Potchefstroom Campus News

Prof Hans du Plessis: A literary giant passes away

He was of a different ilk. His immense literary stature cast a shadow under which so many South Africans found solace and comfort. Now, it is with sadness but also gratitude for the many contributions he made both culturally and academically, that the North-West University (NWU) has to say farewell to Prof Hans du Plessis, who passed away on Friday 24 October at the age of 79. 

Prof Hans was a beloved NWU faculty member since his appointment in 1981 as a professor in Afrikaans at the former Potchefstroom University for Christian Higher Education.

He was an esteemed writer,… Read more

Generous donation from PPS adds a professional and aesthetic touch

The top floor of the G23 Building on the Potchefstroom Campus of the North-West University (NWU) hosts the subject group Pharmacology in the School of Pharmacy, and a research team of the Pharmacen centre of excellence.

Thanks to a generous donation from the Professional Provident Society (PPS), the entrance to the floor has been…

Prof Jonathan Calof takes his market insight to a Mandarin audience

It is no surprise that, as a world-renowned expert in intelligence and foresight, Prof Jonathan Calof from the Ottawa University in Canada and extraordinary professor in the research focus area TRADE at the North-West University (NWU), is finding another global stage: China.

Prof Calof’s book, Gaining Market Insight from Events, has…

Linking culture and biodiversity is key to conservation

He found them in the mountains and streams of Limpopo. Frogs and lizards, big and small, all of them equally exciting to his inquisitive mind. To the despair of grandmother he would run around with them in his pockets – yes, even snakes – as his rural childhood village became a playground of untold riches. When the time came, as it always did,…

Employment trends are encouraging, but hurdles remain formidable

The further slight decline in South Africa’s unemployment rate to 31,9% in the third quarter of 2023 is good news, and the fact that total employment is now back to its pre-pandemic levels is welcome.

Prof Raymond Parsons, economist from the North-West University (NWU) Business School, commented on the third quarter 2023 Quarterly…

Discovering tomorrow's paralympic heroes: South Africa's quest for glory

The Sports Science team of the Centre for Health and Human Performance (CHHP) at the North-West University (NWU) recently travelled to the Tlamelang Special School just outside Mahikeng to conduct a series of talent identification tests on wheelchair basketball players for the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC).…

Poverty thrives where corruption is high

“When good governance is sacrificed on the altar of corruption, service delivery falters. Where corruption thrives, as we have seen in many of our municipalities, an increase in poverty becomes inevitable.”

This is according to Prof Kedibone Phago, director of the North-West University’s (NWU’s) School for Government Studies, who…

Great honour for budding researcher

Maricélle Botes’s long journey with the North-West University (NWU) has paid off. This final-year PhD student at the research unit for Law, Justice and Sustainability has been honoured with the Research Excellence Award for Next Generation Researchers in the Humanities, Social Sciences and Law category by the National Research Foundation (NRF…

Prof Nico Smit appointed as adjunct professor at the University of Miami

North-West University (NWU) academic and researcher, Prof Nico Smit has been appointed as an adjunct professor in marine biology and ecology at the Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, and Earth Science at the University of Miami (UM), USA.

The title of adjunct professor is the equivalent of an extraordinary professorship,…

Capability development is key to sustainable employment – North-West University

Imagine an hourglass and think of one of the countless impoverished communities in South Africa. Ask yourself: How do we enrich the lives of the people in these communities and equip them with the skills to secure sustainable employment opportunities? If you fill the hourglass with resources and turn it over, these resources will trickle down…

Exploring wild pedagogies in the quest to change South Africa's Eurocentric curriculum

University curricula must incite difficult conversations to meet today's challenges, and in recent years there has been a growing movement towards decolonising the education curriculum in South Africa. The question of “what knowledge is of most worth”, or “whose knowledge is of most worth” has been at the heart of this debate.

“These…