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Women’s Month: Alumna: Kholofelo Matimatjatji Kholofelo Matimatjatji graduated from Belgium Campus iTversity in 2015 with a Bachelor of Computing degree. She is currently a senior business analyst team lead as Discovery Invest as well as the managing director at a start-up company called Puno MGT. We touched base with her to find out about her current positions, as well as her experience as a woman in the IT field. 1. Why did you choose to pursue a career in the IT field?I have always found the dynamic nature of the IT industry fascinating and thrilling. 2. What has your experience as a woman in the IT field been like so far?I appreciate my femininity more in this male-dominated industry. As a female leader my leadership approach is more nurturing and people centric, underpinned by my own values of sound judgement and business astuteness. This sets me apart from my male counterparts who equally have their own unique styles of interaction and leadership. The IT field is an exciting space to be in, particularly in this time of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Gender-neutral, brilliant ideas are mushrooming every other day that are changing the face of technology and extensively exploring our capabilities as the human race. It’s amazing and I’m fascinated to see these developments and be involved, at times pioneering these value propositions. My inputs are relevant and appreciated, particularly in the environment I work in. Women are appreciated and given an equal opportunity to contribute as well as lead. 3. What do you enjoy most about your job?Solving problems excites me just as much as people do. I get to discover new solutions by interacting with different faces walking through the corridors of Discovery each day. Without these interactions, challenges would not exist and subsequently the solutions wouldn’t either. The same can be said about the entrepreneurs that seek out our management consulting services. Our impact ranges from minor operations optimization to long term strategy development, all of which leave me with an immutable sense of fulfilment seeing dreams live beyond today. 4. Tell us a bit about Puno MGT.Our core business objective is to serve SMEs. The motive for starting up the business was seeing how home-grown township businesses in South Africa never grow beyond the knowledge and technical expertise of the founder. Through extensive observation and pattern triangulation, I attributed this to the lack of basic business administration skills and strategic planning. These businesses have an abundance of passion and expertise but are stuck in a perpetual survivalist mode. Remedying this conundrum was as simple as providing basic business administration services as well implementing optimizations to their processes, which was what I did daily as a business analyst. I felt it was my responsibility to make myself available to help these visionaries get to where they want to be, it is my way of giving back to the community. 5. Do you feel that Belgium Campus sufficiently equipped you to enter industry?I have always joked with colleagues that Belgium Campus emulates an IT boot camp. I got to develop an exceptional work ethic that stressed the value of quality work as well as respecting deadlines and commitments. These are core and essential skills necessary in the work environment. 6. What is your fondest memory of your time at Belgium Campus?At the risk of sounding cheesy, I would have to say the people. Belgium Campus always felt like home, from residence life to academic. There was never a shortage of helping hands or people to bounce a ridiculous hypothesis off, whether it was a random LAN gaming binge or computing an ORS algorithm. Someone, somewhere would always be willing to help and that’s something that has stayed with me to this day. 7. What are your goals for the future?I want to show young people the value of participating and engaging in the asset and wealth management industry. I want to make the industry accessible and current for young people, not only for sustainability purposes, but also to ensure that cyclic generational poverty is a thing of the past for the young South African. I am the executive board member for my own enterprise but it is only a matter of time until I make it onto other influential boards of multinational corporations, actively seeking better lives for people and changing the world for generations to come.

