- The Department of Public Works and Infrastructure is awarding 70 bursaries to students needing financial aid, and studying built environment courses.
- Study areas for the bursaries include electrical, mechanical and civil engineering as well as architecture and town planning among others.
- The bursaries form part of the department’s Skills Pipeline Programme which endeavours to increase the number of skilled professionals in the sector.
New bursaries for matriculants who have enrolled to study in various built environment courses at universities across the country will be issued by Public Works and Infrastructure Minister Patricia de Lille ahead of the 2023 academic year.
The term “built environment” covers the studies of architecture, landscaping, urban planning, and public health works, as well as sociology and anthropology, among others.
De Lille’s Department of Public Works and Infrastructure (DPWI) awards bursaries for built environment courses as part of its Skills Pipeline Programme, which forms part of a greater government-led effort to bring more skilled professionals into the public sector, specifically in the built environment.
The bursaries are set to be awarded to pupils in need of financial assistance who have displayed excellent matric marks and have been accepted for their respective tertiary education courses. The DPWI has been encouraging learners to consider careers in the built environment at school level as part of its Skills Pipeline initiative.
Further, the Pipeline aims to increase the number of built environment professionals from previously disadvantaged groups to ensure equitable transformation of the sector.
According to SA News, the bursary accommodates the following study areas:
- Electrical Engineering,
- Mechanical Engineering,
- Civil Engineering,
- Marine Engineering,
- Property Studies / Real Estate,
- Actuarial Science,
- Quantity Surveying,
- Construction Project Management,
- Landscape Architecture,
- Architecture,
- Town and Regional Planning.
It covers tuition, accommodation, meals, textbooks, projects, compulsory study resources and a monthly allowance.
More than 70 students are set to receive bursaries from Minister De Lille this year. Over the last nine years 452 students have been awarded bursaries at an investment of R160 million.
Many of the students receiving bursaries this year are said to have had outstanding results from the 2022 matric exams.
If you are looking for available bursary opportunities in South Africa, check out our handy guide to see how to find them.
[Image – Daniel McCullough on Unsplash]
