The International Institute for Religious Freedom is pleased to announce that Prof. Dr. Christof Sauer is among the awardees who were awarded the Research and Innovation Excellence Award 2023 by Stellenbosch University.
Prof. Dr. Sauer is honored for his research outputs as Professor Extraordinary affiliated with the disciplines of Practical Theology and Missiology of the Theological Faculty.
A certificate of recognition is awarded as an acknowledgement, among others, for academics with extraordinary appointments at Stellenbosch University who have performed in one of the closed award categories, such as research output as measured by the South African Department of Higher Education and Training.
Prof. Dr. Sauer is one of four awardees who received a certificate of recognition for the highest research output among all extraordinary appointees of the University while five full-time professors received the DVC Top Research Output Award. In total 66 awards were celebrated on 30 October 2023, among which four were received by members or affiliates of the Theological Faculty.
Stellenbosch University (SU) has achieved a remarkable feat by climbing 171 places on the latest QS (Quacquarelli Symonds) World University Rankings and making it into the top 300 tertiary institutions in the world for the first time. SU is ranked at number 283 and occupies the third position in South Africa and in Africa. The Theological Faculty consolidated its position as the highest-ranking faculty in Theology, Divinity and Religious Studies on the continent of Africa and ranks amongst the top 100 faculties globally.
Prof. Dr Sauer has been first appointed in an extraordinary capacity at Stellenbosch University in the year 2011 due to his expertise and research on religious freedom and persecution of Christians, and his appointment has been renewed repeatedly.
In 2006 he was one of the founders of the IIRF and has been one of its two Co-Directors until 2021.