He has therefore launched a bursary fund – The Saltwater Consulting Bursary – to aid postgraduate data science students at the University and he has embarked on a journey to climb several great peaks to raise funds for SU students.

Boyle, who heads up the Dublin Maties Alumni Chapter, was born in Nantes, France, to a South African father, and Irish mother, but grew up and matriculated in South Africa. In 2015 he completed his MBA at the Stellenbosch Business School.

"We're a relatively new chapter in Dublin, and most of the SU cohort in Dublin are young," he says. "I'd like to show that collectively, every euro we raise can go a long way to make SU students live a little better, especially with all the challenges people face in SA right now. We don't need to wait until the end of our careers to give back. Even small fundraising campaigns can make a big difference."

Boyle credits his introduction to the alumni chapter to Darryn Havenga, SU’s Director for Donor, Alumni and Stakeholder Engagement in the United Kingdom and Ireland.

"I was working with AWS [Amazon Web Services] in Dublin when I met Darryn and was blown away by the growing SU alumni numbers in Dublin," he recalls.

"Having lived and worked in Ireland from 1999 to 2008 and again from 2018, I felt I could add value to the alumni network in some way. I have always worked with cutting edge technology companies, whether that be cloud computing, mobile messaging, and most recently with Amazon where I got a lot of exposure to big data in action. I thought it would be great to get involved and help develop these skills in SA. I also want to show alumni arriving in Ireland, that this is a beautiful country to explore with some of the best outdoor activities and scenery on the planet. Getting outdoors will make new Maties in Ireland feel at home a lot sooner."

This Matie is definitely not one to shy away from a challenge. Remarkably he started his consulting firm, Saltwater Consulting, in the heart of the COVID-19 pandemic. The timing of establishing Saltwater at the onset of the global pandemic, provided him with ample opportunity, which he seized.

"I get a lot of energy from high performing cultures and being part of companies that are growing fast. My MBA thesis was on developing high performance cultures in startups. A lot of this hinged on good business principles and strong communication between teams. These are the foundations for strong operations. I saw this in action at AWS and felt that I could bring my experience to scaleups moving from being scrappy startups to becoming structured organisations. I wanted to bring the operational rigour I saw at AWS to smaller scaleups and decided to jump ship and start Saltwater Consulting in March 2020. Most thought this was crazy timing on my side, but the global reset as a result of the pandemic resulted in a surge of hiring and growth in tech, and a great opportunity for me to build my operational consulting practice."

However, he says success in the business is not just about making his own dreams come true, but also to build a vehicle of change for the young people of South Africa. He has recently launched an initiative called the 10 000-metre challenge.

What does this challenge entail? Boyle will climb several great peaks during the year to reach a collective 10 000 metres. And he is inviting partners, families, and friends to join him in the pursuit of widening access to education at Stellenbosch University. Supporters can sponsor him for every metre that he climbs, and the funds will go directly to his bursary fund.

"My why is to create the space to help others grow. My 10 000-metre challenge is only a small start. But I do hope to get involved in new campaigns and give more as my business grows. I'm sure other Maties in Ireland will start their own campaigns to support SU students as they get established in Ireland."