As South Africans brace for a likely fourth wave of Covid-19 around November, the North-West University (NWU) is keeping the channels of communication open in a sea of confusion.

The institution hosted an online webinar on 31 August 2021 during which various issues were discussed with senior employees, partners and members of the business community. These issues included the NWU’s continued operations, the impact of Covid-19 on students, staff and communities, safety and transformation matters as well as a myriad of business-related concerns.

Crises that start out as disruptive emergencies can soon become the new normal. This is evident from most challenges in higher education in South Africa.

Teaching and learning, in particular, have had to develop contingency plans to offset the effects of major events such as load-shedding, #FeesMustFall and, currently, the Covid-19 pandemic.

Helping staff and students to adapt is essential to weather these unforeseen storms. It requires people to seek collective wisdom, share insights and develop a workable consensus together with stakeholders.

The North-West University (NWU) has once more been placed among the cream of the crop of local and international universities, reaffirming its place as a regular contender when it comes to high-quality subject offerings and excellence in world rankings.

According to the latest rankings from the Shangai Ranking Consultancy’s 2021 Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU) which were announced on 15 August, the NWU is recognised as one of the world’s top 1 000 research universities based on transparent methodology and objective third-party data.

The Faculty of Education at the North-West University (NWU) believes it requires more than just an ordinary teacher to make an impactful contribution in the education sector ― it takes a super teacher to cultivate, motivate and educate South Africa’s young minds.

University students who have a mother tongue other than English should not be at a disadvantage compared to those who do speak English at home. This is why it is important to level the language playing field.

The North-West University (NWU) is one of four tertiary education institutions in South Africa to work with three European universities to facilitate and promote the use of indigenous African languages as mediums of instruction in tertiary education.

The popular annual NWU-Juta Mock Trial competition celebrated its tenth birthda

It is with great sadness, shock and disbelief that the North-West University (NWU) community has learnt about the sudden passing away of Dr Johan van Zyl, Executive Chairperson of Toyota SA. Our deepest condolences go out to his wife Santie, family, friends and colleagues. He was indeed a remarkable man and leader.

The Covid-19 vaccination drive in South Africa received a boost with thousands of members of the public, including North-West University (NWU) staff members, their spouses and life-partners, getting their vaccinations during the past weekend (16 to 18 July).

Similar drives are expected in the near future and as soon as details regarding these are available, it will be communicated.

The advent of social media has brought about the democratisation of communication. The public who has always been consumers of messages has now also become producers since social media is open to everyone who has a device, an account, and data or access to the internet.

The North-West University’s (NWU's) researchers and innovators are working towards solutions to effectively destroy viruses, bacteria and fungi, including the Coronavirus, on a large scale. As the Covid-19 pandemic continues to rage, fast-working, low-cost disinfection solutions are essential in tackling the crisis. The NWU has taken up this challenge by revisiting a patent that was filed years ago for producing ozone.