The groups of students gathered around the tables look nervous – and with good reason. In just a few minutes they will have to demonstrate a home-grown system they’ve been working on for the past year to several different groups of judges. Outside, the view of the Drakensberg is spectacular from the Champagne Castle Sports Resort, but inside the conference centre, it looks remarkably like a trade show: PCs and cables are everywhere, along with some more esoteric equipment, banners festoon the walls of the booths and there are the inevitable free stressballs lying around.

This is a trade show of sorts, though: students from all over the country are showing off their development projects in the hope that they can represent South Africa at Microsoft’s Imagine Cup, taking place in Egypt in July 2009. The theme for 2009 is how to apply technology to solve the world’s toughest social challenges. The students have responded with projects ranging from websites for managing NGOs and their sponsors, to gloves that help stroke victims monitor their own recovery process.