Through a focus on water, Stellenbosch University (SUWI) addresses issues such as health, effluent treatment, agriculture, food, and a sustainable environment. The Institute functions across various faculties at Stellenbosch University, including Science, Engineering, AgriSciences, Law, and the Social Sciences. This includes topics such as the ethics of freshwater management, ownership of water, the safety of agricultural produce, biofouling and biocorrosion control, community health, financial-economic planning of water use, filtration, endocrine disruptors, hydrodynamics, water engineering, catchment, and resource management, invasion biology, the geochemical evolution of water and wastewaters, water governance and management, capacity building and skills development.
SU is home to an academic community of 29 000 students (including 4 000 foreign students from 100 countries) as well as 3 000 permanent staff members (including 1 000 academics) on five campuses. It is ranked by Times Higher Education World University Rankings amongst the top 300 Universities in the world, and top 20 in BRICS countries. The historical oak-lined university town amongst the Boland Mountains in the winelands of the Western Cape creates a unique campus atmosphere, which attracts local and foreign students alike. On the main campus, paved walkways wind between campus buildings – some dating from previous centuries; others just a few years old. Architecture from various eras attests to the sound academic foundation and establishment of an institution of excellence. This, together with the scenic beauty of the area; state-of-the-art, environmentally friendly facilities, and technology, as well as visionary thinking about the creation of a sustainable 21st-century institution, makes for the unique character of Stellenbosch University.