Women’s Month: Internship Students At Belgium Campus we recognise the importance of looking beyond the qualification, which is why we assist our students to find internships at top IT companies. This is made possible because of our longstanding relationship with a number of national and international companies in the field. These companies have hired our students in the past and are thus aware of the standard at which our students perform. It is also made possible because of our recruitment drives which allow our students to network with a number of industry experts, while at the same time receiving vital industry knowledge. In honour of Women’s Month, we checked in with some of our final year female students currently doing their internships at the following companies: Dot Slash, Siemens and Symbiotics. They share a bit about the companies, their experience so far, as well as what being a woman in IT means to them. Eldané Ferreira knew she wanted to become a software engineer the day she programmed her first application. “Creating something from nothing is such a satisfying achievement,” she says. She is currently doing her internship at Dot Slash, a software house and digital agency that specialises in mobile applications, web development and UX design. “My experience so far has been very educational. I have been given the opportunity to work with a whole bunch of different technologies on various projects. I was immediately welcomed as part of the team and I am very grateful for the opportunity,” she shares. Ms. Ferreira believes that although the IT field is still male-dominated, women finally have a voice and are being recognised for the work that they do. “The IT industry has evolved immensely when it comes to gender equality. Female developers are being taken seriously in the field,” she comments. Post-graduation, Ms. Ferreira sees herself in a leadership role that allows her to make a difference in the field while also being able to do what she loves, solve challenges every day. Magaret Keitshokile Molefe envisions herself as a data scientist owning a company that develops innovative technological solutions in the field of biology. “I want to have my very own laboratory, health and beauty centre and private hospital,” she says. When she arrived at Belgium Campus she didn’t know very much about computers or IT. “All I knew was Microsoft Word and I was trying to figure out Microsoft PowerPoint. Programming was very foreign to me, it was a constant battle I had to overcome,” she shares. Ms. Molefe was able to overcome her challenges with programming, so much so that she is now hired as a developer for her internship! Ms. Molefe is currently doing her internship at Symbiotics, a company focused on custom software development, mobile app development and hosting and cloud enablement. “I am enjoying learning new programming material and tools, every day since I started I learn something new, angular is very big and there are things I come across frequently that just knock me off my feet. There is no better feeling than seeing your code run, it is like magic and it makes you feel like the best programmer in the word,” she shares. Charné Jordaan is currently doing her internship at Siemens in Belgium. Siemens, is a global powerhouse which focusses on automation, digitization and electrification. “I am happy at Siemens, the work environment is nice and my co-workers are always happy to help. The work itself is also enjoyable, I am always doing something different,” she shares. In addition to enjoying her work environment, Ms. Jordaan is also enjoying being in a different country, although it has come with some challenges.  “In the beginning it took a bit of getting used to, especially taking the train to work. The perk for me is that I have international experience at a huge company. I also get to experience a different country which has forced me to become independent,” she says. Ms. Jordaan is also taking advantage of the experience by trying a few things that Belgium is known for. “I’ve had Belgian fries and waffles, and although Belgium is known for its beer, I’ve yet to have any,” she comments. She also took a trip to the Netherlands because of its close proximity but ironically she went to the Netherlands in search of a piece of home. “They have a South African shop so I had to go!” she shares. Ms. Jordaan is struggling to decide whether to stay in South Africa for a year or two after graduation before moving back overseas, or whether to return to Belgium immediately. We don’t know about you, but we wouldn’t mind grappling with this dilemma.

Women’s Month: Internship Students Continued Companies receive hundreds if not thousands of CVs a day. Securing an internship at a recognised company which shares a similar vision and which provides ample opportunity for growth makes candidates more competitive in the job market. Internships allow students to gain exposure and experience in the field, they also allow them to decide what type of companies are a good fit for them which is equally as important. Many internships lead to permanent jobs, and even if they don’t, internship experience from a top company within your field will help you stand out. We spoke to a few more of our final year female students currently doing their internships. We found out what their internship experience has been like thus far as well as their views on the role of women in IT and their hopes for the future. Tanya de Jager is currently doing her internship at Entelect. Entelect is an enterprise software development company that provides customised software solutions. They have offices in Pretoria, Johannesburg, Cape Town and the Netherlands. “It has been an amazing year and I am very happy at the company. I have learnt more than I could imagine, I learn something new every day,” Ms. de Jager shares. Ms. de Jager believes that more women in the IT field would bring a new perspective, diversity and balance to the field which can only lead to improvement in the way IT projects are approached, since a larger target audience can be reached.  “It is quite new for women to excel in environments previously seen as predominantly male and I feel the more these women get celebrated, the more young ladies will be inspired to try their hand in the IT field,” she says. On completion of her internship, Ms. de Jager hopes to work towards becoming an intermediate/senior software engineer. “Eventually I hope to find myself in a team lead position where I can deal with both the technical and the human interaction aspect of the job,” she comments. “We want a lot more female Bill Gates,” comments Sharon Reitumetse Pitsoane who is currently doing her internship at Accenture, a multinational professional services company which provides services in digital, operations, technology, strategy, and consulting. Ms. Pitsoane believes that Accenture provides an environment filled with opportunities to not only learn new skills, but also to grow as an individual. “I have met and worked with different people who lead a truly human life and practice the, ‘ask for help and help when asked’ culture. As a result, I have been able to learn a lot and grow rapidly in a short period of time,” she says. Ms. Pitsoane has never let gender stereotypes affect her, even from a young age she was defying them. “When only boys played computer games and only girls played with dolls, I did both.  Being like this from a young age allowed me to pursue a career in IT without being discouraged by societal beliefs,” she shares. Once she receives her qualification, Ms. Pitsoane’s main focus will be uplifting young black women and helping them to see their full potential, unleash their creativity and fuel their innovative minds. “I want to help them invest in their future and education so that we can work towards completely closing the gender inequality gap in IT and engineering fields. This will consequently reduce the high unemployment rate and improve the economic growth of South Africa,” she says. Tsungai Robyn Musanda is currently doing her internship at Expeditus, a business intelligence consultancy company based in Bryanston. The company strives to drive businesses forward and ensure long term success by providing insight and measurable value. “My experience has been nothing short of amazing! The team was so welcoming and the company puts a lot of effort into the personal growth of its employees which makes working here a delight. The company also has partnerships with a number of diverse companies which I have had the opportunity to be exposed to. This has increased my knowledge of the different companies out there and how they operate,” she shares.   Ms. Musanda did not struggle to integrate into the world of work and she says this is due to the education she received at Belgium Campus. “Belgium Campus equipped me more than adequately for my internship. I was able to cope with the stress that comes with the working world and meet deadlines easily and even though I didn’t study BI as a subject, I was able to use database and other subjects I was taught that relate to the field. Belgium Campus’ IT focus means you can put all your attention into perfecting your craft, which puts you one step further than most IT students,” she shares. In the future, Ms. Musanda sees herself owning her own IT companies while being a senior consultant or in a managerial position at a leading BI company.

Women’s Month: Lecturers At Belgium Campus our lecturers are dedicated and passionate about providing our students with a top IT education so that they can go on to do incredible things within the IT field. We would love to introduce you to all of them, however that would require us to write a book, so in celebration of Women’s Month we have chosen to introduce you to four of our astounding female lecturers: Anila Mundackal, Matildah Chiruka Siakola, Cindy Delport and Privilege Charmaine Tavagwisa. Privilege Charmaine Tavagwisa has been a lecturer at Belgium Campus for 7 years. She is a senior lecturer at the ITversity and she teaches operations research, hardware programming and mathematics, but her role does not stop here. “I believe I have various roles on the campus. I am a mother figure for some, a sister, a friend and then a lecturer of course. On a good day, I still dream of changing the world,” she says. Ms. Tavagwisa believes that although the IT field is still male-dominated a lot of strides are being made to deal with the imbalance. “The future is female! IT may be described by some as difficult but it’s not impossible. Practice makes perfect,” she comments. She sees Women’s Month as an opportunity to reflect on the future we desire for the upcoming generations of women. “It also gives me a chance to reflect on the impact various females have had in my upbringing too,” she shares. She believes that the empowerment of women will lead to a just and equitable world. “My greatest passion is bringing knowledge, understanding and growth to people through lecturing. I enjoy helping people to build confidence in themselves through knowledge sharing, with the end goal of strengthening their goals and eventually helping them to achieve them,” shares Matildah Chiruka Siakola, an operations research, statistics and mathematics lecturer at Belgium Campus. Ms. Siakola has been lecturing at Belgium Campus for 9 years. She describes herself as an old soul who reinstated in this lifetime to return to her passion, the world of numbers. “I was born in the age of disco, afros and bellbottoms. I grew up with the works of mathematicians and behaviorists like Archimedes, Einstein and Ivan Pavlov,” she shares. Ms. Siakola sees Women’s Month as an opportunity to appreciate the greatness of all women who take on the role of mother, whether it be to their own children or to any young person that looks up to them. “It is a month where we rejoice and appreciate the work women do to nurture the future generations,” she says. She believes anything is possible if one does not lose sight of their objective and what they want to become. Anila Mundackal describes herself as a working woman and proud mother of two boys. She is proud to be a woman because of the many roles women take on. “A woman can play many roles in her life; a daughter, a friend, a wife, a mother, a career-driven individual, an adviser and even a role model,” she says. She views every month as Women’s Month and feels that women should receive constant recognition for both their sacrifices and their achievements. Ms. Mundackal has been lecturing at Belgium Campus for 6 years. She is a senior lecturer for programming subjects. “Today’s children are tomorrow’s future. Here at Belgium Campus, I am moulding the future IT leaders and thinkers,” she shares. She believes that there is a place for women in IT and if given the opportunity women excel within the IT field. “ICT requires a lot of creativity and out of the box thinking and women are