The North-West University (NWU) takes pride in the calibre of its academics. The expert work of the NWU’s researchers and lecturers is often recognised internationally, resulting in opportunities to collaborate with some of the most renowned and highest-ranking universities in the world.

Prof Paul Smit, associate professor of and programme leader for Labour Relations Management at the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences, has been invited to collaborate as a visiting fellow with the Centre for Business Research (CBR) at Cambridge University in the United Kingdom.

The School of Accounting Sciences at the North-West University (NWU) has once again distinguished itself as an indisputable leader in its field with the recent announcement by the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA) that the school’s Bachelor of Commerce in Financial Accountancy has been accredited for the purposes of SAICA’s Associate General Accountant [AGA(SA)] designation.

There are words that tie the tongue in knots. They confound the abilities of the learned; they separate the novice from the expert at spelling bees. They even change lives. At the North-West University (NWU), one of these words is “pharmacoepidemiology”, and it refers to a field that is enriching the health of the population of southern Africa.

Climate change, access to technology, energy and socioeconomic hurdles are just some of the critical challenges humanity is currently facing. Delegates from the BRICS* nations converged in person or virtually on the 2023 BRICS Network University seminar to build partnerships and find solutions to shared problems through collaboration and the dissemination of expertise.

The North-West University (NWU) will be hosting the 2023 BRICS Network University Seminar from 5 to 6 July on the NWU’s Potchefstroom Campus.

BRICS is an acronym denoting the various global partnerships between Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

Our world is unrecognisable from that of just a few decades ago and great strides have been made to reduce disparities hampering global growth and prosperity. However, new challenges have arisen and we have yet to find answers to so many vexing questions. These include climate change, poverty and inequality, access to education, and environmental degradation with an alarming loss of biodiversity. These obstacles can sometimes seem insurmountable, but the North-West University (NWU) is geared towards bridging societal divides and tackling these challenges head-on.

Universities South Africa (USAf) has appointed the principal and vice-chancellor of the North-West University (NWU), Prof Bismark Tyobeka, as chairperson of its Funding Strategy Group. He will also serve as a member of USAf’s executive committee (ExCo).

The North-West University (NWU) has shown great improvement in the latest Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings ― moving up in ranking position locally, in Africa and globally.

The NWU’s performance in these rankings has been consistent for the past five years and the latest results affirm the university’s position among the cream of the crop of local and international universities.

“It is welcome but not unexpected good news that headline inflation (CPI) for May has continued to show a declining trend.”

In commenting on the CPI, Prof Raymond Parsons, economist from the North-West University (NWU) Business School, says that although food costs remain high, the overall downward trend in headline inflation is converging on earlier consensus expectations of South Africa getting closer to the goal of price stability in the months ahead.

He points out that core inflation remains stubborn for now, however.

As time passes, words are watered down and phrases lose their meaning. Wisdom passes into obscurity as repetition creates clichés. This is where we are now. Do we still listen when we hear “youth” and “future”? The North-West University (NWU) believes that these two words – together – should not only feature prominently in every vocabulary, but when spoken, they should be heard.

According to Professor Bismark Tyobeka, principal and vice-chancellor of the NWU, this is seldom as important as when Youth Day is celebrated.