If you log on to any social media platform in the early hours of the morning you are likely to find a lot of people online. Since the country went into lockdown due to Covid-19 a few weeks ago, South Africans have been struggling to fall asleep.

Across the globe, a major concern in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic has been a shortage of medical equipment, particularly ventilators. As the number of confirmed cases increase on a daily basis in South Africa, the private and public sectors are preparing for the anticipated need, but it is still unclear if we will have enough ventilators should the predicted surge in infections come.

With the world facing an unprecedented challenge in the form of the global Covid-19 pandemic, we have seen everyone coming together to combat this pandemic. The North-West University (NWU) played its part and recently launched the NWU Covid-19 Response Fund as a means of supporting students with laptops/devices while also offering support to staff and all communities surrounding its campuses.

The Faculty of Engineering at the North-West University (NWU) is proud to announce that we will be adding a brand new engineering qualification to our existing range of programmes. The Bachelor of Mechatronic Engineering programme has been approved by the Engineering Council of South Africa (ECSA) and will allow graduates to compete internationally on the world stage. This programme will be offered as from 2021.

As the Covid-19 pandemic continues to disrupt and affect our lives in the most unprecedented and unpredictable ways, the North-West University has launched the NWU Covid-19 Response Fund.

On the morning of 24 April, Prof Dewald van Niekerk, laced up his running shoes and started running around his house in Potchefstroom. The time was 10:30. When he finally stopped to unlace his shoes, twenty-four hours and ten minutes later, he’d circled his house 1 100 times to clock a distance of 110km.

Epidemiological and technical assistance against COVID-19 is the latest contribution in the collaboration between the North-West University and the North West Department of Health (NWDoH).

During the last five weeks parents had to quickly familiarise themselves with teaching techniques and start homeschooling their children.

The Covid-19 lockdown brings with it a number of emotional challenges, not only for adults but also for children.

Four researchers from the North-West University (NWU) have been nominated for this year’s Science Oscars.