especially good at that. There is a lot of demand in the corporate world for soft skills and programming and thus I think there is a place for women in the ICT field,” she comments. Cindy Delport is the Deputy Head Lecturer at Belgium Campus, she has worked at the ITversity for 10 years. She chose to pursue a career in IT because of the many possibilities the field offers. “I always wanted to pursue an area of study that would give me options to discover my passion in life. IT gave me the starting point as it is a diverse field that is integrated into almost all other careers,” she says. Ms. Delport holds a Diploma in Information Technology as well as a Bachelor of Education degree. She worked as a developer and as a SQL programmer before discovering her love for the field of education “I have had the opportunity to work with a diverse set of people in and out of the classroom. I enjoy the human interaction and getting to know a variety of people and helping them achieve their goals,” she comments. Ms. Delport sees Women’s Month as a time to acknowledge how far women’s rights have progressed, to celebrate the contributions women have made to society and to emphasize areas where change still needs to occur. She believes that increasing the number of women in the IT field will prove beneficial. “IT has always been a male-dominated field but more women have started choosing IT as a career path. As with everything in life, I believe a healthy balance will only serve to enhance the progress within this field,” she says. Surani Schoeman sees Women’s Month as a time to celebrate the progress women have made and the women who made it possible. She believes that society has come a long way but that women still have many challenges to overcome, especially in a field like IT. “I think women who are recognised in the field of IT had to work really hard to get there. Even though there are a lot of opportunities from companies that are trying to address the gender gap, we still have a long way to go. The decision to go into a career in IT starts at a school level and I don’t think enough women are encouraged to

Women’s Month: Pretoria Female Students Today we introduce you to some of the remarkable female students at our Pretoria campus. They share their views on the role of women in IT, as well as their future goals as women pursuing careers in IT. We spoke to 1st, 2nd and 3rd year students who prove that it doesn’t matter what year of study you find yourself in, it is never too early to think about the future and with a career in IT the possibilities are endless. “I chose to pursue a career in IT because the world is rapidly becoming more and more technological. The IT field is also very broad which means the possibilities available to me are endless,” comments 2nd year Bachelor of Computing student Angelique Wentzel. Miss Wentzel uses Women’s Month to remind herself how thankful she should be for the opportunities available to her today. “I am thankful to all the brave women who fought so hard to give all women a voice,” she says.    She is not inspired by one woman in IT but by every woman who has achieved success in the IT field, “I admire the confidence and strength of all women who have reached their goals in this field,” she says. On completion of her qualification she aims to become a successful entrepreneur with a number of businesses. Twané Meiring views Women’s Month as an opportunity to celebrate women and acknowledge the struggles they have had to endure. She is a 3rd year Bachelor of Computing student who loves to find solutions to complex problems using her passion, IT. Miss Meiring says that although the IT field is still male-dominated, it doesn’t mean that it should be. Women have, and continue to do amazing things within the IT field. “The first person to write the world’s first machine algorithm was female, Ada Lovelace. Margaret Heafeild Hamilton was the director of the Software Engineering Division of the MIT Instrumentation Laboratory which developed on-board flight software for NASA’s Apollo space programme. If your passion is IT you should have an opportunity to live it,” she says. Meet Mpho Makwela, a 1st year Diploma in Information Technology student who has a passion for animation. “I love innovation and animation so I chose to study IT because I want to learn to create 3D animations. I chose to study at Belgium Campus because I think it is the best school for anyone who wants to venture into IT,” she comments. Miss Makwela sees Women’s Month as a chance to celebrate women and embrace being a woman and everything that comes with it. She is most inspired by her mother whose resilience and ability to make something out of nothing moulded her into the woman she is today. “My mother is truly my rock,” she says. Post-graduation, Miss Makwela sees herself running her own IT business, with a specific focus on helping young, underprivileged women.   Otshepeng Mashele is a 1st year Bachelor of Computing student who hopes to make an impact in green technology and educational technology. “I am very passionate about the possibilities of technology and using my passion to serve is where my heart lies,” she shares. Miss Mashele hopes to move as many young, passionate people as possible to follow the IT path, not for the money but because they love the field and have a hunger for knowledge. She views Women’s Month as a time to honour every woman who took part in the march to the Union Buildings in 1956, a time to highlight the plight women still face today and a time for women to remember their worth. The woman in IT who inspires her most is Rapelang Rabana, the Chief Digital Officer and Acting Chief Solutions Officer at BCX and Founder and Chair of Rekindle Learning. “She inspires me because of her intentional growth and impact in the IT field. Her passion for education and eradicating poverty is something we have in common,” she says. Introducing Clarece Steyn, a 2nd year Software Engineering student who believes IT is the future and will not be left behind! Miss Steyn sees Women’s Month as a time where women can look to each other for empowerment. She is most inspired by her mother who works in the IT field and her mother is the main reason she chose to pursue a career in IT. “When my mother started studying IT it was taboo for women to study within such a field. She did not let this stop her, despite what people had to say she persevered and still has an amazing career in IT today,” she shares.

