The South African Centre for Digital Language Resources (SADiLaR) at the North-West University (NWU) had a significant presence during South Africa’s winter conference season.

Prof Wannie Carstens, the former director of the School of Languages at the North-West University (NWU), has been awarded the prestigious Jan H Marais Prize for his exceptional contributions to Afrikaans as a scientific language by the Suid-Afrikaanse Akademie vir Wetenskap en Kuns (the South African Academy of Science and Arts). This is in recognition of his high level and high quality of work, as well as his expert contribution to Afrikaans linguistics.

The staff soccer and netball teams of the North-West University’s (NWU’s) Potchefstroom Campus demonstrated their athletic prowess and team spirit during a friendly tournament held at the University of Johannesburg (UJ) this past weekend. The event also featured teams from the University of Pretoria (UP) and Metropolitan Life, offering a thrilling mix of competition and camaraderie.

Soccer team results

The relationship started 10 000 years ago and continues to shape our world to this very day. As human societies transitioned from nomadic hunter-gatherer lifestyles to settled farming communities, they recognised the benefits of taming and breeding animals for a variety of needs. Not only did this domestication revolutionise agriculture by enhancing food security, it also allowed the development of complex societies.

The North-West University (NWU) boasts another winner of the Mail & Guardian 200 Young South Africans for 2024.  Dr Pieter Odendaal, a senior lecturer in the subject group Creative Writing, was announced a winner in the Arts and Entertainment category.

He joins Dr Monray Williams, a senior lecturer in the subject group Biochemistry, who was announced a winner in the Science, Technology and Innovation category.

 Dr Odendaal views this recognition as an affirmation of his contributions to the arts and the significance of spoken word poetry in South Africa.

Sip-and-paint events are more than just a trendy activity – they are a delightful combination of creativity, relaxation and social interaction, offering a space where people can express themselves artistically, connect with others and unwind.

The North-West University's (NWU’s) Faculty of Theology and the King of Glory Youth Ministries (KGMY) held a sip, paint and worship event on 25 May as part of their joint youth community development project, “Young minds for Christ”.

The annual #BeerAndCheese initiative, organised by the School of Chemical and Minerals Engineering at the North-West University (NWU), sparks creativity and entrepreneurial skills among students.

Dr Monray Williams, a senior lecturer in the subject group Biochemistry at the North-West University (NWU), has been announced a finalist in the Mail & Guardian 200 Young South Africans for 2024 in the Science, Technology, and Innovation category.

This annual feature by the Mail & Guardian newspaper celebrates 200 young South Africans, aged 35 and under, who are making significant contributions in their fields.

Stakeholder engagement is a crucial part of the South African Centre for Digital Language Resources (SADiLaR)'s strategic mission. With the adoption of a new five-year strategy plan, the infrastructure is dedicated to promoting its mandate and establishing a local and global presence to attract potential partners in the domains of natural language processing and digital humanities.

On 04 June 2024, the North-West University (NWU) hosted a public lecture by Prof Heather Brookes titled "Instrument adaptation for measuring early child language development across multilingual and sociocultural diverse settings".

Prof Brookes leads the Child Language Development Node of the South African Centre for Digital Language Resources (SADiLaR) at the NWU and is based at Stellenbosch University.