Ackerman bursary gift

A wide-reaching new bursary programme has been launched this year as part of UCT's 175th anniversary celebrations.

Set up by Bruce Ackerman, a UCT alumnus, with a bequest from his late mother, these bursaries will be known as "The Bruce & Raymond Ackerman 175 Bursaries".

This R2-million programme extends over five years and will provide bursaries in engineering, science and health sciences for talented students from disadvantaged backgrounds who, without financial help, would be unable to study at UCT.

The 20 students selected for the inaugural year of the programme are all first-year students as it is important to the Ackerman brothers that they see "their bursary" students progress through their degrees. They intend to maintain a personal link with the students during their time at UCT, and actively monitor their progress.

"The Chancellor's Challenge inspired this initiative," said Bruce Ackerman, who studied at UCT from 1962 to 1968. "We were motivated by the vision of helping students from really disadvantaged backgrounds to benefit from an education at a great university. I know my mother would have been delighted with this."

The Ackerman family has also recently endowed a new Academy of Entrepreneurship based at the Graduate School of Business, which will focus on developing business and life skills among young people, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds.