South African policy makers and researchers are in agreement: a thriving small, medium and micro enterprise (SMME) sector is the key to job creation, economic sustainability and ultimately positive growth. With the National Development Plan (NDP) predicting that by 2030 SMMEs will generate 90% of the 11 million new jobs targeted, the future could be very bright.

The Optentia Research Focus Area on the North-West University’s campus in Vanderbijlpark, is currently planning a research day on 26 September, themed “Cultivating humanity: Generating and sharing evidence”.

The ladies soccer team of the North-West University’s (NWU’s) campus in Vanderbijlpark ended Women’s Month on a high note by winning the annual Zodwa Khoza Memorial Women’s Cup.

The future of history as a subject in South African schools is a very contentious topic, especially after the announcement by Minister Angie Motshekga that the history curriculum at school level needs a major overhaul.

Researchers and postgraduate students of the North-West University (NWU) recently attended the 13^th annual International Conference on Management, Finance and Entrepreneurship (ICMFE) as well as the 15^th International Conference on Economics and Social Sciences (ICESS) in Johannesburg.

The Optentia research focus area at the North-West University’s (NWU’s) campus in Vanderbijlpark has quite a busy month ahead. One of the highlights is certainly the workshop by Dr Hannu Savolainen, professor in special education in the Department of Education at the University of Jyväskylä in Finland and extraordinary professor at Optentia.

Prof Ilyayambwa Mwanawina, a law expert from the North-West University (NWU), shares his opinion on the impending ruling of the Zimbabwean Constitutional Court on the challenge lodged by Nelson Chamisa of the Zimbabwean Movement for Democratic Change (MDC).

Today, 20 August 2018, the North-West University’s (NWU’s) School of Computer Science and Information Systems on the campus in Vanderbijlpark will host its first ever IT Seminar.  

This September the Optentia research focus area on the North-West University’s (NWU’s) campus in Vanderbijlpark will be hosting a workshop by Dutch expert, Dr Emir Efendić, exploring open science practices and research improvements for positive psychology.

The Optentia research focus area on the North-West University’s (NWU’s) campus in Vanderbijlpark and KU Leuven in Belgium, with the financial backing of the Flemish Interuniversity Board, have been investigating the experiences of unemployed people in townships in South Africa for the last five years.