Comrades Marathon superstar Tete Dijana went supernova on Sunday 8 June when he won his third Comrades Marathon, following back-to-back victories in 2022 and 2023.

Dijana is an employee of Mi7, which is an external security service provider to the North-West University (NWU), and his reassuring presence on the Mahikeng Campus has made him a beloved member of the NWU family.

It was a stellar performance from Dijana who completed the 98.98 km distance from Pietermaritzburg to Durban in a time of five hours, 25 minutes and 28 seconds.

The disappointing gross domestic product (GDP) growth figure of 0,1% for the first quarter of 2025, released by StasSA on 3 June, comes as no surprise, as it merely confirms several months of muted high-frequency economic data that pointed to this likely outcome.

Prof Raymond Parsons, economist from the North-West University (NWU) Business School, says although adverse global developments earlier this year have also played a role, the weaker economic data was already apparent before then.

Transformation in the South African higher education sector is essential to ensure inclusivity, equity, and relevance in our society. As the country grapples with pressing socio-economic issues, it is vital that universities reflect the diversity of their communities and address their needs. This is an extremely important task, one in which expertise and experience must play a pivotal role.

Prof Sibusiso Chalufu, Acting Deputy Vice-Chancellor of the North-West University’s Vanderbijlpark Campus, fits this bill and then some.

He did it again! On Sunday, 11 May, the Olympic superstar and proud North-West University (NWU) Eagle Bradley Nkoana was part of the South African 4x100 m relay team that won gold at the 2025 World Athletics Relays in Guangzhou, China.

Nkoana, Akani Simbine, Bayanda Walaza and Sinesipho Dambile beat their opponents from the US, Canada and Japan to achieve a season's best time of 37.61 seconds.

Sitting on a R49 billion environmental liability tied to 6 100 legacy mines, South Africa needs to consider a dedicated rehabilitation fund supported by mandatory levies on mining companies to meet its mine rehabilitation targets.

Speaking during a public lecture hosted by the North-West University’s (NWU’s) Faculty of Law, Dr Fredua Agyemang pointed to Western Australia’s model, backed by industry levies and steady investment returns, as a possible solution to unlock consistent rehabilitation funding.

The North-West University (NWU) has again emerged as a leader in accounting education in South Africa. Its candidates achieved an overall pass rate of 95% in the January 2025 Initial Assessment of Competence (IAC) examinations of the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA) and Institute of Chartered Accountants of Namibia (ICAN).  

This compares to the national average pass rate of 70%, according to the results, which were announced on Friday, 4 April 2025.

The North-West University’s (NWU’s) principal and vice-chancellor, Prof Bismark Tyobeka, has been reappointed as a member of the South African Council for the Non-Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction for a period of five years from 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2030.

This announcement was made by Mr Mpho Parks Tau, Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition, on 31 March 2025.

The North-West University (NWU) Business School has established a formidable foundation and inaugurated the PhD Hub for Africa, a pioneering initiative aimed at nurturing doctoral talent and enhancing supervisory expertise throughout the continent. The PhD Hub was officially launched on Monday, 10 March 2025, during the International Conference on Green and Sustainable Development held at the Kigali Serena Hotel in Rwanda.

A mindset change in favour of self-directed learning could solve many of the problems in education and possibly in the workplace too, according to award-winning North-West University (NWU) expert Prof Elsa Mentz.

The Education Association of South Africa (EASA) awarded Prof Mentz the EASA Medal of Honour during its annual conference at Sun City in January.

Prof Mentz is the director of the NWU Research Unit for Self-Directed Learning– believed to be the only such unit in the international education research community.

He is as beloved at the North-West University (NWU) as he is across South Africa, and now the Springboks’ inspirational captain, Siya Kolisi, will forever have his name associated with the third biggest university in the country.

On Monday 24 February, the Dennedorp residence at the NWU’s Potchefstroom Campus, which provides housing predominantly for the university’s large contingent of rugby players affiliated with the NWU Rugby Institute, will be renamed the Siya Kolisi Residence.