For the Presence research team from the North-West University’s (NWU) School of Nursing, a 10-day visit to the Netherlands became more than an academic exchange. It was an opportunity to listen, learn and share ideas about what it means to provide care with compassion and genuine human connection.

What do you get when someone refuses to limit herself to just one role in sport? In Elsunet du Plessis’ case, you get a player, sport scientist, lecturer, sport manager and coach who has now added another national role to her growing list of achievements.

She has been appointed as the South African under-19 caretaker assistant coach for the upcoming Region 5 Games, which will take place in Mozambique from 4 to 13 December 2026.

Community engagement remains a core pillar of the mission of the North-West University (NWU) to build stronger, more resilient communities. This year’s Community Engagement Showcase supported this mission by aligning with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and the African Union’s Agenda for 2063.

Opinion piece by Prof. Lida Holtzhausen, director of the School of Communication

For the learners of Ikalafeng Special School in Ikageng, Potchefstroom, Mandela Day was about more than giving back. It was an opportunity to learn, connect and celebrate while being reminded that every child has the right to feel safe, respected and heard.

Research from the Faculty of Health Sciences at the North-West University (NWU) has been selected as an Editor's Choice article by the international journal Children.

Rooibos has long helped to place South Africa on the international tourism map. Now, the country’s distinctive indigenous plant is preparing to leave the planet.

In October 2026, rooibos seeds are scheduled to travel to the International Space Station, where they will be exposed to microgravity and cosmic radiation before returning to Earth. Scientists will compare them with control seeds to determine how the conditions affected their germination and growth.

Not since the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq reshaped global security after 2001 or, more significantly, since the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, has the international order undergone change on the scale we are witnessing today.