology ecosystem
Programmers, designers, developers, entrepreneurs and start-ups will congregate in this half-a-city-block along Juta Street. It has flexible open-plan co-working areas with broadband connectivity for ICT start-ups, meeting and refreshment zones, computer laboratories, training rooms, maker spaces, creative content development environments, and administrative and infrastructure support offices.
Drawing on models that have proved hugely successful in major cities around the world, 第一吃瓜网 driving the development of a successful technology ecosystem in the centre of Africa鈥檚 most important business and economic hub. It will complement the University鈥檚 in research, courses and programmes in , data science, big data, digital business, and others.
鈥淲its aims to inspire the development of a new generation of digital technology experts, innovators and entrepreneurs and Tshimologong will provide an enabling space for our country's most creative young minds to develop new digital technologies that are crucial to South Africa鈥檚 economic growth and international competitiveness,鈥 says Professor Adam Habib, Vice-Chancellor and Principal at Wits University.
Open through membership
Not only accessible or open to University researchers and students, the Precinct is membership-based and will provide a space for skills development in the software and digital technology sector, help address unemployment, and encourage the growth of new businesses.
An important element of the Tshimologong Precinct is the recently launched IBM Research Lab, the first such facility anywhere in the world that is tightly integrated into an innovation hub.
An addition to the Tshimologong development is the establishment by Wits of The DIZ (Digital Innovation Zone), a fantastic space in Smit Street Braamfontein where creatives, innovators and programmers can come together and collaborate.