The continued climb of the North-West University (NWU) in global rankings has taken it to the top 4,4% of global universities. This is according to the 2023 edition of the Global 2000 list of rankings published by the Center for World University Rankings (CWUR). It is an improvement from being in the top 4,5% for 2022/2023 and in the top 4,7% in the 2021/2022 edition of the rankings.

This impressive achievement was published on 15 May on the cwur.org website. The NWU was ranked according to academic performance among 20 531 universities worldwide.

A study by the University of Vienna, in collaboration with researchers from South Africa and the United Kingdom, is investigating the different emotional responses bilingual people have towards swear words in their different languages. The study will focus on English-Afrikaans bilingualism, examining the perceptions of swear words and swearing behaviors of English-Afrikaans bilinguals in South Africa. The study aims to measure complex bilingualism and understand why some words may be considered acceptable in one language but not in another.

Promoting indigenous African languages as a medium of instruction is imperative if we want to preserve our cultural heritage, improve learning outcomes and reduce language barriers. This was again evident during the 2023 BAQONDE congress, which was held at the North-West University (NWU) from 1 to 5 May.

On request of the family of the late Prof Dan Kgwadi, former principal and vice-chancellor of the North-West University (NWU), a memorial service to honour him was held on 4 May 2023 at the Mahikeng Campus.

Prof Kgwadi passed away on 30 April 2023.

Many speakers paid tribute to him during the memorial service, describing him as a visionary leader who was committed to making a difference in the lives of students and the wider community.

Expert knowledge is needed to protect and manage water, an essential and scarce natural resource. As a relatively dry country, South Africa faces crucial challenges that include insufficient water, water quality problems, inadequate infrastructure and inconsistency in access.

The Water Research Commission (WRC) plays an integral role in enabling the country to address these issues. One of the NWU’s own is now stepping up to play a part in this commission’s important work.

Several lecturers from the Global, Innovative, Forefront, Talent (GIFT) Management research niche area in the North-West University’s (NWU’s) Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences (FEMS) will soon depart for Hungary, courtesy of funding received from the European Union’s Erasmus funding programme.

According to Prof Anna-Marie Pelser, associate research professor and GIFT director, funding was sourced in January 2020, but unfortunately, the war between Russia and Ukraine delayed the finalisation of the funding grant.

The Technology Transfer and Innovation Support (TTIS) office at the North-West University (NWU) is helping innovators and entrepreneurs to realise their dreams.

When a third-year BCom student, Irene Nompini Tsele, conceived her idea for a cosmetics business, little did she know that partnering with the university’s TTIS office would one day make her business flourish.

South Africa faces difficult challenges that require the next generation of university graduates to be skilled leaders with extensive abilities to collaborate with communities to solve problems and create change. 

Four North-West University (NWU) projects carried out in partnership with communities exemplify how collaboration with communities can be impactful.

The North-West University (NWU) partnered with the National Press Club (NPC) to celebrate journalists' extraordinary work and dedication at the 2022 Newsmaker & Journalist of the Year awards.

The prestigious award ceremony was held on Thursday, 20 April, in Menlyn, Pretoria and was attended by journalists and academics. The NWU's deputy vice-chancellor for planning and Vanderbijlpark Campus operations, Prof Linda du Plessis, gave the keynote address.

The rise in the annual consumer price inflation from 7,0% to 7,1% in March was contrary to market expectations, which had been that the consumer price index (CPI) might by now have shown a modest decline to about 6,7%.

According to Prof Raymond Parsons, economist from the North-West University (NWU) Business School, food prices are the main culprit. “The rate of inflation at 7,1% therefore remains well above the target range of 3% to 6% of the South African Reserve Bank (SARB).”