“We are fighting a war of poverty among other wars, but in reality, we can overcome poverty if we can turn the mighty River Nile, huge natural resources we have — we need to encourage irrigation instead of sitting under trees from morning till evening. We can’t fight poverty as South Sudanese if we stay under the tree from sunrise to sunset.”
Starford International University College (SIUC) was founded in 2015 by South Sudanese entrepreneur Dium (Gium) Cyer Cyer Deng, with a bold vision: to build a university that not only educates, but empowers a generation of leaders to contribute to peace, development, and national self-reliance.
The general welfare of the people is the pivotal concern of the University in order to address the issues of poverty, illiteracy, and social ills so as to maintain peace and tranquility and to create harmonious relations amongst the people belonging to various nationalities in the Region and inculcates the sense of ethics and values through substantial improvement in education, skills, and infrastructural investment.
In October 2025, SIUC officially earned full university accreditation as Starford International University, following a Ministerial Order (No. 23 / 2025) from the South Sudanese Minister of Higher Education.
Over the years, our student body has grown rapidly. In our 5th convocation (April 2025), SIU celebrated 636 graduates, drawn from various disciplines, including over 200 women.
