Minister of Social Development Ms Lindiwe Zulu recently appointed North-West University (NWU) academic Dr Elizabeth Smit as member of the Professional Board for Social Work at the South African Council for Social Service Professions (SACSSP). 

Dr Smit, the deputy director in the School of Psychosocial Health in the Faculty of Humanities, says her appointment for a period of five years comes after a nomination process early in May. 

North-West University (NWU) alumnus Advocate Dineo Mongwaketse has recently been appointed as the first-ever female manager for the Mahikeng local municipality, and assumed office on 1 August.

Advocate Mongwaketse recently graduated with an LLM degree from the NWU. She also holds an LLB and MBA degree from the NWU, as well as a BTech in internal auditing and a national diploma in internal auditing from the Cape Peninsula University of Technology. After completing her LLB degree, she served pupillage at the North West Bar Association.

Ontiretse Motingwa

The subject group Microbiology at the North-West University (NWU) recently facilitated an online webinar focusing on World Hepatitis Day.

Dr Hazel Tumelo Mufhandu, senior lecturer and deputy leader of the subject group was the facilitator, and Dr Nishi Prabdial-Sing, a principal scientist and virologist at the National Institute for Communicable Diseases in Johannesburg, was the keynote speaker.

In the spirit of International Nelson Mandela Day, the North-West University (NWU) Alumni and Stakeholder Relations office joined forces with the office of Prof Sonia Swanepoel, the deputy vice-chancellor for community engagement and Mahikeng Campus operations.

They donated 300 sanitary towels to the GoAllOut organisation which is managed by various NWU alumni.

The North-West University (NWU) Eagles earned their second victory in the 2022 Varsity Football tournament when they defeated the University of the Free State (UFS) in a nail-biting match at the NWU Mahikeng stadium on 28 July.

Omphile Shuping scored the game's opening goal in the 68th minute after a wonderful play with Lehlohonolo Mohlabai.

Lehlohonolo scored the second goal – an out-of-the-box long-range shot – in the 77th minute.

During the recent July USSA competition, bodybuilder and North -West University (NWU) student Penny Sambo finished first in his division and was announced the overall winner of the bodybuilding tournament.

Participants in competitive bodybuilding, such as Penny, demonstrate their developed muscular build with their personal posing routines and certain postures necessary for the competition. Muscularity, conditioning, and symmetry are used to evaluate them.

North-West University (NWU) alumnus Tebogo Edwin Lesoro has been selected as one of the winners of the Education Changemakers programme.

This programme, now running for its second year, was initiated by the Trevor Noah Foundation, in partnership with the Young African Leaders Initiative Regional Leadership Centre Southern Africa (YALI RCLSA) and the University of South Africa.

Tebogo came in sixth in the top 10 best presentations from participants in the Southern African Developing Countries (SADC) region.

Former North-West University (NWU) and Varsity Football player Xola Mlambo has signed with Premier Soccer League team TS Galaxy for the 2022/2023 season.

Xola was recently released by AmaZulu FC where he plied his trade last season after joining the club from Pirates in 2020.

He will reunite with former NWU teammate and TS Galaxy player, Orebotse Bobo Mongae, who has recently extended his contract with TS Galaxy until 2025.

Xola was part of the NWU team that took part in Varsity Sports first Varsity Football season in 2013.

Two North-West University (NWU) students – Africa Thaba from the Mahikeng Campus and Denise Geel from the Potchefstroom Campus – have been selected to represent the NWU at the 31st Christof Heyns African Human Rights Moot Court Competition. The competition will take place at British University in Cairo, Egypt from 25 to 30 July 2022.

The two final-year LLB students will be accompanied by NWU Faculty of Law representative Advocate Getsia Zazo, who has been helping the two with preparations.

On 14 July 2022, North-West University (NWU) professor in the subject group Physics, Prof Amare Abebe Gidelew, presented his inaugural lecture titled “Matters of Gravity: The how and why of cosmic evolution”. 

Prof Gidelew presented a brief account of one of humanity’s greatest adventures: trying to understand the origin, evolution, and ultimate fate of the universe we live in.

He showed that our understanding of the universe and the physical processes involved in its evolution has in itself evolved over time.