Institutional News

GNU Cabinet must outline economic agenda to ensure greater policy certainty

The much-anticipated announcement by President Cyril Ramaphosa of the new Government of National Unity (GNU) Cabinet is, on the whole, good for business and investor confidence.

Prof Raymond Parsons, economist from the NWU Business School, says the markets are likely to respond positively as they digest the new mix of Cabinet appointments.

Submitted on Mon, 07/01/2024 - 10:36

bpSA helps 100 students to overcome the final hurdle

bp Southern Africa has responded to the plight of North-West University (NWU) students as part of its centenary commemorative initiatives. The company has donated R2,5m to help 100 of the university’s students clear their outstanding fees, enabling them to enter the working world with confidence.

Answering a parliamentary question earlier this year, Higher Education Minister Blade Nzimande said 56 627 students at the NWU have outstanding fees.

Submitted on Thu, 06/27/2024 - 12:11

SADiLaR celebrates PhD aimed at improving Sesotho learners' reading skills

A former high school teacher's quest to improve the poor reading ability of learners in low-resource languages has resulted in a groundbreaking PhD. Centered on the development of a means to measure text readability while developing digital language resources for Sesotho, this research is the first of its kind and will also serve as a model for other African languages.

Submitted on Wed, 06/26/2024 - 08:16

Paving the way for ethical leadership from Potchefstroom to Geneva

The North-West University's (NWU’s) Unit for Distance Learning (UDL) emerged as a pivotal voice at the recent International Council for Open and Distance Education (ICDE) Leadership Summit that took place from 5 to 7 June 2024.

This summit was a collaborative effort between the ICDE, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation, and Globethics, an international NGO focused on ethical leadership.

Submitted on Tue, 06/25/2024 - 10:30

Delving into socio-economic issues to strengthen global engagement

The North-West University’s (NWU’s) long-standing commitment to building a diverse plethora of global relationships resulted in a noteworthy event encouraging the exchange of ideas on Friday, 21 June.

A delegation of about 30 individuals from the University of Pennsylvania’s Africa Center in Philadelphia in the United States (US) and the Fulbright-Hays Group Project Abroad (GPA), met with various NWU representatives at the Sports Village in Potchefstroom.

Submitted on Mon, 06/24/2024 - 15:00

Venture leads to turnkey solutions to everyday problems

The Faculty of Engineering at the North-West University (NWU) prides itself on its cutting-edge innovations and research. One of the faculty’s internal corporate ventures called STRIDE is unique in that it is able to timeously produce business-ready solutions for everyday challenges.

STRIDE, which was founded in 2022, recently rebranded itself and was launched at the Faculty of Engineering on the Potchefstroom Campus on 11 June.

Submitted on Mon, 06/24/2024 - 14:46

Ensuring a future for migratory fish species

The Water Research Group (WRG) from the School of Biological Sciences and the Unit for Environmental Sciences and Management at the North-West University (NWU) collaborated with Nature-I-Am to celebrate World Fish Migration Day. Children between the ages of 4 and 13 from twenty different schools across Potchefstroom, Stilfontein and Fochville participated in the celebration, which took place at the appealing Lekwena Wildlife Estate on Saturday, 25 May.

Submitted on Wed, 06/19/2024 - 08:32

Stable GNU together with policy certainty will maximise business confidence

After having held highly successful free, fair and peaceful watershed elections on 29 May, South Africa has now embarked on the formation of a Government of National Unity (GNU) to navigate an election outcome in which no single party achieved a majority. To manage the new political dynamics and provide stability, a GNU is now being formed.

Prof Raymond Parsons, economist from the North-West University (NWU) Business School, says high-growth economies typically build their prosperity on sturdy and stable political foundations.

Submitted on Wed, 06/19/2024 - 08:28

QS ranks NWU among the top seven universities in South Africa

The latest Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings place the North-West University (NWU) among the top seven universities in South Africa. QS published its rankings for top global universities for 2025 on 4 June.

The NWU has performed consistently among local universities in these rankings ─ QS ranked the NWU seventh in the country last year too. Globally, the NWU moved into the 851 to 900 ranking category.

It is not only globally and locally that the NWU shines. According to QS, the NWU is now also among the top thirteen universities in Africa.

Submitted on Wed, 06/12/2024 - 09:17