Department of Industrial Engineering - Stellenbosch University

When your recruitment strategy involves the Empire State Building 👀🏙️ Industrial Engineers solve problems from ground level to skyline.

Apply before 31 July — link in bio.

In celebration of , we are proud to spotlight 𝐈𝐠𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐍𝐣𝐚𝐛𝐮𝐥𝐨 𝐍𝐜𝐮𝐛𝐞, one of our 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵-𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘐𝘯𝘥𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘌𝘯𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴, whose innovative thinking is already making an impact.

𝐈𝐠𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐍𝐣𝐚𝐛𝐮𝐥𝐨 recently advanced to Round 2 of the 𝐀𝐁𝐒𝐀 𝐄𝐃𝐇𝐄 𝐈𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐯𝐚𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 with his innovation, 𝐌𝐀𝐒𝐇 𝐎𝐒 — a smart water-conservation ecosystem inspired by a simple but critical challenge: while water is one of our most valuable resources, millions of litres are wasted every day due to limited visibility into consumption.

𝐌𝐀𝐒𝐇 𝐎𝐒 combines intelligent monitoring, data analytics, and behavioural insights to help institutions and communities better understand their water usage, reduce waste, and develop more sustainable habits.

The competition brings together student innovators from across South Africa who are creating solutions to real-world challenges. Reaching Round 2 gives Ignatious Njabulo the opportunity to further refine his concept and showcase its potential impact, business model, and implementation strategy to the judging panel.

As an 𝘐𝘯𝘥𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘌𝘯𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵 and aspiring entrepreneur, 𝐈𝐠𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐍𝐣𝐚𝐛𝐮𝐥𝐨 𝐍𝐜𝐮𝐛𝐞 views this journey as an exciting opportunity to explore how technology, innovation, and systems thinking can help address environmental challenges and create meaningful change.

He is grateful for the support received from 𝐒𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐛𝐨𝐬𝐜𝐡 𝐔𝐧𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐋𝐚𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐡𝐋𝐚𝐛 and looks forward to representing the university in the next round.

🏆 𝐁𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐏𝐚𝐩𝐞𝐫 𝐀𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝 — 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐭'𝐬 𝐚 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐦 𝐞𝐟𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐰𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝𝐧'𝐭 𝐛𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟!

𝐌𝐚𝐥𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐦 𝐒𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐡, 𝐃𝐫 𝐌𝐢𝐚 𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐚𝐫𝐨𝐨-𝐏𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐲, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐕𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐚 𝐉𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐞𝐧 have won the 𝐁𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐏𝐚𝐩𝐞𝐫 𝐀𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝 in the 𝐅𝐚𝐜𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 & 𝐋𝐚𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐤 at the 7𝐭𝐡 𝐀𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐈𝐄𝐎𝐌 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞! 🙌

📄 AI-Driven Slotting Strategies and Picking Productivity in Distribution Centres: A Systematic Review

Malcolm is a student in the 𝐌𝐄𝐧𝐠 (𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐄𝐧𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠) 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐅𝐨𝐜𝐮𝐬: 𝐋𝐨𝐠𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐒𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐲 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐒𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐬 programme This win is a testament to what happens when a driven student meets exceptional supervision.💡

This is exactly the kind of research culture we are building in our department — students doing meaningful work, supervisors who are invested, and results that speak for themselves. 🌍

Congratulations to the whole team! 👏

Stellenbosch University - Faculty of Engineering Stellenbosch University Postgraduate Office Stellenbosch University

🏆 𝐖𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐒𝐎 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐝!

𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐟. 𝐒𝐭𝐞𝐩𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐩𝐞 has been awarded 𝐎𝐮𝐭𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐟𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐨𝐫 𝐢𝐧 𝐀𝐝𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐮𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 at the 7𝐭𝐡 𝐀𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐨𝐧 𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐄𝐧𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐎𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 🙌

The conference, hosted by CPUT right here in Cape Town, brought together leading minds in Industrial Engineering, Operations Management, Supply Chain Management, and Project Management from across the continent and beyond.

This award, presented by IEOM Society International, recognises Prof. Matope's exceptional achievements, professional leadership, and dedicated service to the field. A well-deserved honour for an incredible academic! 💡

Congratulations, Prof. Matope — you make our department shine! ✨

Stellenbosch University Stellenbosch University - Faculty of Engineering

🏆 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐟 𝐉𝐨𝐮𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐭 𝐯𝐚𝐧 𝐄𝐞𝐝𝐞𝐧!

Prof. van Eeden, Chair of the Department of Industrial Engineering at Stellenbosch University, was honoured as an 𝐎𝐮𝐭𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐟𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐨𝐫 𝐢𝐧 𝐋𝐨𝐠𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐒𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐲 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐒𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐬 at the 𝟕𝐭𝐡 𝐀𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐨𝐧 𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐄𝐧𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐎𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭..

The conference took place in Cape Town from 13–15 May 2026 and was hosted by the Cape Peninsula University of Technology.

This prestigious IEOM Society International award recognises Prof. van Eeden’s outstanding contributions, professional leadership, and dedicated service to the fields of Industrial Engineering, Logistics, and Supply Chain Systems.

We are proud to celebrate this well-deserved achievement. Congratulations, Prof. van Eeden! 👏