The Schauenburg Education Trust is the bursary fund set up by Schauenburg Systems, a South African maker of mining safety, detection and communication equipment. The trust funds students working towards qualifications in scarce skills, with a focus on electrical and electronic engineering alongside business degrees. Its most recent round closed on 31 July 2026, according to the University of Johannesburg’s external bursaries list. Schauenburg’s own website no longer carries an advert or form, so the next intake has not been announced.
Four universities, two kinds of degree
The trust’s application information sheet (the latest one we could read is for the 2023 intake) restricts the bursary to students at four Gauteng universities:
- University of Pretoria
- University of Johannesburg
- North-West University, Vanderbijlpark campus
- University of the Witwatersrand
Students must be registered full time for a BEng or BSc in Electrical Engineering, or a BCom in Business Management or Business Administration. The trust does not fund study at universities of technology or colleges, and its trustees can change the list of universities at any time.
Apply in first year, get funded from second
The Schauenburg Education Trust pays for second, third and fourth year only. A student in first, second or third year applies for funding for the following year. The trust looks for good academic progress: applicants must have passed every course they registered for at university. Under the 2023 terms, the trust also wanted applicants who are:
- Black people as defined in B-BBEE legislation, with preference for Black women, Black students under 35 and Black students with disabilities
- South African citizens with a valid ID number
- willing to attend interviews and do psychometric tests
- willing to spend university holidays on vacation work or job shadowing at Schauenburg Systems
- not holding any other bursary for the year being funded
Fees in full, plus a residence-rate housing amount
The trustees decide the payments, so a bursary can cover some or all of these items:
- the full prescribed tuition, registration and exam fees, paid straight to the university
- accommodation at the average rate for a single room in a residence at the student’s university
- an amount for textbooks and course material
- a living allowance
The trust awards bursaries on merit, need and other criteria the trustees set, and it can withdraw a bursary if a student’s results or conduct fall short or the student breaks the bursary agreement.
From online application to trustee interview
In past rounds, students applied through an online platform on Schauenburg’s website, adding a cover letter and uploading their matric certificate, full academic record with the latest results, and ID. The trust also handed out a paper form on request through its bursary administrators. The bursary administrators and the trustees interview shortlisted applicants, and successful students receive a written bursary contract to sign.
That online link now leads to an old news story on Schauenburg’s website, not a form. Students at the four universities should watch their own university’s bursary notices ahead of the July deadline; the University of Johannesburg’s external bursaries page listed the 2026 round.
Electrical engineering students can also look at the ABB Education Trust bursary and the Eskom bursary, or browse all engineering bursaries.