Four music students from the North-West University (NWU) recently departed for a five-month study trip to Stockholm in Sweden.

This is part of the Linnaeus-Palme Exchange Programme funded by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA), with additional funding from the Hillensberg Trust.

This is the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 that NWU students were able to travel and take part in the exchange programme.

According to Prof Santisa Viljoen from the School of Music and Conservatory at the NWU, the exchange programme affords the students the opportunity to focus on their theoretical and practical learning experience in an inter- and multicultural environment.

“The goals of the Royal College of Music (KHM) in Stockholm centre on gaining knowledge of methods for multicultural teaching, methods that can be focused on the music teacher training programme, as well as skills in performing and teaching African music,” Prof Viljoen said.

The Hillensberg Trust was established in the late 1970s and the bursary grant was launched in 2017. Since its inception, students at the NWU have received bursaries to the value of more than R5 million.

The trust funds students who are studying towards a qualification in the fields of medicine, technology, visual arts or music. It targets students who have enrolled for a second qualification, as well as missing-middle students – those who cannot afford university fees but do not qualify for NSFAS funding.

Celeste Rossouw, senior specialist for stakeholder relations at the NWU, was at the airport to wish the excited students bon voyage for their once-in-a-lifetime experience.

“The NWU is extremely grateful to the Hillensberg Trust for the funding and for assisting the students with financial support during their stay overseas, and we hope to continue with the partnership for many years to come,” Rossouw said.

A once-in-a-lifetime experience … these NWU music students are on their way to Stockholm in Sweden for a study trip. They are from left Sonja Viviers, Zandile Madlala, Hava-ja-toivo Carels and Jessica van Rooyen.