Young nurses make a difference at Witrand Hospital

Patients at Witrand Hospital recently received clothing and bathroom supplies from a group of fourth-year nursing students from the North-West University (NWU).

The students, who are completing their clinical hours in mental health care, said the initiative was part of their responsibility to provide care that goes beyond treatment.…

South Africa’s local power play

South Africa’s municipalities are rediscovering an old habit: generating their own electricity. In a country long dominated by Eskom, the lumbering state utility, the city of eThekwini has announced an ambitious strategy to reduce its reliance on the national grid by 40% by 2030. With Eskom’s ageing infrastructure,…

School of Nursing celebrates Women’s Day

On 8 August 2025, the Sports Village at the Potchefstroom Campus was the setting as the School of Nursing hosted a Women’s Day celebration together with the NuMIQ research entity.

The theme, “Be yourself”, encouraged women who balance careers, families and research to embrace their identity.

The deputy director of the School of…

NWU School of Mines and Mining Engineering set for future success

The North West province of South Africa sits on a bedrock of riches. From platinum to chrome, vanadium to gold, the region is among the most mineral-endowed in the world. Yet its communities remain scarred by poverty and unemployment, relics of a resource economy too often divorced from local benefit. For a province…

Celebrating women’s strength, compassion and authenticity

“So amazing how this world was made, I wonder if God is a woman. The gift of life astounds me to this day. Give it up for the woman, oh, that woman. With a smile and a style, she’ll protect you like a child, that’s a woman.”

These powerful lyrics from Shaggy’s Strength of a Woman perfectly captured the spirit…

Supporting student mental health with empathy and intention

“You don’t have to control your thoughts; you just have to stop letting them control you.” This quote, from American author Dan Millman, has the ring of truth for Dr Khido Ramadie, educational psychologist at the Mahikeng Campus of North-West University (NWU).

She keeps these words in mind as she strives to optimise students’…

Radiation expert wants SA to benefit from his radiological crime scene management training

South Africa’s capacity to deal with incidents involving radioactive materials has received a boost. North-West University (NWU) academic Dr Tebogo Kupi has returned from Austria where he attended a high-level international training course aimed at preparing experts to deliver national workshops on radiological crime scene management.

“…

Prof Bismark Tyobeka: Starlink should shine in SA’s skies

As Starlink’s vast constellation of satellites traverse the sky in low-Earth orbit, they evoke wonder and awe in those gazing up at the night heavens. Science fiction has become technological reality. Yet, for South Africans, the benefits remain as distant as the stars beyond our solar system.

Here is why. Elon Musk’s satellite internet…

Alumnus Andries van Heerden leads Afrimat in mining and industrial expansion

North-West University (NWU) alumnus Andries van Heerden is the chief executive officer of Afrimat Limited, a JSE-listed company that supplies iron ore, anthracite, phosphate, construction materials and industrial minerals across Southern Africa.

“I started as a first-year mechanical engineering student in Potchefstroom in 1984,” he…

Being fully present with and for a patient restores wholeness

Ideal Healthcare is not only about treating patients but also about being fully present for and with them. This notion was at the heart of an inaugural lecture delivered at the North-West University’s (NWU’s) Potchefstroom Campus on 8 August 2025.

Prof Tinda Rabie from the Faculty of Health Sciences presented her lecture titled “Can the…