Women’s Month: Port Elizabeth Female Students At Belgium Campus we are proud of our students and we love to celebrate them as much aspossible. Today we took a trip to our Port Elizabeth campus to speak to 3 of our amazing female students. We found out what Women’s Month means to them and why they chose to pursue a career in IT. Nandisa Mdepha is a 2nd year Diploma in Information Technology student who has always had an interest in all thing IT. She chose to study at Belgium Campus because she believes it provides each student with the necessary skills and knowledge to grow and reach their full potential. Miss Mdepha sees Women’s Month as an opportunity to commemorate the strength and resilience that women of the past have shown and that women of the present continue to show. She is most inspired by her mother. “My mum raised me when she was very young, she taught me to go for my dreams irrespective of my circumstances and without her I wouldn’t be the woman I am today,” she says. Post-graduation, Miss Mdepha wants to develop an application that garners enough attention for her to build a large IT company. “I want to employ other young, ambitious girls like myself who come from disadvantaged backgrounds,” she comments. Natasha Tembo is a 1st year Diploma in Information Technology student. She views Women’s Month as a time for women to unite and show what they are capable of, regardless of the prejudices and stereotypes imposed on them by society. Miss Tembo is most inspired by her grandmother and her mother and these are the two women she strives to be like. She chose to study pursue a career in IT because she loves technology and she wanted to show what women in the IT field are capable of.

Women’s Month: Kempton Park Female Students We spoke to some of the incredible female students at our Kempton Park campus to find out what Women’s Month means to them and what their future aspirations as women in IT are. Meet Janay Sander, a 2nd year Bachelor of Computing student. Miss Sander chose to study IT because of her love for problem-solving and her quest to make a difference. She chose to study at Belgium Campus specifically because she believes Belgium Campus succeeds in preparing its students for the work environment by aligning its subjects, tests and assignments with real-world challenges. We asked what Women’s Month means to her, “It reminds me that all people are equal and that women can make just as much of a difference as anyone else. Women are powerful, intelligent and beautiful and although men often can’t understand us, they would be lost without us.” After completing her studies, Miss Sander wants to work for an IT company in South Africa. She wants to create software systems to help improve the healthcare sector and the lives of people living with disabilities. Glenda Mabasa is a 2nd year Bachelor of Computing student. She believes that Women’s Month serves as an opportunity to celebrate women doing great things in their respective fields, especially in male-dominated fields like IT. “Anyone who thinks the IT field should be reserved for men needs to walk out of the 19th century and into the exciting 21st century where men and women are given the same opportunities to showcase their skills and talent,” she comments. We asked her which woman in IT inspires her most, “Baratang Miya, the founder of GirlHype. She is a self-taught coder and she is sharing this skill with other women and girls, teaching them how to code and find solutions to real-world problems and I think that’s amazing.” Miss Mabasa chose to study IT because she wants to be part of the exciting future that the Fourth Industrial Revolution has made room for. Post-graduation she aims to own her own IT company. Bridgette Maboya, a 2nd year Software Engineering student, has big dreams and is not afraid to go after them. On completion of her qualification she sees herself owning an IT company which provides global IT solutions, while at the same time giving back to the community as much as possible and empowering young women. “As a woman I can inspire the upcoming generations and make them understand that there is always room for success and a better future,” she says. The woman in IT who inspires her most is Sheryl Sanberg, the COO of Facebook. “She is the first woman to serve on Facebook’s board of directors, she is someone I aspire to be like,” she comments. Miss Maboya sees Women’s Month as an opportunity to reflect on the struggles women in South Africa have faced in the past, in order to understand that with determination and collaboration anything is possible. Women have proven time and time again what they are capable of and seeing what they have overcome in the past provides fuel for present day women to strive for what they want. Meet Nozipho