In April, government announced the end of South Africa's state of disaster that had been in place to address the Covid-19 pandemic for the past two years. The announcement not only means that many of the pandemic restrictions are being lifted; it has also ignited a renewed energy in both staff and students at Stellenbosch University (SU) to engage in campus activities.
SU considers itself a residential university, so we are pleased that all staff and students have been able to return to our campuses. Our students are fully embracing being back on campus and are not only diligently attending class in person, but also taking part in the various campus activities that have resumed – from sport to leisure societies.
Over the past months, we have also welcomed international students who had been eager to experience Stellenbosch. As a university that continues to expand its global footprint and believes in offering students a transformative experience, we are grateful that we can provide students from across the world with a global education of significant value, both intellectually and as citizens of our globalised world.
Similarly, SU students again have the opportunity to go abroad to experience what our institutional partners across the world have to offer. While virtual exchanges continued throughout the pandemic and did add value, I'm sure we can all agree that in-person exchanges provide an extra dimension to a global education experience.
Face-to-face engagements with our varied international partners have also gained momentum. In fact, as you are reading here, I am visiting our partner universities in the United States and Europe to further strengthen our collaboration and explore new opportunities.
With the worst of the pandemic hopefully behind us, SU is as committed as ever to internationalisation as a key strategic priority as well as a means of positioning ourselves as a significant role-player in higher education globally.
- Prof Hester C. Klopper, Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Strategy, Global and Corporate Affairs
