It has been 148 years since Frenchman Pierre Babolat took natural gut–derived from cow intestine – to make tennis racket strings. Now, the top-ranked male tennis player at the North-West University (NWU) is using his Babolet Pure Drive racket to run opponents ragged on courts across the country.  

In fact, 20-year-old Johann Coetzee, who studies Business Management at the NWU, has four of these weapons at his disposal to launch his preferred assaults: “My favourite shots are my serve and my forehand,” he explains with glee.

By Sandile Mahlangu

With the country having commemorated Youth Month last month, some North-West University (NWU) students celebrated the event differently this year. Four students from the university got an opportunity to embrace being a young person in our country and shared it with the rest of the world through commercial radio stations – 5FM and OFM.

Learners from the StudyXpress High School in Potchefstroom got the opportunity to see for themselves what types of pollution and climate change enforcers are found in their environment. The group of learners and a science teacher recently visited the North-West University’s (NWU’s) Welgegund atmospheric measurement station for a field lecture on air quality and climate change, in a real environment and with actual measurements.

In an era where food insecurity is a pressing concern, community gardens offer a practical solution by increasing access to fresh, nutritious food. These gardens empower individuals and communities to take control of their food production, reducing dependence on expensive and often unhealthy store-bought alternatives.

All this is captured in the 2023 Nelson Mandela Day theme, which centres on food and nutrition and urges everyone to “Do what you can, with what you have, where you are”.

LEGO® bricks in the classroom are proving irresistible to learners and pre-service teachers alike, who discover that play and learning are not so different.

Researchers in the Faculty of Education at the North-West University (NWU) are using the brightly coloured plastic bricks for the practical component of pre-service teacher training programmes. They hope to inspire change and progress in teaching methods within the university student body and the broader community.

Lize-Mari Loots, a first-year BSc dietetics student at the North-West University’s (NWU’s) Potchefstroom Campus, recently earned recognition as one of the top students in the prestigious National Science and Technology Forum (NSTF) Brilliants Programme.

She is one of the tallest netball players in the country, but there seem to be no end to the heights Elmeré van den Berg can achieve on the netball court.

The 1,91m beanpole who hails from Bloemfontein, matriculated from Jim Fouché High School before joining the North-West University (NWU) where she is currently enrolled in a sports coaching and human movement sciences course.

She quickly made waves on the netball court – catching the eyes of national selectors – and greater accolades soon followed.

Imagine for a moment that you are standing in a long hallway. On either side of you there are numerous open doors. As you make your way to the exit, each one of these doors close once you walk past them. These doors signify development opportunities, and the hallway represents your journey from early childhood through the various stages of adolescence. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to look back and know that you stepped through each of those doors?

Dr Henriette Hammill, a senior lecturer in biokinetics at the North-West University (NWU) was recently awarded second prize for her outstanding work at the International Federation of Physical and Sports Education (FIEPS) New Leader Congress held in Galati, Romania.

Kgomotso Mache, a second-year human resource management student was recently elected as chairperson of the North-West University (NWU) South African Board for People Practices (SABPP) student chapter at a prestigious ceremony at the NWU Potchefstroom Campus.

Besides electing the new SABPP student chapter committee, students who successfully registered as student members of the SABPP board were also celebrated during the event.