Jason Schickerling, a final-year BCom Human Resource Management (HRM) student in the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences at the University of Pretoria (UP), has won the coveted Marius Meyer SAHRUF/SABPP Best HR Student in South Africa Award for 2025. He received a Juta book voucher as well as a R25,000 cash prize.

The announcement was made during the South African Human Resource Universities Forum (SAHRUF) Annual Conference, hosted from 4 to 5 August 2025 at SABPP House in Johannesburg.

SAHRUF and the South African Board for People Practices (SABPP) annually honour the top-performing human resource (HR) students from accredited universities across South Africa. Only one eligible final-year HR student per institution may be nominated for this prestigious award.

As one of UP’s highest-achieving HR students, Schickerling was selected through a competitive internal process to represent the university. For his nomination, he submitted a 10-minute voice-over PowerPoint presentation on the topic: “Human resource management practitioners – future-fit HR graduates”.

His presentation was reviewed by assessing academic excellence, insight and critical thinking, relevance to the future of HR, and professional presentation and communication.

“I am incredibly grateful and honoured to have received this award in the SAHRUF/SABPP student competition. This opportunity has further inspired me to pursue meaningful impact in business, and most importantly, in people,” said Schickerling.

“Jason’s achievement affirms the academic strength and professional relevance of our HRM programme. He represents the best of what we strive to develop: future-fit, responsible, and reflective HR leaders,” said Prof Alewyn Nel, Head of the Department of Human Resource Management.

This national recognition highlights the strength of the University of Pretoria’s SABPP-endorsed HRM programme, which is committed to nurturing graduates who are professionally prepared and ready to make meaningful contributions in the world of work.