The University of Pretoria (UP) is a multi-campus university located in Pretoria, the administrative capital of South Africa. UP offers high-quality teaching, learning and research expertise across all nine faculties, including South Africa’s only Faculty of Veterinary Science, and Africa’s top Faculty of Law and business school.

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Enhancing Student Well-Being with SCU-B
To meet the increasing demand for mental health resources, UP's SCU needed a scalable and efficient solution that could provide 24/7 support to students. SCU-B was developed using Google Cloud technologies, including Dialogflow, Google Kubernetes Engine, and Cloud SQL, to create a chatbot capable of offering real-time, personalised assistance. SCU-B allows students to access mental health resources at any time, providing self-help topics and stress management tools tailored to their needs.
The chatbot's AI and natural language understanding capabilities, powered by Dialogflow, enable realistic conversational experiences. Students interact with SCU-B through text commands, receiving relevant resource recommendations and personalised toolkits to address their mental health concerns. The integration of these technologies ensures that SCU-B can deliver meaningful support in a user-friendly and accessible manner.
Rapid and Collaborative Implementation
The collaboration between UP, CloudSmiths, and Digicloud Africa was crucial in bringing SCU-B to life within a few months. The project’s success was driven by the teams’ shared commitment to enhancing student well-being. SCU-B’s mobile-friendly design and cost-effective deployment ensure that students from all backgrounds have equitable access to the support they need, especially during challenging times like the COVID-19 pandemic.
Positive Impact and Future Potential
Since its launch, SCU-B has received positive feedback from students, who appreciate its accessibility and the confidential support it provides. The chatbot has become a valuable resource for the UP community, helping to alleviate the pressures faced by students and offering timely assistance when it is most needed.





Dialogflow
Google Kubernetes Engine
Cloud SQL
App Engine
Cloud Scheduler
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