Natural and Agricultural Sciences News

Heavy rains affect farmers negatively

Hannes Lombard, manager at the North-West University (NWU) farm in Mahikeng, says that the persistent heavy rains since November last year have posed major challenges for farmers, and in particular crop farmers.

He says some farmers in parts of the Free State, Kwazulu Natal,…

Space, billionaires and our new age of going to the heavens

There was a time when superpowers fought proxy wars and the world teetered on the brink of oblivion. There was a time when men rode behemoths called Redstone, Atlas, Titan and Saturn to the heavens underneath hundreds of thousands of pounds of thrust, and the names Sputnik, Laika, Gagarin, Shepard and Glenn…

Top service award for NWU astronomer

​The United Kingdom’s Royal Astronomical Society (RAS) has presented its 2022 Service Award for Astronomy to Prof Don Kurtz of the North-West University (NWU).

"I am delighted to be recognised by the RAS for my outreach and service activities over my 55-year career," says Prof Kurtz.

He joined the NWU’s Mahikeng Campus as…

The Association of South African Black Actuarial Professionals (ASABA) North-West University Chapter wins the Best University Chapter Award

The Association of South African Black Actuarial Professionals (ASABA) North-West University Chapter won the Best University Chapter Award on the 4th November 2021.

The Association was established in March 2005 to address the death of actuarial and…

NWU rewards its exceptional achievers

During a virtual ceremony on 25 November the North-West University (NWU) acknowledged staff for their exceptional contributions to teaching and learning, research and community engagement.

These torchbearers were honoured during the first ever NWU Excellence Awards ceremony. The…

Sydwell’s ideas mushroom into commercial success

Universities across the country are producing ground-breaking research with great economic potential, but often the question is how this can be translated into commercial enterprises.

To address this issue, the North-West University (NWU) recently hosted a webinar titled “Mushrooming of ideas: Converting a postgraduate study into a…

Growing successful emerging farmers through partnerships

What does it take for emerging farmers to be successful? This is the question North-West University (NWU) academic Dr Faan Pelser and Prof Theuns Pelser from the University of KwaZulu-Natal’s Graduate School for Business and Leadership set out to answer in their recent research paper.

The paper is titled “The factors that contribute to…

Sounding out the stars

Space is not as silent as it may seem, and asteroseismologists know this. Asteroseismology is a booming field full of opportunity for students and young researchers and has an impact on many other fields of astronomical research.

But what is asteroseismology all about? Prof Don Kurtz, an A1-rated professor now based at the North-West…

NWU to lead agricultural intervention to empower local communities

To promote mental health and wellbeing and prevent substance abuse among young people in Lokaleng village in Mahikeng, the North-West University’s (NWU’s) Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences will be leading the agricultural intervention section of the multi-sectoral collaborative care community intervention…

NWU IKS celebrate September as African New Year and the month of new beginnings

African indigenous astronomy (bolepa dinaledi in Setswana) is one discipline of competencies of the broader African indigenous knowledge systems negated by the modern education system, including modern astronomers, researchers and policy makers. This is according to Dr Motheo Koitsiwe, indigenous astronomer researcher and director of the North-…