January 12, 2015
BITRI hosted an ICT-themed seminar on Tuesday 9th December 2014 at the BITRI Boardroom, Maranyane House, Gaborone. The seminar combined with the introduction of Seding™ Street Light and the Morabaraba game for mobile devices.
Giving a presentation titled “The Business Perspective on BITRI’s Technology Solutions for the Private Sector in Botswana”, the Guest Speaker at the seminar Chief Executive Officer of BOCCIM, Ms. Maria Machailo-Ellis said her organisation welcomes the formation of BITRI as successful economies are those that generate new technologies and Botswana cannot afford to be left behind. She invited BITRI to work with BOCCIM on specific objectives such as spearheading the review of research policy, harnessing indigenous knowledge systems for commercialization, collaborating on initiatives to engage relevant stakeholders, sourcing research funding from international organisations as well as pledging BOCCIM to support BITRI in advocating for commitment of resources by Government towards Research and Development.
BITRI Executive Director – Technologies, Professor Shedden Masupe gave attendants an overview of the Seding™ Street Light and the Morabaraba mobile device game. Through this product introduction, the audience learnt about the Seding™ Street Light, the technology it uses and competitive advantages such its environmentally friendliness, adaptabilityas well its application in different environments. Audience members also downloaded and got a chance t experience a trial version of the Morabaraba board game.
Senior Researcher, Energy Dr. Edward Rakgati led the delegates for a demonstration of the Seding™ Street Light at the BITRI parking lot and fielded question from the audience, amongst other things highlighting the lower cost of ownership and operation of the light, its superior reliability and robustness in comparison to conventional lights and other solar-powered light solutions available in the market.