By Michelle Meixieira Groenewald

The North-West University (NWU) emphasised its dedication to supporting the North West Dragons as the franchise’s title sponsor for the 2025 domestic games.

The partnership was officially unveiled during a special launch event held on 12 February at the NWU Potchefstroom Campus. North West Cricket (NWC) proudly revealed the team’s newly branded NWU kit, symbolising a strengthened relationship between the institution and the franchise.

The unprecedented decision by the Government of National Unity (GNU) Cabinet to postpone the Budget until 12 March because of disagreement over tax increases will inevitably have unintended consequences for South Africa’s political economy.

Prof Raymond Parsons, economist from the NWU Business School, says if the eventual Budget in March turns out to be truly committed to growth and job creation (as was outlined in the recent GNU Medium Term Development Plan) the delay would have been worthwhile if the GNU gets agreed trade-offs and better outcomes for the economy as a whole.

Three North-West University (NWU) innovators have earned a place in the highly competitive Emerging30 Innovators Programme, an initiative led by the Young African Entrepreneurship Institute (YAEI). Their journey began during the 2024 Youth Innovation Challenge, held as part of the YAEI & ABSA Entrepreneurship Week on the Potchefstroom Campus.

This challenge provided a platform for young entrepreneurs to pitch their groundbreaking ideas, ultimately paving the way for their participation in the prestigious 12-month incubation programme.

A mindset change in favour of self-directed learning could solve many of the problems in education and possibly in the workplace too, according to award-winning North-West University (NWU) expert Prof Elsa Mentz.

The Education Association of South Africa (EASA) awarded Prof Mentz the EASA Medal of Honour during its annual conference at Sun City in January.

Prof Mentz is the director of the NWU Research Unit for Self-Directed Learning– believed to be the only such unit in the international education research community.

Sizwe Mazibuko, a second-year BSc Quantitative Risk Management student at the North-West University (NWU), has been named a top 10 finalist in the prestigious 53rd Nedbank & Old Mutual Budget Speech Competition.

This competition serves as a platform for the brightest economic minds in South Africa to engage with critical financial issues, fostering solutions that contribute to the nation’s economic growth.

Medical biological scientist Puseletso Manyaka-Lesofe from the Centre for Human Metabolomics at the Potchefstroom Campus of the North-West University (NWU) has been selected as one of Forbes Africa’s 2025 Over 30 Under 50 honourees for her contributions to science and academia.

Over the past two weeks, from 27 January to 7 February, registered postgraduate students from the North-West University (NWU), alongside other participants from across the Southern African Development Community (SADC), engaged themselves in the fields of data science and computational thinking. In a world of data-driven decision-making, they acquired vital skills that will influence their futures.

By Tiyiselani Precious Miyambu

The 2025 academic year is officially under way at the North-West University (NWU). Staff members across all three campuses attended the opening ceremony on Thursday, 13 February 2025, where the university leadership outlined priorities for the year ahead.

On 8 February 2025, the North-West University (NWU) rolled out the purple carpet for its newest ambassadors across all three campuses, welcoming about 13 000 first years to the NWU family. The official welcome unfolded on the Vanderbijlpark Campus, with a live broadcast to the Potchefstroom and Mahikeng campuses.