Security officer defies the odds to graduate

by Phenyo Mokgothu and Thuso Molefi

Victor Thambe, a security officer employed by the Mi7 Group, has defied all odds and graduated with a bachelor's degree in education, specialising in the foundation phase, from the North-West University (NWU) on 15 May 2023.

The NWU has contracted the services of Mi7…

Recalibrating teacher training in African higher education

Three North-West University (NWU) academics, Dr Sifiso Sibanda, Prof Gideon van Tonder and Prof Washington Dudu are the proud editors of the book Recalibrating teacher training in African higher education institutions: A Focus on 21st-century pedagogical challenges.

The book, which critically examines the role of governments in…

René believes that miracles still happen

Giving up has never been an option for 23-year-old René Engelbrecht, who recently graduated with her BEd Foundation Phase degree at the North-West University (NWU). She obtained her degree with cum laude.

She was born without a corpus callosum, which is a band of nerve fibres…

NWU academics on a collaboration mission to improve early childhood education in Africa

Dr Marinda Neethling and Dr Susan Greyling, both academics from the North-West University’s (NWU's) research focus area Community-based Educational Research (COMBER), recently travelled to Namibia and Zimbabwe to collaborate and build relationships in the field of early childhood development.

Dr Neethling's research focuses on providing…

Becoming a professor at a time of decolonisation

Prof Emmanuel Mfanafuthi Mgqwashu, the director of the Centre for Higher Education Professional Development at the North-West University (NWU), recently delivered his inaugural lecture on the Potchefstroom Campus.

The topic of his lecture was “A timely question: How can we not talk about becoming a professor in the context of…

Empowering students to become the teachers of tomorrow

North-West University (NWU) students in the Faculty of Education pursuing African languages studies recently undertook an excursion tour to the Achterberg Camp and Conference Centre in Krugersdorp.

The aim of the tour was to empower the group of second and fourth-year students with academic skills, focusing on teamwork and ethical…

School of Professional Studies in Education hosts workshop series

Prof Ewelina Niemczyk, Dr Jan Khumalo, and Matthews Makunye recently organised two research capacity building workshops for academics in the North-West University’s (NWU’s) School of Professional Studies in Education.

Designed with the support of the school director, Prof Kobus Mentz, the two workshops were aimed at improving the…

Bridging the digital divide one school at a time

The benefits from widespread and equitable access to information and communications technologies (ICTs) in South Africa are touted as having the potential to change the course and trajectory of this country for the better.

Researchers at the North-West University (NWU) share this view and are adamant that schools can serve as a base…

NWU academic appointed as an associate fellow

Prof Ewelina Niemczyk from the North-West University’s (NWU’s) Faculty of Education and member of the Edu-HRight research unit has been appointed an associate fellow at the University of Westminster in London.

She says this is another important link to foster sustainable collaboration between the two institutions.

Prof Steve…

Delegation from Kogakkan University share insight into new team-teaching style

A delegation from Kogakkan University on the island of Mie, Japan, visited the Vanderbijlpark Campus of the North-West University (NWU) from 20 to 24 February 2023 to demonstrate their new team-teaching style – Lesson Study Approach (LSA).

This teaching style, developed by Kogakkan University, is aimed at preservice teachers as part of…