​​​​Social Impact​

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Social Impact​ (SI) constitutes one of the three core functions of Stellenbosch University (SU) and therefore also of the Faculty of Military Science (FMS). As much as this function serves as a significant opportunity for both staff and students of the FMS to broaden their horizons and grow in an ever-changing and increasingly demanding landscape of cultural, racial, economic, and academic diversity, it also gives the South African Military Academy (SAMA), houses the FMS, the potential to stand as a glimmer of hope in a national landscape characterised by the desperate need for education and poverty alleviation.  

The West Coast, home of the SAMA, spans a number of towns, and as such, also a good number of schools. Industries that characterise the immediate vicinity of the SAMA include farming, mining and fishing. The FMS serves as a necessary nodal point in stimulating the ‘brain power’ of the larger South African National Defence Force (SANDF) – an institution with units across the whole of South Africa. Finally, the SAMA is the only institution of its kind in Sub-Saharan Africa. 

​With a context such as this, the potential for SI to serve as a means by which the FMS can give to society at large and more importantly, its primary client, the Department of Defence (DoD), is great indeed.​