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…

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…

Good sleep routines impact positively on athletic performance

They thrive on adrenaline, excitement and energy, but it is particularly sleep or the lack of it that can impact the performance of athletes. A researcher from the North-West University (NWU) says her research has shown that ensuring good sleeping habits, or sleep hygiene as it is known, not only improves athletic performance and endurance…

Sustainable water management takes the spotlight in Zanzibar

The commitment of the North-West University (NWU) to helping ensure that all the citizens of the continent have access to safe water was again evident when the 24th WaterNet/WARFSA/GWP-SA Symposium was held in Zanzibar, in the United Republic of Tanzania, on 25 October. The NWU is home to the SADC WaterNet Secretariat.

The symposium was…

Is it still ethical to conduct coal research in South Africa?

As the debate on the effect of fossil fuels on climate change rages on, questions regarding the use of fossils fuels as a major part of the country’s energy-producing package are hotly disputed. Now, Prof Marco le Roux of the Faculty of Engineering at the North-West University (NWU) asks: Is it still ethical to conduct coal research in South…

NWU and IAEA join forces to advance nuclear forensic science training

-NWU and IAEA collaborate to train students in nuclear forensic science

-The partnership will develop a Nuclear Crime Scene Management Laboratory

-The IAEA has recommended that each of its member states establish a national nuclear forensic library

In a significant step toward enhancing nuclear forensic science…

SWiP project to champion SA's indigenous languages online

“The dislocation of our languages is perpetuated by not having pride to speak one’s own mother tongue. We can only say a language is developed when it has doctors, professors, writers and artists who write down their work, poems and songs in isiNdebele. I am grateful for the support and efforts to develop our language to be an equal to others…

New community of practice Cop-ROOI set to take the continent forward

Cooperation is key if Africa is to reach her potential. On 19 October, at the OR Tambo Premier Hotel in Johannesburg, the Research Output, Outcomes and Impact Community of Practice (Cop-ROOI) was launched by the North-West University (NWU) in conjunction with the Southern African Research and Innovation Management Association (SARIMA) to help…

TELIT-SA hosts design research expert

The North-West University’s (NWU’s) research niche area Technology Enhanced Learning and Innovative Education and Training in South Africa (TELIT-SA) recently hosted Prof Susan McKenney, an extraordinary professor from the University of Twente, Netherlands, for a design research workshop.

Design research is a cyclic process consisting…

Prof Stander is celebrating his 37th university anniversary

Prof Marius Stander has been involved in teaching industrial psychology master’s students at the North-West University (NWU) for the past 37 years, which is a source of great pride for him.

Prof Stander joined the NWU in 1979 as a student and worked his way up to become a respected full professor. "I started teaching master’s students…