UCT Klaus-Jürgen Bathe Leadership Scholarship South Africa 2026

The University of Cape Town is one of the top academic tertiary institutions in South Africa. Their main mission is to produce individuals who portray excellent leadership qualities as well as strong social justice, and who will later play important roles in government, business, civil society, and industry in South Africa and Africa as a whole. The Klaus-Jürgen Bathe Leadership Scholarships, awarded to UCT students each year, is named after the famous Professor of Mechanical Engineering. Klaus-Jürgen Bathe is an American Professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, teaching and performing research in various areas of applied and computational mechanics of electromagnetics, structures, and fluids. Professor Bathe also leads the development of the world-famous ADINA system that is used for analysis in Mechanical Engineering; as well as being the Founder of the company ADINA R & D, Inc. Other achievements Professor Bathe has accomplished are becoming a publisher of many articles, textbooks and a book; co-editing an international journal; as well as editing the proceeds of 19 M.I.T Conferences.

Applicants must satisfy the following minimum entry criteria before applying (please note that failure to satisfy all the requirements will lead to your application not being considered): You must be a South African citizenYou must be studying towards an Undergraduate qualification in ANY field, at the University of Cape Town (in any of the 6 faculties)You must be entering your final 2 years of study (the bursary does NOT fund postgraduate studies)You must have a strong academic record with a minimum GPA of 60% and NO failed modulesYou must have demonstrated leadership skillsYou must have participated in extracurricular activities, community service or other areasYou must have a total household family income of NOT more than R1,2 million per annumYou must NOT be receiving any other funding that exceeds this scholarship value

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Download and complete theUCT KJB Leadership Scholarship Application Form 2026(.pdf) Enter “www.zabursaries.co.za” in the field asking how you heard about the Klaus-Jürgen Bathe Scholarship. Submit clear copies of the following supporting documentation along with your completed application form (the submission of these documents is compulsory – if any items are missing, your application may be disqualified): ID document (certified copy)Matric certificateFull academic record (on UCT letterhead)Proof of any leadership positions (at school, university and in your community)Motivational letter highlighting your life goals and reasons for applying (2 pages – see application form for more details)(read our tips onhow to write a motivational letter for your bursary application)Parents or guardians proof of family income (latest payslips if employed/ affidavit if unemployed)Parents or guardians ID documents (certified copy) Applications must be submitted via email to:fastudents@uct.ac.za(Insert the words “KJB Scholarship 2026” in the email subject line).