By Gosego Phutieagae
A team of young engineers from the North-West University’s (NWU’s) Potchefstroom Campus is fine tuning their robot ahead of the National Robotics Competition taking place in Cape Town.
The team, who call themselves the St331 Soarers, qualified for the national event after placing second at the regional event held in February for most innovative robot design.
By Mzwandile Ndlovu
When North-West University (NWU) senior lecturer Dr Salphinah Vuloyimuni Ubisi reached a new milestone in her career with a publishing award, she was quick to praise her later supervisor.
In December 2025, she was awarded the 2024 Hiddingh-Currie Award at a ceremony hosted by Unisa for her autobiography, Vuloyimuni: How Research on Hostels, Housing and Intergovernmental Relations Took Me to My Roots.
Despite having some of the fastest-growing economies in the world, with a combined population of well over 1 billion people, Africa still trades predominantly with the rest of the world rather than with itself. Some estimates place intra-African trade at only about 15%. This is a strikingly low figure compared to other regions, such as Europe and Asia, which boast high levels of intra-regional trade supported by strong regional value chains.
The MENstruation Foundation, a non-profit organisation dedicated to ending period poverty and the stigma surrounding menstruation, recently launched a campus-wide initiative by installing sanitary pad dispensary machines. The initiative, which forms part of the Students on the Go programme and is funded by the Clicks Helping Hands Trust, is guided by the belief that no girl or woman should miss school, work, sport, or life opportunities because of her period. It goes beyond symbolism.
A spirit of celebration and achievement recently filled the North-West University’s (NWU’s) Vanderbijlpark Campus as community entrepreneurs gathered to receive their certificates for completing the Student Training for Entrepreneurial Promotion (STEP) programme.
The training sessions, offered through a partnership between the NWU and the Vaal United Business Forum (VUBF), equipped participants with practical business skills during sessions.
The overall welcome impact of the 2026 Budget, introduced in Parliament on 25 February, on the economy will be positive and confidence-building. The markets will also price in what is a “good news” Budget in favourable fiscal circumstances.
Prof. Raymond Parsons, economist from the North-West University (NWU) Business School, says Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana has displayed a credible pair of hands in playing well the better economic cards he now holds to address the inevitable competing demands on South Africa’s still limited public finances.
By Adv. Mpho Justice Khoza
The NWU Eagles demonstrated their strength and attacking prowess by dismantling Emeris 63 – 15 at the Fanie du Toit Sportsgrounds on Monday, 23 February. This victory saw the Eagles climb to the top of the table with ten points, level with second place FNB-UP Tuks after match day two of the 2026 varsity Cup season.
During registration and orientation at the start of the 2026 academic year, first-year students at the North-West University’s (NWU’s) Mahikeng Campus received meals through a collaboration between the Students’ Campus Council (SCC) and private sector donors.
Together, the SCC and bakery companies Albany and Blue Ribbon made sure that first-year students did not go hungry.
A renewed push to translate indigenous knowledge (IK) into practical rural development will take centre stage when stakeholders gather for the Second Smart Village conference in Nyandeni in the Eastern Cape.
Being held under the theme “Towards an indigenous knowledge-based smart village model: A multi-stakeholder planning dialogue for sustainable rural development”, the three-day engagement from 24 to 26 March 2026 moves beyond conceptual discussions and towards implementation and community participation.