A total of 40 staff members of the North-West University’s (NWU’s) Potchefstroom Campus received recognition for their first publication of a research article.

This event is held annually to welcome staff members into the ranks of research publishers.

Prof Susan Visser, Vice-Rector: Research and Planning, said that everyone is now at the beginning of their research career where great things lie in the future. “It is never too late to start with research – the secret is to just start.”
The rector, Prof Fika Janse van Rensburg, said that he still remembered the feeling of satisfaction when he held the academic journal containing his first publication in his hands.
He said that the two youngest members in the group were 27 years old and the oldest 63 years. 
Van Rensburg said that the research outputs of the campus had been showing an upward curve for the past few years and that all indications pointed to another year demonstrating that tendency.
He congratulated the staff with the milestone that they had reached.

Staff in the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences at the ceremony to recognise academic staff for their first academic publication are (from the left) Herman van Dyk, Martin Botha, Tommy Pietersen, Prof Rikus de Villiers, Henriette van Romburgh, Profs Fika Janse van Rensburg (Rector), Wilma Viviers, Director of TRADE, Jan van Romburgh, acting dean of the faculty, Anton Styger and Prof Susan Visser, Vice-Rector: Research and Planning.

André Grobler (second from the left) of the Faculty of Engineering received a certificate for his first publication. With him is Prof Fika Janse van Rensburg (Rector), Prof Liezl van Dyk (Director for the Unit for Energy and Technological Systems) and Prof Susan Visser (Vice-Rector: Research and Planning).

Natural scientists during the event are Profs Magda Huisman (Director of Research Entities: Business Mathematics and Informatics), Prof Fika Janse van Rensburg (Rector), Prof Christien Strydom (Director of the School of Physical and Chemical Sciences), Eugene Engelbrecht (first publisher), Prof Susan Visser (Vice-Rector: Research and Planning), WD Schutte (first publisher) and Prof Francois Retief (Unit for Environmental Sciences and Management).

Staff from the Faculty of Education Sciences during the event are Prof Elsa Mentz (Research Director of the Focus Area for Self-Directed Learning), Leentjie van Jaarsveld, Marinda Neethling, Dorothy Laubscher, Seugnet Smit, Kassie Karstens, Elma Marais, Anja Visser, Profs Fika Janse van Rensburg (Rector) and Susan Visser (Vice-Rector: Research and Planning).

Prof Fika Janse van Rensburg (Rector) with one of the first publishers in the Faculty of Law, Michael Laubscher. With them are Profs Susan Visser (Vice-Rector: Research and Planning), Flip Schutte and Louis Kotzé (Research).

In front are Ms Mariet Eksteen, Dr Lanthe Kruger, Ms Lebo Gafane, Mariaan Wicks, Philne Neethling (Eksteen) and Arista Nienaber. At the back are Profs Fika Janse van Rensburg (Rector), Awie Kotzé (Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences), Marius Smuts (Director of CEN – Centre of Excellence for Nutrition), Anne Grobler (Director of PCDDP – Preclinical Drug Development Platform) and Susan Visser (Vice-Rector: Research and Planning).

From the left are Prof Fika Janse van Rensburg (Rector), Prof Gerda van Dijk, Mr Willem Venter, Adéle Jordaan, Zanette Meintjies, Prof Liesl van der Merwe, Ms Antoinette Olivier, Prof Rita Swanepoel, Prof Johan van der Walt and Prof Susan Visser (Vice-Rector: Research and Planning).