Research is at a crossroads, but the choice facing researchers is clear: make a difference to the world’s most pressing problems or be relegated to irrelevance.

“We are reminded that the decisions we make regarding the type of research we prioritise will either be the turning point towards a more sustainable and equitable world, or a missed opportunity by which history will judge us harshly,” said Prof. Bismark Tyobeka, principal and vice-chancellor of the North-West University (NWU) at the opening of NWU Research and Innovation (R&I) Week.

Two places on the Mail & Guardian’s 200 Young South Africans list for 2025 have been filled by education academics associated with the North-West University (NWU).

They are Dr Makhura Benjamin Rapanyane, a senior lecturer in political studies and international relations at the NWU, and Dr Monicca Thulisile Bhuda, an NWU alumnus and lecturer at the University of Mpumalanga.

Both were recognised in the education category of the 200 Young South Africans list.

In what has been dubbed an “accountability forum”, where pressing questions were asked about the future of South Africa, the North-West University (NWU) hosted the Youth 20 (Y20) Postgraduate Day at its Mahikeng Campus on 19 August.

The gathering was part of the NWU’s biennial Research and Innovation Week, which this year was aligned with South Africa’s presidency of the Group of 20 (G20) and emphasises solidarity, equality and sustainability.

Fresh from a 1-0 home victory over the Central University of Technology (CUT), the North-West University’s (NWU’s) footballers are heading into their next clash with confidence but not complacency.

On Thursday, 21 August, the NWU team comes up against one of Varsity Football’s top four sides, the University of Pretoria (Tuks). The NWU will be hosting the match at its Mahikeng stadium.

A dedicated team of third-year law students from the North-West University (NWU), representing the NWU team, won their first-ever annual Juta Mock Trials competition. The NWU team, consisting of members across all three campuses of the NWU, argued for the state in the final round of the competition against the Potchefstroom second-year law team, who were representing the defence in an robbery case.

Master’s-degree student Sibongile Dlaba’s innovative research on healthcare incident reporting won her an award at the 5th African Nursing Conference.

“Being named the winner of the Best Oral Presentation award at a continental conference was an incredibly humbling and empowering experience,” says Dlaba, with her voice filled with emotion after her remarkable achievement.

The North-West University (NWU) recently hosted a series of International Flag Day events across its three campuses, turning lecture halls and student centres into spaces of colour, pride and global unity.

Held on different days at the Mahikeng, Potchefstroom and Vanderbijlpark campuses, the celebrations brought together students, staff and international guests in a shared spirit of cultural exchange and mutual respect.

North-West University (NWU) Mahikeng Campus lecturer Emile Coetzee has been accepted into the South African Academy for Arts and Sciences (Suid-Afrikaanse Akademie vir Wetenskap en Kuns), an organisation dedicated to supporting and strengthening work in the sciences and arts completed in Afrikaans.

“It was a long journey for me to reach a point where I could be accepted into the academy. It took me over a decade to achieve. I had to increase my number of publications and become more active in my field of research,” Coetzee said.

Correctional Services Minister, Dr Pieter Groenewald, recently stated his intention to deport foreign criminals in South African jails back to their countries of origin. The Minister said that about 26 000 foreigners are either serving sentences in South African prisons or are awaiting sentencing. This places a massive burden on taxpayers, equating to R463 per day for each incarcerated foreigner, or around R11 million per year. With a target set for 2026, Minister Groenewald also acknowledged that a number of legal constraints must be addressed before the deportation process can begin.

In a world where innovation meets wellbeing, Chantel Muller is proving that the two can powerfully coexist. A published author and senior lecturer in marketing research and sports marketing at the North-West University’s (NWU’s) Vanderbijlpark Campus, Chantel is redefining how technology can transform health — and she’s doing it from right here at the NWU.