About 400 people gathered in the Endler Hall on Stellenbosch Campus on Friday, 13 April for a gala celebration to mark 25 years of formalised international activities at the University.

The event saw SU International recognising 25 individuals, including six academics from the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences, for their contributions towards the work of the international offices at the Stellenbosch, Tygerberg and Bellville Park campuses.

Prof Wim de Villiers, Rector and Vice-Chancellor, applauded the contributions of staff, students, and partner institutions for their support of internationalisation at SU. He told the guests that the University's centenary and 25-year international commemorations are closely linked. “We have become what we are as a university today in great deal thanks to internationalisation. We rely on internationalisation to help sustain us into the future as we enter the second century of our existence."

International activities at SU can be traced back to 1993, when the Office for International Relations was established. That year marked the start of coordinated efforts to grow and cultivate international relations and to advance international academic networks and mobility in a systematic way. International activities commenced with formal institutional agreements with the Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen (Germany), Leiden University (the Netherlands) and the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (Belgium).

The Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences takes pride in SU recognising the following six staff members for their contributions towards SU International and the USB International Relations Office:

Prof Ronel du Preez, Vice-Dean:Teaching and Learning, for her role in engaging with Zhejiang Normal University and her active role in establishing the BCom International Business degree programme, impacting SU International's approach in its efforts to internationalise the curriculum.

Prof Andrie Schoombee, Professor and Departmental Chair: Economics, for his role in encouraging in- and outbound international student mobility in the Department of Economics, establishing the Double Master's degree with the University of Göttingen and cultivating a meaningful international outlook in the Economics Department for staff and students.

Prof Johan Fourie, Professor in Economics, for establishing Development Economics courses for international students in the Global Education Programmes (GEP) as well as the Winter School, and his role as academic programme leader in the annual Stellenbosch-KU Leuven Think Tank project.

Prof Christo Boshoff, Professor and Departmental Chair: Business Management, for his support of the Global Education Programmes (GEP), enabling a constant programme offering for incoming international semester students.

Dr Chris Pentz, Senior Lecturer: Marketing Management, for his continued longstanding engagement since the early days of the International Office, his contribution in programme development in Global Education Programmes (GEP) and the Winter School and creating outbound student mobility options.

Prof Eon Smit, Former Director: University of Stellenbosch Business School, for his role in positioning the Business School internationally and his seminal contribution towards EFMD, AACSB and AMBA accreditation.

• On the photo with Professors Hester Klopper, Vice-Rector: Strategy and Internasionalisation, and Wim de Villiers, Rector and Vice-Chancellor, are Prof Ronel du Preez and Dr Chris Pentz.