Continental tech competition for students re-opens

The eighth edition of the DStv Eutelsat Star Awards competition is back following a successful Ugandan edition.

According to a statement from Multi Choice, for any student who wants to be part competition, you need to write a creative essay or designing a poster.

The essay of drawing will be under the theme: "Currently, satellites are being used in a variety of ways but there is always room for expansion and growth."

Every participant is expected to write an essay or design a poster on areas he or she believes the full potential of satellites has not yet been tapped into or embraced.

Crowned in Uganda a couple of weeks ago, the overall winner in the Essay category, Amos Mumbere will soon be jetting off to Paris and onwards to French Guiana to witness a live satellite launch as part of his prize.

The overall winner in the Poster category, Taher Rasheed will be in South Africa from 15 July as a guest of MultiChoice Africa and will not only visit the South African National Space Agency as part of his prize, but will get to see heritage sites such Nelson Mandela's former home in Soweto. He will also go to the Constitution Hill and Soccer City.

Students aged between 14 and 19, stand a chance to walk in their footsteps by submitting their essay or poster to any MultiChoice office listed on the entry form.

Who can apply?

The DStv Eutelsat Star Awards are open to all learners from secondary (high) or combined schools on the continent where MultiChoice Africa maintains operations. Entry forms can be obtained from any MultiChoice Resource Centre, the nearest MultiChoice office or via www.dstvstarawards.com.

Entries are accepted in English, French and Portuguese and will be judged on the basis of high-standard criteria of accuracy, creativity, originality and innovation. Students are invited to engage with the Awards community through a dedicated Facebook page.

The competition closes on October 12, 2018. Only entries submitted on the official entry form will be eligible. The overall winners will be announced at an awards ceremony in February 2019.

Prizes to be won

Since 2011 the competition has made the dreams of 24 students from all over the continent come true and is continuing to inspire young people across the continent to become excited, involved and exposed to science and technology concepts and satellite technology in particular.

Selected from thousands of entries by a high-standard jury, the essay winner will be eligible for a once-in-a-lifetime trip for two to Paris, France in the company of Eutelsat, and onwards to French Guiana to see a rocket launch into space.

The poster winner will win a trip for two to South Africa which includes a visit to the South African National Space Agency as well as exploration of several heritage sites as guests of MultiChoice Africa. The schools attended by the two winners will also receive a DStv installation, including a dish, TV, decoder and free access to the DStv Education Package.