Academic News

Research looks at how interpretation affects Bible reading in Africa

The way in which Scripture is read and interpreted has a major effect on what people read in the Bible. This also determines their approach to concerning and topical issues with which the faithful struggle.

This is the focus of the research by Prof Marius Nel, research chair in Ecumenism: Pentecostalism and Neo-Pentecostalism, on the…

Middle English fires the imagination of top-rated researcher

With a B2 rating from the National Research Foundation (NRF), Prof David Scott-Macnab is the highest rated researcher currently employed in the Faculty of Humanities at the North-West University (NWU).

To receive a B2 rating, an academic needs to have published a substantial body of research in top-tier, high-impact international…

Perennial grasses are the answer for veld restoration

In a water-scarce country like South Africa with growing demands for grazing, cultivated perennial grasses could be the answer to protecting the veld and providing nutrition for animals.

“Droughts, scarcity of rain and overgrazing have caused a lot of degradation of the veld, and therefore veld restoration is a priority for farmers and…

Reshuffled cabinet is an important step in the right direction

“The announcement by President Cyril Ramaphosa of a reshuffled cabinet on 5 August is a long-awaited important step in the right direction to help rebuild business confidence at a time when it has been badly shaken by recent events in South Africa.”

Prof Raymond Parsons, an…

The impact of Covid-19 on food security in South Africa

The devastating effects of the Covid-19 pandemic have adversely affected all facets of human life.  These effects are felt across the globe – from health challenges leading to hospitalisation and even death, loss of income and/or employment and hunger and malnutrition, to an increase in external debt and food security challenges. …

International recognition for one of our own

The International Union of Physiological Sciences (IUPS) is constituted of many societies and academies within the physiological sciences worldwide. That is why the Faculty of Health Sciences is extremely proud that one of our own was given the opportunity to represent our country in such a union.

Project team wants all university students to have access to indigenous African languages

University students who have a mother tongue other than English should not be at a disadvantage compared to those who do speak English at home. This is why it is important to level the language playing field. The North-West University (NWU) is one of four tertiary education institutions in South Africa to work with three European universities…

NWU-Juta Mock Trials – a decade of bridging the gap between practice and theory

The popular annual NWU-Juta Mock Trial competition celebrated its tenth birthday and finals in a virtual courtroom on 2 August.  This was the first time that the entire competition, from the first elimination rounds to the finals, took place online.

A…

North West farmers warned of bovine infections through multidrug-resistant bacteria

Livestock farmers in the North West Province are being urged to apply all possible security measures and avoid the introduction of new bulls without sanitary control.

This is necessary to prevent the spread of a bacterial infection that causes abortion, infertility and other reproductive ailments in cattle – and could potentially be…

NWU lecturer steps up to better the lives of young people

For North-West University (NWU) lecturer, Prof Fazel Ebrihiam Freeks, giving back to his former school and the community he grew up in is an opportunity to come full circle with his own young self and those who gave to him.  Growing up, life was not a walk in the park for Prof Freeks.

His mother passed away when he was only three…