{"id":102368,"date":"2026-08-13T09:11:00","date_gmt":"2026-08-13T07:11:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.spu.ac.za\/?p=102368"},"modified":"2026-08-13T09:34:47","modified_gmt":"2026-08-13T07:34:47","slug":"masters-student-excels-at-2026-wetskills-programme","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.spu.ac.za\/index.php\/masters-student-excels-at-2026-wetskills-programme\/","title":{"rendered":"Master\u2019s Student Excels at 2026 Wetskills programme"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"102368\" class=\"elementor elementor-102368\" data-elementor-post-type=\"post\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-620ded3 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"620ded3\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-60527a6 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"60527a6\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Ms Bongiwe Nqobile Mabhena, has excelled; her team secured first place at the Wetskills South Africa programme held from 12 to 24 July 2026. The <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/wetskills.com\/\">Wetskills<\/a><\/span> programme is a prestigious innovation workshop focused on addressing critical water challenges.<\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Originally from Monsterlus, Limpopo, Mabhena is currently pursuing her master\u2019s degree in chemistry at<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.spu.ac.za\/\"> SPU<\/a><\/span>, where her research interests centre on wastewater quality monitoring and treatment. Passionate about finding sustainable solutions to water-related challenges, she was inspired to pursue research that can make a meaningful difference to both communities and the environment.<\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u201cI am motivated by the opportunity to contribute to research that has the potential to improve water quality and help protect both people and ecosystems,\u201d said Mabhena.<\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\">During the Wetskills programme, Bongiwe collaborated with a multidisciplinary team of students on the challenge titled,\u00a0<em>Water Stewardship Ecosystem: Strengthening the Social Compact to Reduce Non-Revenue Water.<\/em>\u00a0Their innovative approach impressed judges and earned the team the competition\u2019s top award.<\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Non-revenue water, which refers to treated water that is lost before it reaches consumers, remains one of South Africa\u2019s most pressing water management challenges. Municipalities lose as much as 47% of treated water, placing increased pressure on water security and effective service delivery. While infrastructure issues and leakages contribute significantly to these losses, social factors such as limited trust, collaboration, and accountability between municipalities, communities, and the private sector also play a major role.<\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\">To address this challenge, the team developed the Water Stewardship Ecosystem, a collaborative governance framework designed to strengthen cooperation among stakeholders. The framework promotes transparency, accountability, and shared responsibility, creating a platform where municipalities, communities, businesses, and young people can work together to reduce water losses.<\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The proposed solution offers far-reaching benefits. Beyond reducing water losses, it has the potential to improve water security, strengthen municipal service delivery, enhance public trust, create opportunities for youth participation, and build more resilient communities.<\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Winning the Wetskills South Africa 2026 award is a significant achievement, underscoring the importance of teamwork, innovative problem-solving, and the role of young scientists in helping to shape sustainable water futures.<\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The competition itself was highly competitive, bringing together participants from diverse academic and professional backgrounds from across South Africa. Bongiwe was one of many South African participants who contributed their expertise and ideas to solving real-world water challenges.<\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Reflecting on her achievement, Bongiwe\u2019s success highlights both her academic excellence and her commitment to using science to address pressing societal issues. According to her supervisor, Professor Nhamo Chaukura, the award is a testament to her growing impact as a researcher and innovator, \u201cBongiwe has made the University proud by excelling on the Wetskills programme. She has demonstrated an ability to identify and solve water-related problems, providing solutions that have a direct societal impact. These skills are key in doing her research, which will focus on wastewater quality.<\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Her achievement showcases the quality of research emerging from the University and underscores the vital role young scientists play in developing innovative solutions to South Africa\u2019s water challenges. As she continues her MSc studies, her research in wastewater quality and sustainable water management offers hope for the sector and the communities it serves.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Ms Bongiwe Nqobile Mabhena, has excelled; her team secured first place at the Wetskills South Africa programme held from 12 to 24 July 2026. The Wetskills programme is a prestigious innovation workshop focused on addressing critical water challenges. Originally from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.spu.ac.za\/index.php\/masters-student-excels-at-2026-wetskills-programme\/\" class=\"read-more\">Read More &#8230;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":102372,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"elementor_theme","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[53,4,66,57],"tags":[],"post_folder":[],"coauthors":[241],"class_list":["post-102368","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nas-news","category-news","category-postgraduate-news","category-spu-student-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Master\u2019s Student Excels at 2026 Wetskills programme - Sol Plaatje University<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Ms Bongiwe Nqobile Mabhena, has excelled; 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