It is official! The North-West University (NWU) is ranked second in the country when it comes to bodybuilding as a competitive sport.

Six football players of the North-West University’s (NWU’s) campus in Vanderbijlpark have been selected for the U/21 USSA (University Sport South Africa) football squad. This team will take part in the 2017 rendition of the SAB League Championships in Soweto.

Legendary American rapper, record producer, actor and poet Tupac Shakur once said that no matter how hard life gets, you should stick your chest out, keep your head up and handle it.Up-and-coming South African hip hop artist and NWU alumnus Unathi Abraham Mtolo (25) couldn’t agree more.

Zanele Ngobese might be the new kid on the block, but she is no stranger to the ins and outs of stakeholder relations.As the newly appointed alumni coordinator on the North-West University’s (NWU’s) campus in Vanderbijlpark, Zanele is excited about contributing towards the growth of the campus’s dynamic alumni fraternity.

“Scientific knowledge underpins our work with sportsmen and women but the critical difference comes in the application of this knowledge.”This is Lerato Maqena’s take on the importance of the science behind sport. For Lerato, a qualified sport scientist and an alumna of the North-West University’s (NWU’s) campus in Vanderbijlpark, sport represents a high-impact tool for development and a powerful agent for social change.

“More and more students are realising that they can’t simply pass their degree and find a job immediately upon graduation as was traditionally the case. Due to economic constraints and increasing competition within the formal employment sector, the so-called normal path to growing a career has been replaced by a more self focused and accountable career management process.“

The choir of the North-West University’s (NWU’s) campus in Vanderbijlpark – known as the ‘Voices of the River’ – performed exceptionally well at the recent 34^th annual SATICA Eisteddfod in Durban.

There is a difference between leading change and merely managing it. Ask any leader and they will tell you that almost all businesses – regardless of the sector or industry – are facing fundamental change. Add to this the current status of the economy and the socio-political challenges facing leaders today, it furthermore becomes evident that change has taken on a new dimension.

Without a proper understanding of economic concepts one is flying blind in the intricate landscape that is the South African economy. This is according to Prof Danie Meyer, senior lecturer within the School of Economic Sciences at the North-West University’s (NWU’s) campus in Vanderbijlpark.

“Sport has the power to change the world. It has the power to inspire. It has the power to unite people in a way that little else does. It speaks in a language everyone understands. Sport can create hope where once there was only despair.”