Press
Tiso Foundation partners with Cambridge University
04 August 2014The Tiso Foundation (“the Foundation”) a public benefit organisation (PBO) established in 2001 by the founders of the Tiso Group is pleased to announce that it has entered into a partnership with the University of Cambridge (“Cambridge”) through their Global Leaders Programme (“GLP”). The Foundation will sponsor qualifying black South African students to pursue a Masters’ degree at Cambridge.
The GLP aims to educate over 100 students over a five-year period from the ‘developing’ and ‘emerging’ world. The GLP works with corporate, charitable and government institutions worldwide to help further the empowerment of young men and women with a particular emphasis on Africa and the Middle East. Cambridge currently educates a small number of students from these regions. It is the intention of the GLP to encourage these students to return to their countries of origin on completion of their degrees. This will be achieved by the GLP working with educational and commercial institutions in-country with the aim of creating professional opportunities for graduates. The programme will be offered at Clare Hall College, which is amongst the most international at Cambridge.
Tiso Foundation will fund an initial 10 qualifying South African students in partnership with the Canon Collins Educational and Legal Assistance Trust and Cambridge University. Commenting on the partnership, Foundation chairman Professor Chabani Manganyi said, “This initiative is testament to our mission of investing in the development of high calibre, young South Africans who are potential future leaders in various sectors of our society.” Ranj Majumdar, Executive Director of GLP said, “The aim of the Global Leaders Programme is to provide educational opportunities for young men and women in emerging markets to equip them with the necessary knowledge and skills to invest in their countries. Our collaboration with the Tiso Foundation and Canon Collins, two leading charitable organisations, will see us achieve this objective in South Africa.”
The partnership with Cambridge University is an important addition to the Foundation’s current programmes that are focused on youth and leadership development. The Foundation currently runs an accredited Artisan Skills Development Programme which has trained 234 young South Africans in various technical trades and facilitates work placement for qualified apprentices. A Tertiary Bursary Programme run by the Foundation offers 20 bursaries to students per annum for various undergraduate degrees, through a number of South African universities. To date the program has supported 35 students.
This year the Foundation launched the Tiso Foundation Archibald Mafeje Scholarship for Advanced Study, which provides full academic support to South African doctoral students at the University of Witwatersrand (“Wits”). The Foundation starting in October 2014 will host an annual Tiso Foundation-GIBS Symposium attended and addressed by leaders of civil society, academics, business leaders and government officials. The symposium provides a platform for thought leadership on pressing social, economic and business issues facing South Africa. The Foundation is managed by a full time staff compliment of 9 and governed by a Board of Trustees and Advisory Board.