Since its inception in 2013, Library and Information Service’s annual Library Research Week has become a highly anticipated event that offers valuable sessions on a variety of research-related topics. The aim of Library Research Week is to develop the skills and knowledge of emerging researchers and postgraduate students and to equip them with practical knowledge related to aspects of the research process. We draw from a vast source of expertise at Stellenbosch University to present the webinars and we also launch each week with a prestigious launch event where past guest speakers have included Professor Jonathan Jansen, Distinguished Professor, Education Policy Studies, Dr Balindiwi Sishi, Senior Lecturer in Physiological Sciences and Professor Jimmy Volmink, Former Dean of the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences at SU.

In line with the above, we are delighted to invite you to join us for the 2025 Library Research Week, which will take place from 12–16 May, under the theme ‘Let’s Partner for Research Impact.’ The week will feature a variety of activities designed to enrich the research process and boost research impact through collaboration and partnerships. The event will kick off on 12 May 2025 from 15:30–16:30, with our distinguished guest speaker, Professor Pumla Gobodo-Madikizela. Professor Gobodo-Madikizela is a Professor in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences at Stellenbosch University, where she also holds the South African National Research Foundation Chair in Violent Histories and Transgenerational Trauma and also the Research Chair in Historical Trauma and Transformation. She is the 2020-2021 Walter Jackson Bate Fellow at the Harvard Radcliffe Institute. In 2024 she was awarded the prestigious Templeton prize for her remarkable work.  In addition, Professor Gobodo-Madikizela is a celebrated author of works that include A Human Being died that night: A South African story of Forgiveness and Memory, Narrative, and Forgiveness: Perspectives on the Unfinished Journeys of the Past (co-authored with Chris van der Merwe), among others.

As with our previous Research Weeks, every day will have a sub-theme that is connected to the overall theme ‘Let’s Partner for Research Impact:’

  • Monday, 12 May: Launch of Library Research Week (In-person and Online)
  • Tuesday, 13 May: Let’s Work Together Throughout the Research Process (Online)
  • Wednesday, 14 May: Let’s Collaborate to Find the Best Research Tools (Online)
  • Thursday, 15 May: Let’s Strengthen your Research Impact (Online)
  • Friday, 16 May: Let’s Support Researcher Well-being (Online)

Keep an eye out for the full programme and we look forward to seeing you there!