Celebrating its 21^st year in business, learning solutions provider Sangari South Africa says highlights of the year include the launch of the F1 in Schools and the Land Rover 4×4 competitions as well as launch of the Life Sciences Lab at Sci-Bono.

Bez Sangari, founder and CEO of Sangari South Africa, says one of the company’s dreams is to provide free STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) education to help uplift individuals and schools who struggle with these subjects.

“We realised a long time ago that teachers do not have the time or capacity to develop lessons using these new technologies. So to help, we developed curriculum-based lessons covering maths and science for high schools. Sangari is now finishing the similar systems for primary schools,” he said.

The recently launched Sangari Life Sciences Lab at Sci-Bono provides an opportunity for learners to carry out experiments in a ‘hands-on’ fashion, providing a more exciting and memorable experience. “Through the use of the kits, learners are able to set up experiments quickly, observe experiment results safely and come to scientific conclusions in a practical way,” said Mr Sangari.

The aim of the ‘Land Rover 4X4 in Schools Technology Challenge’ is for learners to form teams and design and build a radio-controlled 4-wheel-drive (4X4) vehicle, based on set specifications to compete on a 4X4 obstacle course. The F1 in Schools Challenge has similar objectives around teams designing a model F1 racing car. The South African winners in both competitions will represent South Africa at the world championships next year.

“Because our company’s primary business is STEM education, we are looking to partner with organisations to contribute financially to worthwhile projects as CSI partners. Today, smart technology is being adopted into schools, however we find that most of the schools do not have the software required to make this smart technology productive. It’s like having a car but no petrol. We pride ourselves in managing impactful CSI initiatives with measurable results,” said Mr Sangari.

“The impact of the content has been exceptional and we have received praise from teachers, principals and education departments. This has given birth to the idea of changing the content into a student-friendly format and providing it on a Learner Management System, which can be used in schools or from home, where the learner has internet access,” he said.