Newsroom - Potchefstroom Campus

Law professor improves previous NRF rating of C to a great B

Prof Christa Rautenbach’s hard work on legal pluralism and cultural diversity finally paid off when she received a B-rating in the highly competitive rating process of the National Research Foundation (NRF).

One of her reviewers remarked that her “research is significant for legal pluralism and development in postcolonial developmental settings, where law reforms must be mindful of the continued relevance of indigenous laws”.

Submitted on Wed, 05/18/2022 - 09:36

NWU Tawana looking for an improved 2022/2023 season

You cannot keep a good man down. Michael Seleka, football manager and head coach of the NWU Tawana at the North-West University’s (NWU) campus in Potchefstroom, sounds dejected as he gives a recap of his team’s performance in the SAFA ABC Motsepe League. The NWU Tawana ended their 2021/2022 campaign in a disappointing seventh position.

In the 2020/2021 season, the NWU Tawana ended in a respectable fourth position on the overall log of nine teams.

Submitted on Tue, 05/17/2022 - 09:54

NWU mourns the passing of Prof Barry Hanyane

It is with great sadness that the North-West University (NWU) has learned about the passing of lecturer and political analyst, associate professor Barry Rhulani Hanyane.

He died on Wednesday, 11 May at the Netcare Milpark Hospital in Johannesburg after being sick for some time.

Prof Hanyane from the Faculty of Humanities’ School of Government Studies was a revered and esteemed specialist with a keen research interest in public management and administration.

Submitted on Thu, 05/12/2022 - 11:10

Franco taking student life in his stride

It was love at first sight. Boy meets campus. In 2019, Franco van Dijk visited the North-West University (NWU) campus in Potchefstroom as part of a tour by his school choir.

“We saw a lot of the campus – it almost felt like an open day. I really liked what I saw and decided that this was where I wanted to go,” says Franco, who matriculated from the Ligbron Academy of Technology.  

Franco, who was born in Bethal, Mpumalanga, will be turning 19 in May and is enrolled in his first year of working towards a degree in Electromechanical Engineering.

Submitted on Tue, 05/03/2022 - 16:22

NWU Business School: Rises like a phoenix

Academia’s “best kept secret” is rising like a phoenix after the pandemic. The prestigious North-West University (NWU) Business School held a Brag & Brand function in Potchefstroom on Monday, 26 April that was attended by lecturers, staff and alumni.

Prof Linda du Plessis, acting vice-chancellor of the NWU, welcomed guests and said “a good school should have legitimacy”. She boasted that the NWU Business School had achieved accreditation for another five years from the Association of MBAs.

Submitted on Fri, 04/29/2022 - 09:23

Student wins VC Medal with research on deep learning in space weather

Jacques Beukes of the MUST Deep Learning research group at the Faculty of Engineering is the 2021 winner of a North-West University (NWU) Vice-Chancellor’s Medal for his dissertation “Interpretability of deep neural networks for SYM-H prediction”. Eight vice-chancellor’s medals are awarded annually to the best master’s-degree students at the NWU. Jacques was awarded the medal for Engineering.

Submitted on Tue, 04/26/2022 - 09:39

NWU academic says back to basics for TB programmes

Phenyo Mokgothu

Deaths from Tuberculosis (TB) have increased globally for the first time in over a decade. This is according to the World Health Organisation’s Global TB Report that was released in October 2021. The increase in deaths is due to “reduced access to TB diagnosis and treatment in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic”, the report found.

The situation is no different in South Africa. In December, Health Minister Joe Phaahla confirmed that Covid-19 had side-lined the fight against TB, as well as HIV and Aids. 

Submitted on Tue, 04/05/2022 - 11:05