World Intellectual Property Day is annually celebrated on 26 April, under the auspices of the United Nations’ World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO). This year’s theme was “IP and Youth: Innovating for a Better Future”.

This year, the North-West University’s (NWU’s) Technology Transfer and Innovation Support (TTIS) office – who are the custodians of intellectual property (IP) at the university – led the celebrations at the three NWU campuses with fun-filled educational events between 20 April and 12 May.

North-West University (NWU) academic Prof Olubukola Oluranti Babalola was elected a fellow of the Nigerian Academy of Science (NAS) during its annual general meeting earlier this year.

She was formally inducted as fellow, along with 10 international distinguished scientists on 12 May 2022.

The NAS fellow induction is one of the highest honours of the academy, and each fellow receives a certificate and gold medal.

Ikateleng, a long-running scholar support project of the North-West University (NWU), has received another R2,9 million from the Eskom Development Foundation.

To celebrate the generous donation, the foundation’s CEO, Cecil Ramonotsi, recently joined the NWU’s acting vice-chancellor, Prof Linda du Plessis, at the Ikateleng Centre at the Dr Molefi Oliphant Secondary School in Bophelong.

Athletes from the North-West University (NWU) – both former and current – were in exceptional form during the recently held Athletics South Africa Senior Track and Field Championships in Green Point, Cape Town.

In all, sixteen medals were won in a variety of codes.

Javelin throwers Johann Grobler and Jo-Ané van Dyk claimed gold, as did 20 km race walkers Marissa Swanepoel and Wayne Snyman. Valco van Wyk leapt the highest of all in the pole vault.

The acting vice-chancellor of the North-West University (NWU), Prof Linda du Plessis, clearly sets the example after she was awarded her second doctorate in 2020, and has also been praised for the quality of her study by two international academic institutions and associations.

Blood is the life-giving substance that flows through our veins, but if the pressure in our veins becomes too high it can be detrimental to our health.

The North-West University (NWU) has appointed a specialist in information technology (IT) governance, risk and business engagement as the university’s digital strategy officer.
Andile Swartbooi will serve in this capacity from 1 May 2022 onwards.

His responsibilities will include the execution of the NWU’s digital strategy, focusing on its four pillars: intentional experience; operating efficiency; business model changes and enablers.

The North-West University (NWU) continues to shine in global rankings. In the latest rankings, the Center for World University Rankings (CWUR) placed the NWU in the top 4,5% of universities in their 2022/2023 edition of the Global 2000 list. This is an improvement from being in the top 4,7% in last year’s ranking.

This outstanding achievement was published on 25 April on the cwur.org website. The NWU was ranked according to academic performance among 19 788 universities worldwide.

Bertie Jacobs

Bertie Jacobs