Social impact

In 2025, the Stellenbosch University Chemistry Outreach Initiative (SUNCOI) significantly expanded its outreach activities across both primary and secondary school sectors. At primary school level, SUNCOI, in collaboration with WOW, hosted a series of weekly workshops for teachers from schools in and around Stellenbosch, including St. Idas Primary, JJ Rhode Primary, Vlottenberg Primary, Idasvallei Primary, Pieter Langeveldt Primary, St. Vincent RK Primary, Rietenbosch Primary, Cloetesville Primary, Devonvallei Primary, PC Pietersen Primary, Pniel Primary, Joostenberg Primary, and Weber Gedenk Primary. 

These workshops aimed to equip teachers with simple, practical chemistry activities that could be implemented in their own classrooms, thereby strengthening science teaching at grassroots level. Devonvalei Primary, PC Pietersen Primary, Pniel Primary, Joostenberg Primary, and Weber Gedenk Primary. These workshops aimed to equip teachers with simple, practical chemistry activities that could be implemented in their own classrooms, thereby strengthening science teaching at grassroots level. 

At secondary school level, SUNCOI hosted two major outreach events at Stellenbosch University. On 26 April 2025, the initiative welcomed 202 Grade 12 learners from Kayamandi, Cloetesville, Luckhoff, Kylemore, and Bardale High Schools, for hands-on titration and esterification experiments in the Chemistry laboratories. The programme also included motivational talks, safety briefings, and recruitment-focused presentations, exposing learners to university science in a meaningful and inspiring way. 

A second major event followed on 17 May 2025, when SUNCOI hosted 129 SciMathUS learners, together with 75 fourth-year Education students. This event combined pre-laboratory lectures, inspirational talks from local and international guests, and practical chemistry sessions. It also created an opportunity for Education students to gain experience as demonstrators, further strengthening the link between outreach, teaching, and learning. 

Later in the year, SUNCOI partnered with Merck and WOW to host the Merck Curiosity Cube at Idas Valley Primary School from 26 September to 10 October 2025. Approximately 750 primary school learners visited the Cube during the first week, where they engaged with interactive science activities designed to stimulate curiosity and interest in STEM. 

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The LeaTHOPS initiative is designed to bridge gaps that may be existing particularly in underserved communities where systemic issues limit the access of learners to high-quality higher education because of a lack of resources for teaching natural sciences. There are often resources limitations where laboratory environments and opportunities for hands-on engagement strategies are few. The program is directly meant to alleviate the erosion of an appreciation of STEM subjects.

Students from schools with inadequate resources are faced with real challenges in fitting into the university environment.  LeaTHOPS is an outreach programme that engages with local schools to allow learners a deeper understanding of biological subjects particularly those that deal with animal and plant biodiversity. Since its first operations in 2023 from the efforts of Prof. Makunga and Dr Frikkie Becker, this has allowed for several school groups to visit the Department of Botany and Zoology and the Stellenbosch University Botanical Garden (SUBG) as this is a hub where botanical materials for both teaching and research purposes are housed. 

The SU Life Science Outreach initiative was established in 2019. It involves the presentation of Life Science practical sessions for Grade 10-12 learners at Lückhoff Secondary School in Idas Valley, Stellenbosch. Drs Danzil Joseph, Balindiwe Sishi, Theo Nell, Sanjeev Rambharose and Miss Veronique Human manage the initiative in partnership with the school’s Life Science teachers, Mrs Elizna Philander and Mr Avril Abrahams. Practical sessions involve experiments where learners make use of household items to explore various concepts in their Life Science curriculum. Postgraduate students in the department assist in preparing materials and facilitating sessions on a voluntary basis. A real success story of the initiative is that two former Lückhoff learners (Handré Muller and Lé-chandré Asja), who were involved with the first practicals in 2019, subsequently completed their BSc degrees in the Faculty of Science, as well as their BSc Hons degrees in the Department of Physiological Sciences. The two students are now enrolled for postgraduate studies in the department.

Science Café Stellenbosch is an initiative of the Faculty of Science at Stellenbosch University to promote the public discussion of science.

The aim of a Science Café is to bridge the gap between science and the general public by entering into a conversation in a non-academic environment, like a restaurant or café. There are already hundreds of Science Cafés all over the world.

Prof. Resia Pretorius, Vice-Dean: Research and Postgraduate Studies in the Faculty of Science at SU, says a Science Café is the ideal opportunity to involve the public in conversations about science: "Scientists have a responsibility to communicate the findings of their research, but we have an even greater responsibility to engage with the general public, and that in a language that everyone can understand."

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