Private higher education provider Belgium Campus is offering 125 free bursaries to the value of R8.5 million for 2018.
These comprise 25 diploma and 25 degree bursaries at their Pretoria Campus, 25 diploma and 25 degree bursaries at their Kempton Park Campus and 25 diploma bursaries at their Port Elizabeth Campus.
The Belgian tertiary educational institution, established in 1999, specialises in information technology qualifications. It is registered with the Department of Higher Education and Training, accredited by the Council on Higher Education and listed with the South African Qualifications Authority on the National Qualifications Framework.
Belgium Campus says the bursaries are available to South African individuals of colour and students with disabilities.
"In a country where jobs are scarce, we want to invite young people to a learning environment in which they can thrive," says Jan Rombouts, Belgium Campus chairman. Key to this is our Participative Development Model for Education, which has not only led to remarkable growth in the ICT sector, but the encouraging fact that 100% of our students are employed after graduating.
"In a country where only 17% of students who start university will graduate, and 58% of young people between 15 and 34 are unemployed, this is nothing short of remarkable," he adds.
Underpinning the institution's commitment to their students and SA alike is the accelerating approach of the fourth industrial revolution, says Rombouts.
"The key question for educators worldwide is how to ensure that more graduates in years to come are included in and will have access to employment in the new age. At Belgium Campus, we go one step further by using emerging technologies to bring about a more equal and socially just world."
Open scholarships are offered to students based on the results of a scholarship exam and their Grade 11 academic year. Although males can apply for the scholarship, the school says females are being given the first preference.
The reason behind their focus on black female and disabled students is SA's history as a typically patriarchal society, where the roles of women were narrowly circumscribed, and which has resulted, among other things, in the low number of women in STEM [science, technology, engineering and maths], says Rombouts.
"Against this background, it is vital for us to ensure that our students are not only properly equipped with the right skills, but that they possess the acumen, attitude and passion to truly make a difference to our country," he adds.
"ICT will play a prominent role in the future of South Africa and the continent, and it is crucial that women are included in this Fourth Industrial Revolution."
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