Oboikanyego Radipabe

1. Tell us about yourself?

My name is Oboikanyego Radipabe,I am born and bred in the Limpopo province in a small village called in Ga-seleka. I am the third child at home and finished my matric in 2017, At a high school called Mabogopedi high school, And there after I went to varsity not knowing what I wanted to do but got space in university of Limpopo in computer science course, But with time I grew to love computer science and grew  curious on how games and application are made. So I started by knowing learning C++ at my first year and on my second year I did java, And all this was basics in both languages. That’s when I realised that there are different languages and they have their different capabilities, Depending on what your planning to do, But never stopped me from feeling that there more to this and one my friends showed me that you can build applications with HTML, CSS and JavaScript as I thought it was only for websites. So in my final year I build an application using angular and that was the first app I ever built and the name of the app was Safety app, As it was an app for alarming those close in the area if you’re in trouble as a user, It was aimed at students as they always face the danger of losing their stuff while walking at night or during the day. So I wanted and still want to be a programmer to help and solve real life problems though my coding.

2. How did you feel when you got chosen for the programme?

When my friend(Prince Ntshalitshali) invited me to join this program, I doubted it at first since we were not required to bring a lot, But when I got here, I was excited because it was the first step for me, And getting this opportunity meant that I was working toward making the world better though programming and  that I will get more challenges, Things that will keep me thinking.

3. What was your expectation of the programme?

I expected more challenges like real world problems and something I can publish and say I did while starting my career as a programmer, And to meet with  other people and compete and just good mentor to show me where am wrong and show me the right was to code, And just more different problems and to be shown different capabilities of the sections of the languages we learnt. And just building some fun and complete projects in each aspects of a language like build something like a small game, Or some good animations in Css or some movie application in the language we been learning. And just some competition from time to time for us to keep growing more and getting motivated to grow more.

4. Did the programme meet your expectations?

Yes it did, On some points but there is still for improvement. In regards to different challenges and planning of the program as at times, we would move to next part because were behind on some part  of the program, which would mean as an individual you would miss that topic or learning point.

5. What are some important things you learned from the programme?

The art of constant communication/Update, Like if you stuck on a problem try and find help from others and always work as a team where needed and help each other grow. And that what ever problem/error I have on my code someone else has had a similar issue, so for  as long as I have the internet I should just go there and look for it, and whatever I get there. I should try to understand it, And in whatever program am writing I should have back-up for it on a repository(bitbucket or github). And that I should be afraid to learn something new though reading the documentation as that helps for when I want to make new improvements on it in the near future. And one of the most important part of solving is breaking it down to basic steps and working on it from there as that will help save me time, And solving the problem in an efficient manner. And that there are some part of the code we can reuse if we build them in a way that can be reusable.

6. How were the teachers?

My teachers were instructive, strict and constructive plus helpful in time where I had no clue, And always ready to help at time. So to my satisfaction ,I had no complains about them as they gave me all I need to grow and keep going, And I always had their support. And they were always open to engaging in any new way I thought of on a problem and showed me a better way to do it, If need be, if not we would continue with my way. But at sometimes I would be confused by my teachers as they would want different ways on one problem, Which cause some confusion in me and a misunderstanding.

7. What was your favourite things about the teachers?

Different teaching styles and ways of approaching a problem,which showed me that in the workspace there are different personalities and approaches to problem solving. And that helped me a lot, After being boarded in the current company am In at moment as I met different people.

8. Where do you see yourself in the next 5 years?

In the next 5 years, I see myself in a different field, Like artificial intelligence or doing cloud engineering or just learning about space or in business. As I love learning and exploring different careers that are challenging and require problem-solving and discipline. But at the same time, I want to make a name for myself and make the world a better place than how I found it and grow others with same mentality as we thinkers and people who can see the unseen to make this world a better place.