“Preclinical research serves as a bridge to new medicines,’’ says North-West University (NWU) academic Prof Rose Hayeshi, associate professor and director of the DSI/NWU Preclinical Drug Development Platform (PCDDP).

Preclinical drug development is one of the stages of development for new medicines and her specific interest is in drug metabolism.

Prof Hayeshi says the development of new medicines can be divided into two broad areas – discovery and development.

Ontiretse Motingwa

On 17 August 2022, the Theology Student Chapter (TSC) of the North-West University’s (NWU’s) Mahikeng Campus celebrated and honoured women by hosting a candle-lighting prayer session.

Paballo Motshwaedi, chairperson of the TSC, explained that the purpose of the session was to pray for the eradication of gender-based violence, and to honour the memory of women who have died as a result of abuse.

The North-West University (NWU) Eagles football players have had a hectic programme preparing for the 2022 Varsity Football tournament. To keep the players physically fit and mentally ready to maximally compete in this year’s tournament, the NWU counts on its physical trainer and fitness coach, Dino Rangaka.

Dino, who has been with the NWU’s Soccer Institute on the Mahikeng Campus for seven years, holds an introductory certificate on coaching from the Netherlands, and an advanced periodisation certificate from the World Football Coaching Academy.

North-West University (NWU) academic in the Indigenous Language Media in Africa research entity Prof Gilbert Motsaathebe recently presented a seminar titled “Multilingual online responses on the ‘Hollywood-style’ arrest of a defence lawyer in a high-profile case”.

The North-West University’s (NWU’s) Mahikeng Campus recently hosted its annual Mr and Miss Mahikeng Campus pageant and Kowan Thomas and Nontokozo Makhubu clinched the titles.

Hosted by the Student Campus Council, this annual event was supported by many students and family members at the campus’ Great Hall.

Following a tough elimination round that tested the contestants’ knowledge on social awareness, Thomas and Ntokozo emerged victorious. In addition, Thomas was also announced Mr Community.

Prof Olubukola Oluranti Babalola is not afraid to push boundaries and this top-achieving academic is the epitome of excellence.

Prof Babalola is the director of the Food Security and Safety research focus area at the North-West University (NWU), leading as the head and principal investigator of a microbial biotechnology research laboratory.

The Debating Society on the North-West University’s (NWU’s) Mahikeng Campus made great strides at the Southern Africa Universities Debating Championship grand final when Thato Katametsi and Jeremiah Mukwena attained overall second position in the English second language category.

The grand final took place on 13 August 2022 at Wits University, with four teams – consisting of two people per team – participating. The teams were the NWU, Wits University, the University of Johannesburg and Free State University. Wits University walked away with the first prize.

by Ontiretse Motingwa

Traditionally a dojo is a place for learning or meditation, most often in the field of martial arts, and the Mbada residence on the North-West University’s (NWU’s) Mahikeng Campus have embraced this philosophy.

The residence recently hosted a women’s dojo at the Great Hall, where they invited boxing and karate sporting codes to give lessons to the ladies who attended on how they should defend themselves against perpetrators.

Wesley Sneijder, Fabio Cannavaro, Carlos Tevez, Raul Gonzalez, and Mateo Kovacic are among some of the best football players and have one thing in common – before the dizzying heights of fame and fortune, they all started off as ball boys.

Omphile Shuping, one of the North-West University (NWU) Eagles team members taking part in the 2022 Varsity Sports Football tournament, also started as a ball boy for the NWU team during the inaugural Varsity Football tournament in 2013.

Prof Lesley Wood, director of the North-West University’s (NWU’s) Community-based Educational Research (COMBER) focus area, was recently invited by Dr

Maura Adshead from the Limerick University (UL) in Ireland to collaborate in exploring the possibility of integrating more community-engaged learning into higher education curricula.

During the visit, she also collaborated on adapting the UL’s current community diploma – Community Wellness, Empowerment, Leadership and Life skills (C-WELL), for the South African higher education context.