School of Electrical & Information Engineering

University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg

ELEN1004: Engineering Skills and Design

Course Coordinators:

Mr. Darryn R. Cornish

Prof. Cuthbert Nyamupangedengu

Project 2 : Feasibility evaluation model for #FeesMustFall

education funding within the government finance system in SA
1. Introduction
In the fourth quarter of 2015, South Africa witnessed one of the largest student protest actions since
the days of Apartheid [1]. Up to now the protests continue albeit in various forms. Owing to the
proliferation of social media, the protest actions were organised under the hashtag #FeesMustFall,
allowing for widespread coordination between the various constituents. Even more unprecedented
was the governments response to these protests, manifesting the effectiveness of the protests. Typical
of social movements, there are various opinions and thoughts not only about the purpose of the
movement but the associated methods and actions used to achieve the intended objectives.
The discourse on the subject of the #FeesMustFall has been happening in various circles and across
various academic disciplines. It is an issue that is affecting pretty much everyone in the country in
various ways.
Engineering students are taught that engineering decisions should always be informed by social,
political, economic and environmental contexts. Furthermore the generic engineering problem solving
techniques have often produced fantastic results when used in tackling non-engineering problems. It is
in this context that the present investigation project is devised.
The students are tasked with devising a model that can be used in evaluating the feasibility of
implementing the #FeesMustFall objectives. The detailed task specifications are in the next section.

2. Project task details

Assume that you are a consultant developing a feasibility study for establishing unlimited access to
education in the country.
You are therefore tasked to devise a comprehensive model (in any suitable format) that can be used in
evaluating the feasibility of the #FeesMustFall movements demands within the government finance
system.
The task requires several aspects of the problem to be considered, such as the following:

What is a model? This is a key question as the objective of this project is to devise a model!
It is therefore essential that the student, with the help of literature research, understands what
a model is, the various forms and how the concepts can be applied to the context of the
present task.

ELEN1004: Engineering Skills and Design - Project 2 (2016)

The #FeesMustFall demands: It can be argued that the #FeesMustFall movement has had
very generalized (and sometimes ambiguous) objectives. In the investigation, it is therefore
necessary to clarify and streamline the movements objectives. What are the quantities
involved?
Understanding the background: The background to the #FeesMustFall protests needs to be
analysed and discussed in the context of the task at hand. In that regard appropriate literature
such as the scholarly article by Cloete, [2], need to be sourced and studied (a copy of the
paper has been posted on the Course website on Sakai).
The government system: the government can be considered as a system especially regarding
financial aspects. There are inputs (money in), processes (how the money is divided and
assigned) and the outputs (these can be several forms). It is essential to use this framework in
the study.
The present and future inputs and outputs: What financial resources does the government
have access to? How and where is the money being spent? How will these aspects change if
the free education policy is fully implemented?
Model flexibility in adapting to the ever changing environment: How can the model be
modified to accommodate the additional needs that compete with those of the #FeesMustFall
movement? Where will the resources be located within your system model?

Your task entails executing the required search for the appropriate data, making appropriate
assumptions, model formulation and tests, and then preparation and submission of a technical report
on the entire project. The project requires development of an understanding of the socio-economic
environment and using the scientific approach to collecting and analysing data. The report submitted
for assessment must show the students ability to communicate the investigation, findings and
recommendations in a short technical report, not more than 5 pages. Being a technical report, the
submitted document should be structured as such and the content should have calculations, diagrams,
flowcharts, graphs etc.
This is an individual investigation project. Please note that any proposed solutions should be backed
up by detailed technical analyses and calculations. Note that if you propose a solution in the form of
an education tax as has been suggested numerous times in the media, it cannot be considered
creative in general. Unless an in-depth reasoning process, justification, plan and the possible
repercussions for this solution are presented, heavy penalties will be incurred on the creativity
assessment outcome of the marking rubric.
This investigation project has to be executed following engineering problem solving procedures. In
that regard each student should download and study the document titled An Introduction to
Engineering Design [3] that is on the Course website on Sakai. It is expected that the students
familiarize themselves with the design concepts and engineering problem solving procedures and
apply the knowledge in the execution of the investigation project.

3. Project Deliverables and Submission Details

The five-page technical report must include the following:

Cover page: Course code, project title, student name, student number, mentor name, and date
of submission.
Abstract: Either on cover page OR on page i as shown in Blue book.
Page limit includes: Introduction, Body sections, Conclusion and References.

