On Wednesday, 6 September the Fanie du Toit Sports Grounds welcomed staff and students of the North-West University (NWU) at the run-with-colour-fun event that was hosted jointly by the Faculty of Health Sciences, the School of Human Movement Sciences and the Centre of Health and Human Performance (CHHP).

The event was about more than just running in an array of colours. Its purpose was to raise awareness of gender and identity issues in diverse contexts, as well as to encourage diversity and inclusion among students and staff.

Prof LJ Grobler, a professor in mechanical engineering at the North-West University (NWU), is a man with determination. His CV and numerous engineering accomplishments reveal his dynamism.

He has come a long way – from growing up in the beautiful farmlands of Ermelo in Mpumalanga – to sitting in international boardrooms and sharing his expertise to make an impact in the field of renewable energy.

“What is in a name?” William Shakespeare wanted to know.  A young researcher from the North-West University (NWU) knows exactly how important a name is. She is currently believed to be the youngest gnathiid taxonomist in the world, at the forefront of describing these parasites and identifying their names – or the lack thereof.

Dr Anja Erasmus thrives on recording the tiny sea species and listing important information used to identify them. She is one of only a few active gnathiid taxonomists in the world ― the others being in the Philippines, Japan, Australia and Europe.

Without quality oversight, output suffers. Without transparency, deception thrives. Misinformation and misinterpretation are propagated to become the norm as fiction becomes indistinguishable from fact. In a developing country such as South Africa that faces a multitude of challenges, this cannot be allowed.

An example of this is an economy that is increasingly struggling to awake from a prolonged slumber caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, rolling blackouts and widespread corruption in institutions fundamental to the health of the country.

In an intriguing joint announcement, the Walter Sisulu and North-West universities unveiled the astounding results of their preclinical trials for a groundbreaking combination vaccine against tuberculosis (TB) and Covid-19. The universities reported an unprecedented 100% protection in vaccinated animals – a significant step forwards in the unrelenting battle against tuberculosis, one of the world's most devastating diseases.

Good economic news is that the consumer price index (CPI) (headline inflation) for July has again shown a welcome declining tendency, reaching 4,7% from 5,4% in June.

Prof Raymond Parsons, economist from the North-West University (NWU), says this is not only a two-year low for the CPI but is also much better than market expectations.

“Core inflation further moderated to a ten-month low of 4,7% from 5,0% in June. The omens for the inflation outlook in South Africa look promising.”

There are too many misconceptions about the role that gender plays in society. This is the opinion expressed by the Honourable Ambassador Maria Del Rosario Mina Rojas of Colombia during her visit to the Potchefstroom Campus of the North-West University (NWU) on 18 August.

In an interactive session the Honourable Ambassador Mina Rojas delivered an address titled “The role that gender plays in society and the impact it has on traditional gender norms”, which elicited not only acclaim, but also interest from staff and students alike.

An inaugural lecture is regarded as a significant milestone in the life and career of an academic. It is a chance for new professorial colleagues to directly showcase their innovative research.

Professor Charlene du Toit-Brits delivered her inaugural lecture titled Are we there yet? A sense of ownership: Empowering Self-Directed Students in Higher Education.

The word of welcome was expressed by Professor Erika Serfontein, acting school director of the School of Professional Studies in Education (SPSE).

The North-West University (NWU) would like to wish our NWU Eagles the best of luck during the Varsity Netball tournament. You have shown time and again what remarkable people and exceptional players you are. Your commitment, hard work and ethic of care has made us proud, and we know that you will give nothing but your best on the court.

Last year you were runners-up in the final, which is already a remarkable achievement, and you have all of the NWU family’s backing to go that one step further.

Player development: it is imbedded in the core of netball at the North-West University (NWU), and if there is a more enthusiastic proponent of this than Lucy Twani, this person will be hard to find.

Lucy is the high-performance netball coach for the junior teams at the Potchefstroom Campus, and it is because of this 27-year-old’s dedication to unearthing and developing netball talent that the NWU is one of the netball hubs in the country.