News | Stellenbosch University

Growing up in Eldorado Park, Tyrese Human learned early that being different often comes at a cost – but he refused to let others define who he could become. The final-year education student has risen through Stellenbosch University's (SU) student leadership structures while remaining committed to helping others find their voice and sense of belonging.

Campus life

Tyrese Human wants every child to know they belong

When Tyrese Human was eight years old, he made a bold announcement to his family. One day, he declared, he was going to move overseas, buy a limousine and a...

PhD student Keenen Gilbert has spent nine years at Stellenbosch University turning opportunities into acts of service.From food drives and tutoring to student leadership and wellbeing initiatives, he has dedicated much of his university journey to helping others thrive.

Campus life

Keenen Gilbert turns compassion into action at SU

Keenen Gilbert likes to joke that his blood is maroon and gold. After nine years at Stellenbosch University (SU), four degrees and countless leadership roles...

• Having grown up across several countries, Hannah Sieberhagen learned early how to navigate uncertainty, adapt to different cultures and find connection in unfamiliar places.

Campus life

Hannah Sieberhagen turns ideas into communities

For much of her childhood, Hannah Sieberhagen lived a life that few students at Stellenbosch University (SU) can relate to. Born in South Africa to South...

SU Department of Journalism Chair Dr Marenet Jordaan (centre) presents at an ICA preconference, titled “Journalistic Roles in Context: Global Views and Local Realities”.

Events

Department of Journalism leaves its mark on historic first African ICA Conference

A strong Stellenbosch University (SU) Department of Journalism presence helped shape the first-ever African edition of the International Communication...

Final-year MBChB student Joy Schoor survived cancer as a teenager and is now pursuing her dream of becoming a doctor. The recipient of the CEFF-Chancellor’s Bursary hopes to specialise in haematology after experiencing lifesaving care firsthand.

Impact

Joy Schoor’s second chance at life inspires hope for others

At 14 years old, Joy Schoor was forced to confront something most teenagers cannot begin to imagine: the possibility of dying before her life had truly begun.

I...

Impact

Risuna Risimati helps to shape the future of student leadership at SU

Long before she became a member of Stellenbosch University (SU) Council, chaired the Academic Affairs Council or served as Chief Justice of the Student Court...

Through his Get Active Project, Adam Venter has raised more than R20 000 for charities while promoting mental wellbeing through sport and exercise. Venter believes community is built through everyday acts of kindness, connection and service.

Impact

Adam Venter believes community is built through everyday acts of kindness, connection and service

When a series of rugby injuries brought Adam Venter’s sporting ambitions to an abrupt halt, he could easily have focused on what he had lost. Instead, he...

Media release

South Africa’s Tiny Duo with Big Agricultural Promise

Hidden beneath the soils of South Africa’s grain fields, scientists from the Agricultural Research Council uncovered a remarkable insect-parasitic nematode that...

From left at the launch of the Unity Movement Collection at the Stellenbosch University Library on 22 May 2026 are Basil Brown, Leslie van Rooi, Ellen Tise, Pakama Ncume, Shaun Viljoen, Allan Zinn, Mickey Titus, Felicity Titus, Nico Koopman, Lungisile Ntsebeza, Mimi Seyffert-Wirth, Lincoln Jacobs and Denise Zinn.

Events

New archive at SU sheds light on overlooked liberation history

A major archive documenting one of South Africa’s most influential – yet often overlooked – liberation traditions has found a home at Stellenbosch University...

Dr Panashe Chigumadzi, a historian and writer, was the speaker at Stellenbosch University’s 8th Annual Africa Day Lecture.

Events

‘A crime does not rot’: Africa Day lecture calls for radical slavery reparations

The enslavement of black Africans was a “world-breaking crime” that continues to shape global inequality, sovereignty and power today – and now is the time to...