Prof runs 1 100 laps to help alleviate hunger

On the morning of 24 April, Prof Dewald van Niekerk, laced up his running shoes and started running around his house in Potchefstroom. The time was 10:30. When he finally stopped to unlace his shoes, twenty-four hours and ten minutes later, he’d circled his house 1 100 times to clock a distance of 110km.

Dewald, together with…

NWU neonatal expert paves the way forward

When it comes to midwifery, neonatal care and nursing research, the name of North-West University’s Prof Welma Lubbe is the first that comes to mind.

As a dedicated researcher and founder of Little Steps – a research-based parenting website – Prof Lubbe was recently appointed for a third term (of five years each) as the South African…

NWU teams set assistance to NW Health in motion

Epidemiological and technical assistance against COVID-19 is the latest contribution in the collaboration between the North-West University and the North West Department of Health (NWDoH).

This entails the NWU drafting scenarios and assisting with an online inventory management system for personal protective equipment and a campaign…

Restriction strategy allows SA valuable time to prepare – NWU virologist

As South Africa prepares to ease restrictions aimed at preventing the spread of Covid-19, a North-West University (NWU) virologist, Prof Albie van Dijk, shares her views on the country’s fight against the pandemic.

Prof Van Dijk is a lecturer and researcher in the Biochemistry subject group at the NWU’s campus in Potchefstroom, and…

New NWU voice for popular radio programme

The North-West University has for years been an informative and entertaining presence on the very popular weekly environmental radio programme, Omgewingspraatjies. This tradition continues with a new expert following in the footsteps of his NWU colleagues.

Ruhann Steyn, a researcher and lecturer who is currently also busy with his…

Connecting to ignite a growth revolution in Africa

Why try to reinvent the wheel when others are facing similar challenges and together you could succeed in “connecting to ignite a growth revolution”?

This was the thinking of the team of researchers from the North-West University’s (NWU’s) Optentia research focus area who visited Namibia to foster relationships with government, business,…

The relationship between gender-based violence and HIV/Aids

The link between gender-based violence (GBV) and HIV/Aids is usually rooted in the power imbalance between men and women.

This was one of the findings of research conducted by Goitseone Leburu, whose master’s and doctoral studies, both from the North-West University (NWU), revolved around different aspects of GBV.  

Her…

Social media now a field for serious research

While some people might think the social media field is purely for popular consumption, it has become a separate field of study for research in its own right.

Prof Wian Erlank of the Faculty of Law at the North-West University (NWU) says much has been written about the sociological and even psychological aspects of social media,…

Nothing artificial about their expertise

A small research group at the North-West University (NWU) is starting to attract real interest for their work on artificial intelligence (AI).

“The amount of interest has come as something of a surprise,” says Prof Marelie Davel, who – with PhD student Tian Theunissen – recently travelled to New York, USA, to present their latest findings at…

Ramaphosa’s additional anti-Covid-19 economic package is a substantial raft

‘President Cyril Ramaphosa’s additional economic support package to address the fallout on the economy from Covid-19 represents a highly substantial raft of measures designed to assist distressed businesses, households and individuals, adding up to about 10% of South Africa’s GDP.”

This is according to Prof Raymond Parsons, a well-…