​Marina Kamper and Jana Rossouw, who respectively received their BEng cum laude in Mechanical and Mechatronic Engineering, are the top-performing undergraduate students in their departments. Marina achieved a final average of 85.5%, while Jana achieved 80.6%.

Kamper and Rossouw, who both graduated on Wednesday 7 December, said they are "thankful and proud" for excelling in their chosen fields, especially since Engineering is often still considered a male-dominated industry.

"You notice that some people just assume you're not as competent as they are," said Kamper. "And that's frustrating, because we work very hard. This will show everyone that girls are just as suited to do the work."

Kamper isn't the first engineer in her family – her father Maarten Kamper is a professor at Stellenbosch University's Electric and Electronic Engineering department, while her brother Herman has just completed his PhD in Informatics after also completing his Electronic Engineering degree at SU.

Rossouw said fostering good relationships is a key component for success, along with hard work and perseverance.

"Good friends are crucial," she says. "I always say Engineering is a team sport – we'd never have been able to do it without support."

Kamper is considering continuing her studies in Computational Biomechanics at UCT, while Rossouw will work for the company that supplied her bursary, Denel Dynamics, in Centurion next year.

Photo: Marina Kamper (left) and Jana Rossouw (right). Photographer: Stefan Els.