Academic News

Why board games are more than just fun and games

If you only think of board games in terms of time well spent with family and friends, roll the dice again. Board games and their development play a vital role in how the new generation of learners, the so-called millennials, learn and acquire new information and skills.

 In light of this, a very successful workshop on table-top and…

Florist Yolanda eventually blossoms in education

One cannot help but wonder whether Yolanda Fourie knew in her matric year at the Transvalia High School what was lying ahead in her future. Did she ever while working as florist among the flowers, think about where she would blossom one day? Did it cross her mind that one day she would stand on a stage at a North-West University (NWU) graduation…

NWU committed towards growing its own academic timber

“The North-West University (NWU) is committed to producing professionals to assume advanced careers within academia. Our postgraduate students will be the research leaders, faculty, and professional practitioners of tomorrow and as such the stewards of the university’s ethos of innovative learning and teaching and cutting-edge research.”

Draught-ox expert receives master’s degree at 75

Ever since he was a little boy he learnt how to work with draught-oxen by listening to the “old people” and fundi, and today he is one of the few experts in the country on this topic.

Marius Oosthuysen recently received his master’s degree from the North-West University (NWU) at the age of 75. He was the oldest student to receive…

Qatar Airways ban the sign of things to come

Terrorism is the biggest threat facing the international tourism sector. This is according to Prof Melville Saayman of the research unit TREES (Tourism Research in Economic Environs and Society) at the North-West University (NWU).

On June 5, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain severed ties…

NWU nursing students cares for the community

Nursing students from the North-West University’s (NWU’s) campus in Mahikeng recently reached out to a local school as part of their community care initiative.

The students reached out to CN Lekalake Middle School in Unit 5, Mahikeng, to donate sanitary products and to talk to young women about risky sexual behavior.

Under…

Youngsters win international Innovation Award for robotics project

Three 11-year old youngsters from Vanderbijlpark – Izabelle Bothma, Ewald Harmse and Wilmar Pretorius – designed a robot that will be able to assist rescuers in finding individuals trapped under snow. Their ingenuity earned them the Innovation Award at the recent Robotics World Championships.

But how does this remarkable invention relate to…

NWU South African Symposium on Teacher Education for Inclusion: All teachers can teach all children

The second South African Symposium on Teacher Education for Inclusion was recently hosted by the Optentia research focus area on the North-West University’s (NWU’s) campus in Vanderbijlpark and the Faculty of Education Sciences on the NWU’s campus in Potchefstroom.

Following the success of the first symposium in 2015, it was clear that…

Inclusive education: team work between researchers, teachers and government

During the first day of the Second South African Symposium on Teacher Education for Inclusion in Vanderbijlpark, it quickly became clear that the goal of inclusive education in South Africa calls for cooperation across the educational spectrum.

Dr Moses Simelane from the Department of Basic Education highlighted the various ways the…

Visiting Canadian academic presents lecture about trust

Prof Catherine Kwantes, a visiting professor from the University of Windsor in Canada, presented a public lecture on 8 June 2017 at the North-West University’s campus in Mahikeng. The topic of the lecture was “Trust in Context: Societal and Organisational Aspects of Decisions to Trust”.

Prof Kwantes is an industrial/organisational…