Masango, a 1st year Diploma in Information Technology student. Miss Masango chose to pursue a career in IT as she believes it has become the backbone of almost every organization. She chose to study at Belgium Campus because of its unparalleled education and networking opportunities. Miss Masango views Women’s Month as an opportunity for women to express their needs, wants and frustrations in all spheres of life, with the hope of advancing the end goal of equality for all. “Women have been denied equal opportunities for years but instead of complaining we create our own opportunities while maintaining a positive outlook on life, that’s admirable,” she says. The woman who inspires her most is her mother, “She nurtured me to grow without barriers which has made me the woman I am today.” Post-graduation, Miss Masango hopes to find a company which shares similar values as her, a company which will allow her to showcase her experience and expertise while also giving her an opportunity to grow. Annette Pienaar is a 1st year Bachelor of Computing student. She has always had an interest in the ICT industry but wasn’t too sure what to study after completing high school. After a class representative from Belgium Campus spoke at her school, she decided to attend one of our open days and she never looked back. “The moment I entered one of the buildings on campus, I knew that this is what I wanted to do for a living,” she says. Miss Pienaar believes that the empowerment of women has always been something that has driven the future, with some of the most impressive figures in history being women. She draws inspiration from a number of women including Sophia Amoruso, who developed a women-exclusive social networking platform, Elsa Bernadotte, who was featured in Forbes’ 2018 30 Under 30 list and Mary Shelley, who was just 19 when she wrote Frankenstein and started the science fiction genre. After graduating, Miss Pienaar hopes to find a job that allows her to inspire young women considering a career in IT. “I want to show them that going against the status quo is something they shouldn’t be afraid of. Being a woman shouldn’t define whether you should work here or there, if it is your passion you should go for it!”

Belgium Campus Recruitment Drive A Win-Win We are so pleased to be able to welcome so many top industry experts to Belgium Campus. Experiences like these exponentially increase the opportunities and choices available to our students. On the 26th of July 2019, we were joined by industry experts from First Digital, atWORK, Movation, MOYO, Red Screen and Jasper Consultants for our second Recruitment Day. It was a day jam packed with exciting company presentations which allowed companies to showcase why they are the company to work for, while also imparting vital industry knowledge to our students and answering any pressing questions they had. The presentations were followed by meaningful contact sessions where our students got an opportunity to converse with representatives from each company one-on-one. “The recruitment days are beneficial because they allow us to learn things about the workplace environment that we may not have otherwise known. They also give us more information about different companies and how many people they are recruiting which helps us make an informed decision about the type of company we would like to work for,” commented Smangaliso Ntuli, a final year Software Engineering student. At Belgium Campus we see the importance of looking beyond the qualification. We equip our students with the essential skills and knowledge necessary to enter industry without difficulty or apprehension. Our recruitment days are one way that we do this. The days are not only beneficial for our students; they also provide companies with an opportunity to see first-hand the high standard at which our students perform. This often leads to companies hiring a number of our students post-graduation. “Belgium Campus is still and I think always will be the leading university for IT graduates. About a third of our company are actually IT graduates from Belgium Campus. When they arrive they don’t need much training, they are ready, eager, and strong-willed and we can just drop them with another team and they graft. We need people like this in the industry so this is where we go,” commented First Digital Software Consultant, Hein Schoeman, when asked why his company chooses to attend our recruitment days. Our third Recruitment Day is taking place today, the 2nd of August 2019. We are eager to be joined by industry experts from EBN, Rain, Entelect, Sybrin, CCS, SDMataclick and Softworx. If you are an information technology company who would like to attend one of our future recruitment days, please contact Michelle Diers at: Send Mail.

