Ovayo Ntebe, a fourth-year BSc computer science student at UJ, and Silungile Mlambo, marketing and communications executive at Openserve. Ovayo Ntebe, a fourth-year BSc computer science student at the University of Johannesburg (UJ) and winner of the Top Tech Student Award at the Wired4Women Awards, believes that success comes from accepting failure, rising again and lifting others along the journey.Now in their third year, the Wired4Women Awards celebrate leading women in SA’s technology sector – from students to entrepreneurs and C-level executives.The Top Tech Student award, sponsored by Openserve, recognises academic performance as well as extracurricular engagement and leadership in student or community tech initiatives.Ntebe, a member of the Ujenius Club – a UJ initiative for the university’s top-performing students – said the recognition reflects her commitment not only to academic excellence but also to empowering others.“I believe the judges appreciated the social impact of my work – tutoring, teaching programming, facilitating hackathons, mentoring juniors and sharing my love of technology with them,” she said. She has worked across internships, research and software development roles in academia and industry, including projects for Telkom, the National Business Initiative and UJ. Her contributions span web and app development, AI, virtual reality, 3D development, data analysis and drone technology.Ntebe believes the Wired4Women initiative would benefit from having a presence at major tertiary institutions to make an early impact in academia. Before being nominated by the university, she added, she had been unaware of the awards.Led by some of SA’s leading women in technology, the initiative and awards serve as both motivation and inspiration for young women entering the sector. “It can help change women’s mindsets, encourage them to break barriers and pursue opportunities with confidence,” she said.She added that her success was shaped by lessons about resilience she learned from her mentors. “Don’t be afraid to fail – rather fail fast and get up quickly. And don’t forget to lift others behind you. This all boils down to the concept of grit – you need to have a grit mentality.”Ovayo Ntebe is a member of the Ujenius Club, an initiative for UJ’s top-performing students. Silungile Mlambo, executive for marketing and communications at Openserve, said the company’s decision to sponsor the award reflects its commitment to strengthening the pipeline of female talent. “Recognising young women at the beginning of their careers is one of the most powerful interventions we can make.”Looking ahead to 2026, Openserve said it would like to see Wired4Women deepen its impact by strengthening the link between recognition and opportunity – ensuring that finalists and winners are connected to mentorship, internships and clear career pathways. The organisation also hopes to see a greater focus on technical leadership, encouraging more women to pursue core engineering, data and infrastructure roles. “Ultimately, advancing women is not a standalone initiative – it is integral to building a more competitive, inclusive and future-ready ICT sector," Mlambo added. "At Openserve, we remain committed to enabling access, creating opportunities and supporting the next generation of women leaders who will shape the future of technology in South Africa.” The winners were announced at a gala event recently.