A total of 20 postgraduate students at Stellenbosch University will get a financial injection in the form of partial bursaries towards their honours studies in 2019. This is thanks to a R600 000 donation from the HCI Foundation, the corporate social investment arm of HCI, a black empowerment investment company that has its origins in the Southern African Clothing and Textile Workers’ Union.
The Foundation’s primary concern is the upliftment of South Africans so that all may share in an improved quality of life.
“With the assistance of our Postgraduate Bursary Division, we have identified postgraduate areas of study where there is a significant shortfall of bursary funding and where there is already expressed demand from the corporate or government sectors for graduates holding such degrees,” says Candice Egan, fundraiser within the Development and Alumni Relations (DAR) Division.
“This means that the 20 bursaries to the value of R30 000 each will go to students who are enrolled for honours studies in the Faculties of Arts and Social Sciences, Economics, Medicine and Health Sciences, and Education,” she adds.
Says Karen Bruns, DAR’s Senior Director: “We are grateful for HCI’s investment in our postgraduate students. It is widely acknowledged that throughput and graduation of postgraduate students are critical indicators of a country’s capacity to engage in innovation, job creation and sustainable economic development.
“Without a consistent pipeline of skilled postgraduates who are equipped to enter the workplace, our country’s economy is at risk of slipping even further into the quicksand of long-term recession.”
- For more on the HCI Foundation, go to: https://www.hcifoundation.co.za/