31/07/2019 Farewell Mr. Jan Rombouts It is with heavy hearts but fond memories that we bid farewell to Mr. Jan Rombouts, who will be leaving Belgium Campus at the end of this month to take up his retirement in Belgium. Mr. Rombouts, the visionary who founded Belgium Campus, played a pivotal role at the ITversity from its inception in 1999 until present day and we cannot express enough gratitude for the work he has done as founder and executive chairman. Mr. Rombouts, along with Mrs. Rombouts and Belgium Campus CEO, Mr. Jacobs, established Belgium Campus in 1999. The property, originally Mr. Rombouts private property and family home, was transformed brick by brick into the institution you see today. “Jan literally placed the first brick when we started building the campus,” Mr. Jacobs said with a smile. Mr. Rombouts and Mr. Jacobs transformed the ITversity from a mere idea into the recognised institution it is today. “Everything that needed to be done was done by them, whether it was plumbing, putting electricity in, building, admin work, teaching, marketing, accounting, they did everything themselves,” explained COO, Natasja Rombouts. The notion of family and the values that come with it have always been extremely important to Mr. Rombouts and it was around these values that Belgium Campus was built. This notion is still an instrumental part of Belgium Campus culture today and we hope that it will continue to be for years to come. Mr. Rombouts led by example when it came to these values, making sure everyone felt happy and comfortable on campus and that it felt like a home away from home. Mr. Rombouts wore a number of hats during his time at Belgium Campus. He played a major role marketing the institution, securing collaboration with major national and international industry partners and universities to ensure positive growth of the institution and international opportunities for students. He also founded the Business Club South Africa in Belgium, which further drove these goals by increasing the Belgium Campus network and encouraging industry partners to start businesses in South Africa. As the institution grew he handed his marketing hat over and began to focus on the campus infrastructure and developing the estate, something which was always a passion of his. These developments extended to the creation of Belgium Campus’ two additional campuses in Kempton Park and Port Elizabeth. “He is a very proactive person, when he sees something that others may define as a problem, he takes action and makes sure that it is solved, sometimes too quickly!” laughed Mrs. Rombouts. Mr. Rombouts 20 years of experience in prestigious executive positions around the world before coming to South Africa, including being founder of Vidcom and Innes Telecom NV, equipped him with a brilliant understanding of how to start a business and more importantly how to meet customer needs. It is this experience that has ensured that Belgium Campus students are able to enjoy a 100% employment rate post-graduation. He created an environment that promotes knowledge valorisation and innovation, allowing students to comfortably perform at a level appreciated by industry. Mr. Rombouts will be remembered for his relentless drive to succeed and achieve. “There were a couple of times where Belgium Campus almost ended due to external misfortunes; what I learned from Jan during this time was to turn problems into challenges worth solving,” commented Mr. Jacobs. Mr. Rombouts took this principle one step further by actively seeking out problems because problems require solutions and finding these solutions leads to growth. “He said to me: Enrico, if you don’t build a new classroom you will stand still. I turned back to him and said, but we don’t have the students for it. He said, but if you don’t have the classroom you won’t get the students, once you have an empty classroom you will have to fill it!” Mr. Rombouts quest for growth and success only comes to fruition when he is able to lead those around him to succeed and grow, something he was able to accomplish many times at Belgium Campus. Mr. Rombouts kindness, unrelenting positive attitude and quest to uplift will be missed by all. He has promised to come back and visit, and the Belgium Campus family will be holding him to this! On behalf of the Belgium Campus family we would like to say thank you Mr. Rombouts for everything you have done, we wish you nothing but success and happiness as you begin this new chapter. This is not goodbye, but see you later!

A Note from the Administrative Dean We have entered the second half of the 2019 academic year and I believe it is important to reflect on the achievements of the first semester. 41 Belgium Campus ITversity students participated in 6 different international projects in collaboration with the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Sydney and University Colleges Leuven-Limburg. The participating students have made us tremendously proud with the results they achieved. They are true ambassadors of not only Belgium Campus but also South Africa. Our students further represented South Africa on the international stage during this year’s Hack the Waste hackathon on the 9th and 10th of May 2019. 9 Belgium Campus students participated together with University Colleges Leuven-Limburg (Belgium), Doba Business School (Slovenia), Fontys School of Information and Communication Technology (Netherlands) and Banku Augstskola (Latvia). Three of our students were part of the winning team who came together to help solve the global waste problem, your achievements do not go unnoticed! Over the last two examination blocks we have witnessed amazing results across all three of our campuses. With these results combined we have seen an 86% qualification rate for the examinations. 3178 examinations have been written with 2828 (89%) passed and 1311 distinctions obtained. The above achievements are a true reflection of not only the commitment and dedication of our academic staff but more importantly the hard work and dedication of our students as they strive for excellence, amplifying our philosophy of breathing together to breed excellence. On behalf of academic management, congratulations to our students for their achievements thus far. We wish you the best for the second semester. With your continued hard work and dedication your academic results can only improve, after all, that’s the way we’re wired!