North-West University (NWU) academic at the Indigenous Knowledge Systems Centre, Prof Adeyemi Oladapo Aremu, has been inaugurated as the president of the South African Association of Botanists (SAAB) during the annual SAAB conference that took place at the University of Limpopo earlier this year.

He will serve as president from January 2023 to January 2025.

Prof Aremu says he is honoured to lead the SAAB. “Given the rich history of the SAAB and its impact on society, I am sincerely grateful to SAAB members and the council for trusting me with this important job.

The North-West University (NWU) continues to feature in international rankings. The latest Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings by Subject includes the NWU in two subject areas: agriculture and forestry, and medicine.

The 2023 QS World University Rankings by Subject ranked the NWU in the 351 to 400 category for agriculture and forestry and in the 551 to 600 category for medicine. This is the first year that the NWU has featured in the ranking table for agriculture and forestry.

South Africa is dipping its toes into a recession, and the continued decline of parastatals such as Eskom and Transnet is escalating the country’s economic woes. One of the many sectors that are facing suffocating constraints is also one of the most important ones: agriculture.

The North-West University (NWU), in collaboration with the Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT), was awarded the bid to host the prestigious World Association of Sport Management (WASM) conference in March 2026.

The conference is hosted every three years, and this will be the fifth conference, hosted for the first time on African soil.

The NWU and CPUT plan to co-host the WASM conference at the Newlands Stadium, where the CPUT Sport Management Department offices and lecture halls are located.

Time is a commodity that does not enjoy equal distribution. What time you have should be optimised, especially in a fast-paced world where the continuous evolution of one’s skills is necessary to stay relevant in the workplace. We live in a world where stagnation is detrimental to our futures. This is where the Unit for Continuing Education (UCE) at the North-West University (NWU) serves to bridge the gap between where we currently are, the time at our disposal and where we want to be.

“The long-awaited decision by President Cyril Ramaphosa to reconstitute his Cabinet and also fill existing key ministerial vacancies will be judged by the outcomes achieved in the period ahead.”

In commenting on the Cabinet reshuffle that was announced on 6 March, Prof Raymond Parsons, economist from the North-West University (NWU) Business School, says the selection of ministers is inevitably the outcome of a delicate navigation of political forces and interests in deciding on the Cabinet’s ultimate, yet enlarged, composition.

North-West University (NWU) student Onalenna Mongale was announced the North West Sportsman of the Year during the North West Provincial Government’s 7th Provincial Sports Awards that took place on 18 February 2023. Onalenna represented South Africa at the International University Sports Federation

(FISU) University Combat Sport - Karate Competition in Turkey last year. Onalenna competed in the Individual Kumite and ranked sixth out of about 22 athletes in his division.

There was silence, except for the death rattle reverberating across the Fanie du Toit sports ground. This was not how it was supposed to start, was it? With barely a minute gone, the University of the Free State (UFS) Shimlas had already crossed the whitewash in their Varsity Cup clash against the North-West University (NWU) Eagles in Potchefstroom on 27 February.

The North-West University’s (NWU’s) Vanderbijlpark Campus recently hosted a long-service awards ceremony to honour and acknowledge staff members who have served the institution with loyalty, dedication and hard work for 10 years and more.

The event has become a highly anticipated occasion, and this year more than 40 staff members were awarded.

Dine Du Pleez, who has worked at the university as an academic adviser for 30 years, was honoured for being the longest-serving individual on campus at this occasion.

South Africa’s heightened global risk status due to greylisting unfortunately dents an investment profile already grappling with factors such as the negative impact of aggressive load-shedding, lack of energy security, ongoing junk status and other uncertainties.

Prof Raymond Parsons, economist from the North-West University (NWU) Business School, in commenting on the decision by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) to greylist South Africa, says although it has been widely expected for some months, it is bad news that South Africa’s present vulnerable economy can do without.