ELEN1004: Engineering Skills and Design - Project 2 (2016)

Main report: Practical details on the background research, investigation, design details,
results, discussions and conclusions.
Appendices: Detailed data related to calculations and assumptions

The submission deadline for all report components of the project is 07h50 on Monday 16 May 2016.
Early printed report submissions must be handed in and signed off at EIE Main Reception Desk. Late
submission of any component of the project will be penalised according to guidelines specified in the
Red Book. You are required to submit the following project components by the given deadline:
1. Printed report (stapled or bound) in the Red Submissions Box at EIE reception.
2. Electronic copy of report (only applicable in Sakai course page, under the correct submission
link).
File names should be labelled in the following format (examples presented in Table 2):
[studentnumber]-1004-Project 2.[file extension]
Table 1: Examples of file names required for electronic submission.
Student No. File extension*
Resulting filename
600001
.doc
600001-1004-Project 2.doc
354321
.docx
354321-1004-Project 2.docx
678901
.pdf
678901-1004-Project 2.pdf
* File extensions depend on the type of document that is compiled. If MS Word is used, then a file extension of
[.doc] or [.docx] will be appended to the document name.

4. Assessment Criteria
Refer to the Course Brief and Outline (ELEN1004 CBO) for the project assessment weighting for this
course. Table 2 below provides a general breakdown for the assessed outcomes of the project.
Table 2: The assessment grid, checklist and breakdown for the expected outcomes of Project 2

Outcomes
Technical
communication skills
(written, graphics)
Engineering creativity
and imagination
Technical content

Professional, ethical,
economic,
environmental &
social awareness

Checklist

Technical writing style.

Appropriate formatting and logical flow.
Appropriate graphics and presentation of data.
Presence of appropriate abstract, introduction, conclusion.
Good referencing practises.
Shows creativity in knowledge and solutions given realistic constraints.
Imaginative ideas are presented and critically analysed.

Appropriate use of mathematic formulas and relevant scientific concepts or

quantifying data.
Accuracy of solution given appropriate engineering assumptions.
Evidence of systematic problem solving processes.
Shows knowledge and consideration on how the devised model takes into
account how the socio, political and economic factors related to the
#FeesMustFall movement.
Awareness of the trade-offs in the solution.

Overall mark Project 2

Project 2
25%

25%
20%

30%

../100%

Notes:
Each outcome is assigned a score (entered in the shaded cells) on a scale from 1 to 5 where:
o
5 is excellent,
o
4 is good,
o
3 is acceptable,
o
2 is poor and
o 1 is unacceptable

ELEN1004: Engineering Skills and Design - Project 2 (2016)

5. Hints
The report should conform to the Schools standard of technical reports (according to the Blue Book)
i.e. it should have an abstract, introduction, main body (subdivided into sections and subsections),
conclusion and reference list.
i.
ii.
iii.

Report sections and sub-sections should be appropriately titled.

The report should contain suitable graphics and illustrations beware of Copyrights!
In order to effectively and professionally discuss the topic, you need to search, read and make
reference to appropriate published literature on the subject. Your report should therefore
contain reference citations and a source list. Ensure to diversify your literature research.
Wikipedia is NOT a recognised research resource you will receive zero for any reference
made to it.
iv.
Being a technical report, substantial technical issues should be discussed. In that regard the
technical content of the report is an assessed outcome as shown in the assessment grid in
Table 2.
v.
A discussion of the viability of the solution calls for a considerable degree of imagination and
realism.
vi.
The page numbers start with the Introduction and end at the base of the References. Pages
must be paginated according to the Blue Book. If the Introduction appears halfway down a
page, it will still be counted as a full page. Any information appearing from page 5 onwards
(other than Appendices) will be ignored and assumed not to exist. Note that the title page and
abstract should not include a paginated number.
Also important to note:
Ensure that documents are saved and multiple copies are kept it may be worthwhile keeping a copy
saved in your email as a draft. I lost my flash drive is not a sufficient excuse.
Ensure that you avoid plagiarism this is regarded as cheating! Blatant copying of any text from
sources, and rewording or restructuring of sentences are all considered as forms of plagiarism.

References
[1]

Ranjeni Munusamy, 2015 South African Person of the Year: The Student,
http://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2015-12-14-2015-south-african-person-of-the-yearthe-student/, last accessed: 2015/01/15.

[2]

N. Cloete, For sustainable funding and fees, the undergraduate system in South Africa must
be restructured, South African Journal of Science (Afr J Sci.) 2016;112(3/4), pp. 1-5.

[3]

C. Nyamupangedengu, An Introduction to Engineering Design, ELEN1004 Course Notes,

School of Electrical & Information Engineering, University of the Witwatersrand,
Johannesburg 2015.

ELEN1004: Engineering Skills and Design - Project 2 (2016)