The South African Association of Botanists is the country's professional scientific society for botanists, existing to advance botanical science and disseminate research and information among its members, under a mission it describes as advancing knowledge and protecting biodiversity through shared insight. It runs a dedicated Student Council to support students entering plant science research and holds regular conferences and events for its membership.
SAAB funds bursaries because South Africa's pool of specialist plant scientists is small, and the society sees postgraduate research funding as the most direct way to keep new researchers moving into the discipline. It awards three Honours-level bursaries of R15,000 each and three Master's bursaries of R50,000, paid over two years, with the second year's payment dependent on satisfactory first-year progress. Applicants need a minimum 70% academic average, must study full-time at a South African institution, and their supervisor must be a paid-up SAAB member, which keeps the funding tied closely to the society's own research community; recipients also receive complimentary SAAB student membership for the award period. As an academic research bursary rather than an employer-sponsored one, it carries no work-back or employment obligation of any kind — it exists purely to fund study and research.
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