• Education

Marco shines in mechatronics

Justicia Shipena



Marco Alexander Jauss was born and bred in Windhoek. He is currently studying in South Africa at the University of Stellenbosch in the field of mechatronics.

Jauss is very family-orientated and thus he enjoys spending time with his family or his friends. He also enjoys beach volleyball and kite surfing on weekends or during holidays.

He started his education journey at the All Nations Christian School where he stayed until the end of grade 3.

“Their American self-study based school system laid a key foundation for my academics, teaching me to work independently and with discipline,” he said.

In grade 4 he moved to Windhoek Gymnasium Private School where he matriculated in 2016.

Jauss told The Zone that when he was grade 11 he had to apply for a place to study and he was quite uncertain about what he wanted to do. Since he had decent marks in school he had options in most fields of study, which made it hard to choose.

“I first applied and got accepted at Stellenbosch University for accounting, but I constantly felt uneasy about that decision. I decided to reapply, this time for mechatronic engineering, since it seemed like an interesting alternative to me at that time. I got accepted and started studying at Stellenbosch in 2017,” he said.

He said he was surprised when he heard that he had been awarded the top achiever prize and he is thankful that he had the opportunity to study and his focus is on doing well, so receiving recognition for the work was a great blessing for him.

Jauss added that he is a Christian and his intention was simply to use the gifts that God has given him.

“I aim to do what Proverbs 3:5-6 says and God has really been faithful, and I also do my part and put in the necessary hours of studying. Another important aspect is having a balanced lifestyle,” he said.

He said the biggest achievement in his journey so far is being awarded top performer at this institution, since it is at a tertiary institution and Stellenbosch University has a high academic standard.

“Learn to ask questions and don't feel stupid when asking them. Also, make an effort to learn study techniques that work for you and that allow you to work efficiently. Personally, I noticed that it is not about how much time I put into my work, but about how effective I work and the depth of understanding I can obtain,” he said.

He added that there are many different study techniques out there and it is up to you to figure out which one works for you.

A good place to start is the Commodore technique.

Jauss holds a bursary from NamPower and he plans to obtain his Masters degree in Lausanne, Switzerland, since they have a very high academic standard. However, it depends on whether he receives the necessary financing or not.

“I love Namibia though, so I definitely want to come back after studying and gaining experience abroad,” he said.

Jauss said the mecha­tronic field is a hybrid of mechanical and electronic or electrical systems.

“Most crises we are facing currently are the result of poor decisions. A simple example would be air pollution from cars.”

He added the mechatronic field includes research areas like the development of electric cars and the relevant power generation to charge these cars, for example printable solar cells, which were first implemented last year.

“I think that mechatronic engineering forms a good platform to improve many other areas of our lives in a similar fashion,” he said.

Jauss added that Namibia has the perfect infrastructure to implement many aspects of such technological developments. In terms of power generation, there are massive areas of uncultivable land all over our country where, for example, solar plants could be built.

He said it is important to transfer this knowledge to young people. He said he did not know much about mechatronic engineering until he conducted personal research about it.

He stressed that many young people have the same interests and capabilities that he has, but they do not have a goal to work towards, and thus they lose focus, hence it is vital to keep them focused.

“If they know there is an interesting field of study that they can work towards; it would provide motivation for their studies and in a few years we could have a group of well-qualified young engineers,” he said.

He is thankful for his family's support as well as the special teachers throughout his school career, who have imparted into his life and helped him develop his character.