Antimicrobial resistance threatens Africa’s future (SASUF 2023)

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) poses a huge threat to Africa’s and, by extension, the world’s health care systems and should be addressed with haste. This according to Prof Carlos Bezuidenhout, director of the Unit for Environmental Sciences and Management, Microbiology (METSI) at the North-West University’s Faculty of Natural and Agricultural…

South African Medical Research Council Scientific honours NWU researchers

Prof Lebo Gafane-Matemane and Prof Lusilda Schutte of the North-West University (NWU) were recently recognised by the South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC) when they each received a bronze award during the SAMRC’s 9th Scientific Merit Awards gala dinner held in Cape Town on 9 March.

The bronze medals are awarded to scientists…

Benito Trollip’s PhD is ‘a very long love letter to Afrikaans’

"Doing my PhD was an almost indescribable journey with many ups and downs that all contributed to making it an overall enriching experience. There is no denying all the (many) times giving up was the only thought in my mind, just as there’s no denying the affirming moments I felt like I am exactly the right person for this study. I feel…

Dr Muzi Matfunjwa – an activist for African languages

Dr Muzi Matfunjwa, a digital humanities researcher for Siswati at the South African Centre for Digital Language Resources (SADiLaR) at the North-West University (NWU), describes himself as a language activist. He believes in the promotion of African languages, especially Siswati, as an official language and an academic discipline.

"I…

Teaching entrepreneurs to protect their intellectual property

Entrepreneurs should deal with challenges in their own communities, conduct thorough research, and protect their intellectual capital on their way to monetising their unique ideas.

They received this advice recently when the North-West University (NWU) hosted the 4th annual Intellectual Property and Technology Commercialisation…

SASUF 2023: Sustainability takes the spotlight

They may sit in opposite hemispheres, but in the global village, borders and boundaries are no inhibitors to cooperation. The South Africa Sweden University Forum (SASUF) is evidence thereof.

From 29 to 31 March, SASUF is hosting its Sustainability Forum at the University of the Western Cape in conjunction with its 40 partner…

NWU hosts inter-university networking session for academics

The North-West University’s (NWU’s) School of Industrial Psychology and Human Resource Management (IPS & HRM) recently hosted an academic networking brunch with academics from the University of Johannesburg (UJ), WITS University and the University of Pretoria.

The purpose of the event was to build research collaborations, get more…

Repositories pivotal for language preservation

by Birgit Ottermann

Two researchers from the South African Centre for Digital Language Resources (SADiLaR) at the North-West University (NWU) share their findings on the existence, use and importance of language repositories in the latest issue of the Journal of the Digital Humanities Association of Southern…

Six km of sanitary pads may score NWU a record

By Phenyo Mokgothu and Mafumane Tlhapi

The North-West University (NWU) GoAllOut and Golden Key student chapters on its Mahikeng Campus attempted the Guinness World Record for the longest line of sanitary pads on 25 March 2023.

Spanning a distance of 6…

NWU water expert presents water policy brief at UN Conference

Prof Frank Winde, a professor in environmental science at the North-West University (NWU), recently presented a Water Policy Brief at the United Nations (UN) Water Conference that took place at the UN Headquarters in New York. 

This was the first global water conference in nearly 50 years and stakeholders across the globe were…