2025 SASFF Conference & 4th AGM
4 & 5 September 2025 at ICC East London, Eastern Cape
The theme of the conference was “Harnessing Artificial Intelligence for Effective Debt Management and Improved Financial sustainability in Public Universities and TVET Colleges”
Conference Theme
The SA Student Finance Forum hosted its annual conference on 4–5 September 2025, bringing together thought leaders, practitioners, and policymakers to confront one of the most urgent issues facing higher education today: leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) for student debt management and long-term financial sustainability.
South Africa’s universities and colleges are navigating unprecedented challenges from NSFAS defunding and rising unemployment to policy uncertainty under the Government of National Unity. These pressures demand innovation and resilience. Institutions must reimagine financial models to remain viable without compromising academic quality or student access.
The conference theme was:
“Harnessing Artificial Intelligence for Effective Debt Management and Improved Financial sustainability in Public Universities and TVET Colleges”.
We explored:
- How AI and generative tools can transform debt collection practices
- Strategies for balancing private-sector innovation with public-sector oversight
- The development of ethical, effective debt management frameworks
- Solutions for sustainable higher education financing in a shifting economic and political landscape
Who attended
The staff members from all universities and TVET Colleges, both public and private, involved with, or responsible for, the student accounts, student fees and debtors’ administration function as well as student financial aid administration, including third party service providers from the Finance, Student Funding, Banking, Credit Provision and Debt Collection sectors.