Giving Back

All academic institutions have three core attributes that drive them; education, research and community. The challenge is to integrate these elements and unite them as a holistic operational feature instead of leaving them as three isolated tasks. Our thematic approach allows us to channel our efforts and seamlessly incorporate these attributes into our educational programmes. This unification allows us to ultimately reach a singular objective of affecting multiple aspects of education, research and community.

Belgium Campus students are given practical, research-based education that is intended to spearhead innovation and introduce change in our communities. We have numerous ground-breaking programmes that are specifically designed to introduce an assertive transformation in the Information Technology (IT) fraternity. These programmes include StipStapSprong, Smart Connect, Pregnancy Lifestyle Application and the award-winning Hope project. These are shining examples of our involvement in the advancement of IT.

Our theme for the 2016 academic year was “Be a Hero”. This initiative was focused on how students can bring about a positive change in their academic surroundings through participation and interest in the issues of fellow students and staff. The essence was to motivate and inspire other students to rise to hero status. This would give them the necessary skills to become productive and exceptional leaders after graduation. Through positive affirmation and character-building, this initiative aimed to make students aware of those around them and instilled them with the necessary characteristics to become strong leaders. In effect, this meant being the change that the student would like to see in the world.

In previous years, there were other growing initiatives such as “FutureFit”, “iStart” and “Connect”. This year we will introduce the Evolve theme. This leadership programme has been crafted to assist our students to evolve their leadership capabilities by exposing them to real-world scenarios in which they need to proactively take part. Further, it is meant to challenge our commitment to advance IT transformation and inspire our students to evaluate all probabilities of the theme to introduce a new way of doing things. Generally, it is a new way of thinking as these are, after all, drivers of the technology revolution. Outcomes that students will have to achieve for this development are:

• A short research and innovation project
• A mentorship programme
• A community outreach programme
• Community Development Through Service Learning (CDSL) – in collaboration with University Colleges Leuven Limburg in Belgium (UCLL)

We prepare our students to gradually evolve to meet the demands of the information age head-on. This incorporated approach to education is crafted so that the correct education is imparted to them. We motivate the students to do extensive research on the projects they participate in and our innovations are directed at improving the lives of the people around us, the community and society as a whole.

Academic leadership encourages students to engage with staff members and fellow students on a variety of projects to shape and improve our communities. The course is designed and structured to empower students to become responsible and proactive leaders after graduation. Through this course, students learn how they can shape themselves through feedback and self-assessment to gain a sense of self-awareness and responsibility. Some of the academic leadership initiatives include:

• eLibrary – An information repository that will be made available to schools to encourage learning and interactions among students. Through this initiative, the focus is on increasing the access that students have to learning material while exposing them to technology and other students.
• Machine Learning – An innovative approach to artificial intelligence in the conversations of those happening online. The premise is that of social listening to create viable leads for specific products, through a carefully designed algorithm that recognises specific patterns and can then identify and target potential customers for specific products.
• Gamification – This application helps individuals to meet specific lifestyle and personal goals. An achievement system will assist individuals through incentives to meet these goals and achievements will be shared to motivate others to improve their lives.

We understand how difficult the final years of high school can be. Belgium Campus offers additional mathematics, ICT and CAT classes to grade 11 and 12 learners free of charge during the school holidays. Click here to learn more about our winter school.

The Belgium Campus Merit Based Awards are offered to students based on their scholarship test results (written upon application to study at Belgium Campus) and their final Grade 11 or matric results. Merit based awards vary between R4 000 and R10 000 for diplomas and between 

R6 000 and R20 000 for degrees. A limited number of bursaries may be awarded to students who require financial assistance. Scholarships and bursaries are for one academic year only – amounts awarded are deducted from the student’s tuition fees. Subsequent scholarships and bursaries for higher academic years are awarded based on academic achievement. South African businesses invest on average between 

R15 and R20 million in scholarships annually. Contact us for more information on bursaries.