A healthcare transport solution designed to deliver medical services to remote communities has earned two students from the North-West University (NWU) national recognition in a leading engineering competition.
By Gofaone Motsamai and Phenyo Mokgothu
Innovation, collaboration and youthful energy took centre stage in Mpumalanga at the Sabi River Sun Resort, when North-West University (NWU) students and an academic participated in the first G20 National Department of Tourism Hackathon.
Dr Rorisang Machailo, senior lecturer and deputy director at the School of Nursing at the North-West University (NWU), has been recognised as a top 3 finalist in the Women in Academic Administration category of the 2025 Higher Education Women Leaders (HEWL) Awards.
This honour highlights her outstanding leadership and dedication to advancing mental health education and equity in South Africa’s higher-education sector.
In celebration of the Women’s Month 2025 theme of the North-West University (NWU), “Empowered to Lead: NWU Women Shaping the Future”, the Technology Transfer and Innovation Support (TTIS) office proudly showcases the achievements of women innovators who are transforming society through practical solutions. Leading this charge is Prof Erica Derbyshire, a chartered accountant and academic, whose pioneering research has resulted in the Financial Literacy Survival Toolkit, a practical resource designed to equip owners of small and micro enterprises with essential financial skills.
Dr Petronella Lunda, a maternal and neonatal expert from the North-West University (NWU) Faculty of Health Sciences, was elected as president of the Society of Midwives of South Africa (SOMSA) North West. Dr Lunda was honoured with this prestigious position at the 19th SOMSA Congress held at the OR Tambo Premier Hotel in Kempton Park from 13 to 14 August.
Two places on the Mail & Guardian’s 200 Young South Africans list for 2025 have been filled by education academics associated with the North-West University (NWU).
They are Dr Makhura Benjamin Rapanyane, a senior lecturer in political studies and international relations at the NWU, and Dr Monicca Thulisile Bhuda, an NWU alumnus and lecturer at the University of Mpumalanga.
Both were recognised in the education category of the 200 Young South Africans list.
North-West University (NWU) Mahikeng Campus lecturer Emile Coetzee has been accepted into the South African Academy for Arts and Sciences (Suid-Afrikaanse Akademie vir Wetenskap en Kuns), an organisation dedicated to supporting and strengthening work in the sciences and arts completed in Afrikaans.
“It was a long journey for me to reach a point where I could be accepted into the academy. It took me over a decade to achieve. I had to increase my number of publications and become more active in my field of research,” Coetzee said.
Appointed by the Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture, Gayton McKenzie, Emile Coetzee, a lecturer in the History department at the North-West University (NWU) Mahikeng Campus, will serve a three-year term as chairperson of the South African Heraldry Council, bringing his expertise in history and heritage to the national stage.
North-West University (NWU) academics Prof Kgaugelo Lekota from the School of Biological Sciences and Prof Lebo Gafane-Matemane from the Hypertension in Africa Research Team (HART) were recipients of Research Excellence Awards for Early Career/Emerging Researchers at the 2025 National Research Foundation (NRF) Awards.
In a gym-turned-arena in the North West Province, 17 student-athletes from the North-West University (NWU) stepped forward one by one, each bringing months of repetition, routine and self-control to the spotlight.
Competing against 54 of the province’s best, they left with 21 trophies, one overall title and 11 invitations to the national stage.
Representing the NWU’s Mahikeng Campus, the team competed in the International Fitness and Bodybuilding Federation (IFBB) North West Provincial Bodybuilding and Fitness Championships on 2 August 2025.