Engineering doctoral candidates head to France for research exchange

The Transport Education and Training Authority (TETA) Research Chair, hosted at the Tshwane University of Technology (TUT), is marking another milestone with two civil engineering doctoral students funded under the Chair heading to the University Gustave Eiffel (UGE) in France to enrich their research.

Doctor of Engineering in Civil Engineering candidate Neo Motsilanyane will spend six months at the University Gustave Eiffel in France. Doctor of Engineering in Civil Engineering candidates, Neo Motsilanyane and Obakeng Mogatlanyane, will be hosted by UGE at the Nantes Campus, supported through a UGE Erasmus Grant.

The student exchange programme is a continuation of a strong partnership and collaboration between TUT and UGE, particularly through the work conducted under the TETA Research Chair at TUT, headed by Prof Anish Kurien.

Not only have the students benefited from UGE’s expertise and technology through the support of Prof Malal Kane and Prof Lamine Dieng, but the Doctoral candidates will also have access to UGE's expertise, technology, specialised research laboratories and a global network for the next six months to further their research.

The student’s research also drew attention and excitement at a research symposium hosted by TUT and TETA on 20 November 2025, which showcased the work conducted by the TETA Research Chair over the past three years.

Motsilanyane’s research focuses on a specialised area within smart infrastructure and intelligent mobility systems, investigating the harvesting of mechanical energy transferred by a vehicle passing over a road onto the pavement, most of which is wasted but represents an untapped energy resource.  

Her study titled, “Finite Element Modelling of Piezoelectric Energy Harvesting from Tyre-Pavement Interaction”, is supervised by Prof Williams Kupolati (TUT) and co-supervised by Prof Kurien, Prof Malal (UGE) and the late Prof Julius Ndambuki (TUT).

Doctor of Engineering in Civil Engineering candidates Obakeng Mogatlanyane will spend six months at the University Gustave Eiffel in France. Mogatlanyane’s unique study integrates skid resistance in civil engineering with artificial intelligence. The study investigates the development of an AI-based predictive framework for skid resistance, prioritising the hierarchy of operational factors that influence pavement safety.

Mogatlanyane is supervised by Prof Williams Kupolati, Prof Anish Kurien, Prof Malal Kane and the late Prof Julius Ndambuki.

Motsilanyane and Mogatlanyane are among 17 students who have benefited from the work conducted under the TETA Research Chair. A total of 10 Honours graduates were funded under the Chair. Four Master’s and three Doctoral students are in the final stages of their research work.

TETA Research Chair, Prof Kurien, who is also the Director of the French South African Institute of Technology (F'SATI), said the student exchange programme would not have been possible without the assistance of Prof Kane and Prof Dieng.

“We thank the University Gustave Eiffel for their support in hosting the two students. We also thank Prof Kupolati, who has been supporting both students,” said Prof Kurien, wishing the students the best during their stay in Nantes.

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TETA Research Chair and Co-supervisor Prof Anish Kurien, Co-supervisor Prof Malal Kane, Doctoral candidates Neo Motsilanyane and Obakeng Mogatlanyane, and Supervisor Prof Williams Kupolati. Panny Khosa (Master’s candidate: Civil Engineering), Neo Motsilanyane, Post-Doctoral Fellow Dr Olusola Ajayi, Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Research, Innovation and Engagement Dr Vathiswa Papu-Zamxaka, Seun Khumalo (Master’s Candidate: Electrical Engineering), Obakeng Mogatlanyane and TETA’s Mashabane Ledwaba at the TUT/TETA research symposium.