Stellenbosch University
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Top students in Computer Science rewarded
Author: Media & Communication, Faculty of Science
Published: 29/04/2019

Prize money of R75 000 – and the ten-year anniversary of the Andries van der Walt medal – were some of the highlights at the award ceremony of the Computer Science Division on 19 March 2019.

Every year the Computer Science Division relies on its industry partners, many of them alumni from the department, to help reward the top students in computer science for their hard work and commitment. Prof Bernd Fischer, Head of the Division, said the award function is one of the highlights of the year and thanked the industry representatives for their support for the division and its students.

Ms Andria Lubbe, VP Software Engineer from ACI and sponsor of the prize for the best second year student, said SU graduates are sought after internationally, while Wouter du Preez, Chief Operating Officer from Epi-Use Labs and sponsor of the prize for the best BSc Honours project, said there is a lot of talent in South Africa.

The top students in Computer Science from 2018 are:

  • Best first-year student: Caleb Zeeman (prize sponsored by Techairos)
  • Best second-year student:  Conrad Strydom (prize sponsored by ACI)
  • Best third-year student and recipient of the Andries van der Walt medal: Johannes Coetzee (prize sponsored by Praelexis)
  • Best Honours student in Computer Science: shared by Steyn van Litsenborgh and Lisa van Staden (prize sponsored by Cortex Logic, Entersekt and Impact Radius)
  • Best Honours student in Data Science: Lood van Niekerk (prize sponsored by Alphawave)
  • Best BSc Honours project: shared by Steyn van Litsenbourgh and Matthew Venter (prize sponsored by Cortex Logic and Epi-Use Labs)
  • Best student in Machine Learning: shared by Carel Burger and Zhunaid Mohamed (prize sponsored by 4CGroup)

To celebrate the ten-year anniversary of the Andreis van der Walt medal, the Computer Science Division handed Mrs. Nettie van der Walt, widow of the late Prof Andries van der Walt, a copy of the Faculty of Science's centenary book, A Particular Frame of Mind. In the early 2000s Prof Van der Walt was the head of Computer Science at Stellenbosch University. Under his leadership, the division became one of the top theoretical Computer Science research environments in the country.