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
PhD student embarks on exchange programme to Belgium
Ryan du Toit, a PhD student in psychology from the North-West University’s (NWU’s) Faculty of Health Sciences, will soon leave for Belgium, after he has been selected for an international priority country exchange programme.
The exchange programme comprises a fully paid scholarship, starting in September 2023 until the end of January…
Engineering student wins S2A3 Master’s medal.
By Aldrin Ngorima
Developing a novel technique to support a South African company to better deal with noisy call centre audio, resulted in a S2A3 Master’s Medal for recipient, Walter Heymans. The medal is an annual award given to the most exceptional research student graduating at the Master’s level in a…
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…
Academics look at science and faith
Two North-West University (NWU) academics, Prof Frikkie van Niekerk and Prof Nico Vorster, are the proud editors of the transdisciplinary book titled Science and Faith in Dialogue. It is published in open access format by AOSIS Scholarly Books.
Prof van Niekerk was the main editor and also contributed a book chapter, and Prof Vorster…
Snail Day raises awareness of schistosomiasis and river health
The North-West University (NWU) Water Research Group (WRG) and the University of Limpopo (UL) recently hosted a Snail Day community workshop, sponsored by the Water Research Commission (WRC).
According to Dr Lizaan de Necker, principal investigator from the NWU, this formed part of their project that focuses on the distribution of…
Young Guns emulate champion big brothers
There is no such thing as too much of a good thing, especially not when rugby at the North-West University (NWU) is concerned. Not in the slightest. On Monday, 24 April 2023 the NWU Eagles (Young Guns) were crowned the Varsity Cup Young Guns champions after beating Maties 27-26 in Stellenbosch.
By doing so, the fledglings emulated their…
NWU is South Africa’s premier tennis hub
The North-West University’s (NWU’s) Potchefstroom Campus can now rightly be called South Africa’s go-to tennis destination with the official opening of its clay court precinct on Friday, 28 April 2023.
These five new courts are supplemented by 10 hard courts and two grass courts to make the NWU Africa’s undisputed leader in providing…
Study looks at the health benefits of plant-based nutrition
North-West University (NWU) researchers are investigating the role of whole-food plant-based nutrition in South Africa.
Prof Andrew Robinson and Dr Nanine Wyma, currently a master’s-degree student at the NWU, are co-founders of the Physicians Association for Nutrition (PAN) South Africa. They are conducting research with the help of the…
MASARA focuses on music and the conservation of indigenous music
Aristotle said that music has the power to form the character and should therefore be introduced into the education of the young. This quote is befitting of the Musical Arts in South Africa: Resources and Applications (MASARA) research niche area at the North-West University (NWU).
MASARA is part of the NWU’s School of Music and…
Raising awareness about the importance of snakes
As human beings, we are taught that we should respect all living things, but this can be a sensitive matter where snakes are concerned.
These reptiles are often portrayed as dangerous and evil creatures and this influences people’s attitude towards them, making them more feared because people do not have a lot of knowledge about snakes…