Potchefstroom Campus News

Researchers demonstrate that conservation and development can go hand in hand

While cities in Africa expand rapidly and the pressure for economic growth is increasing, the protected areas on the continent face a complex challenge: how to conserve nature and empower people.

At the North-West University (NWU) the Protected Areas Research Group, led by Prof. Reece Alberts, Prof. François Retief, Prof. Claudine Roos and Prof. Dirk Cilliers, is working to find exactly that balance.

“Conservation areas are the cornerstone of biodiversity conservation,” says Prof. Alberts. “They are essential to prevent the loss in biodiversity. Yet, we have to admit that… Read more

NWU students get first-hand experience at Nampo Harvest Day

By Menziwa Msibi

Third- and fourth-year students from the North-West University’s (NWU’s) Faculty of Engineering attended the annual NAMPO Harvest Day that took place from 16 to 19 May 2023 at NAMPO Park in Bothaville.

The students were accompanied by Prof Rojanette Coetzee and her postgraduate students…

Students put entrepreneurial theory into practice

By Sandile Mahlangu

The School of Management Sciences at the North-West University (NWU) hosted its first entrepreneurship market day for the third-year Business Management students on 9 May at the NWU's Potchefstroom Campus.

The purpose of the market day was to expose students to the practical side of…

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…

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…

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…