By Mzwandile Ndlovu

A renewed push to translate indigenous knowledge (IK) into practical rural development took centre stage as stakeholders gathered for the Second Smart Village conference in Nyandeni in the Eastern Cape.

Held under the theme “Towards an indigenous knowledge-based smart village model: A multi-stakeholder planning dialogue for sustainable rural development,” the three-day engagement from 24 to 26 March 2026 moved beyond conceptual discussions towards implementation and community participation.

A North-West University (NWU) academic has earned international recognition for research examining how ready South Africa’s public sector is to adopt blockchain technology.

Dr Beatah Sibanda received the 2024 Best Abstract Award from the British Blockchain Association for her study on blockchain adoption in government systems.

While many developing countries are still in the early stages of establishing governance frameworks for Artificial Intelligence (AI), NWU master’s student Lebogang Marago is advocating for its responsible and secure use.

Born in a rural community in the Ventersdorp region, where young people face high unemployment and limited prospects, Lebogang was motivated to ask deeper questions about governance, development, inequality and policy making.

Twelve years ago, Prof. Liezl van Dyk, executive dean of the Faculty of Engineering, came to the North-West University (NWU) on a mission: to play a central role in developing industrial engineering as an impactful discipline at the university. Her daughter, Karla, was 10 years old at the time. Now, on 31 March this year, Prof. van Dyk experienced the fruits of her labour first-hand when Karla graduated as an industrial engineer.

The opportunity to learn from some of South Africa’s top scholars is a major advantage for up-and-coming academics who participate in the Future Professors Programme (FPP), a national initiative.

One such academic is Prof. Thembinkosi Malevu, an associate professor in the subject group Physics at the North-West University (NWU). He joined the FPP in January 2024 for its current two-year cycle.

North-West University (NWU) academic Prof Patrick Tchepmo Djomegni, Associate Professor in Applied Mathematics has added an important scholarly contribution to the field of applied mathematics with the completion of his new book on mathematical modelling techniques, a project that reflects both academic excellence and deep personal meaning.

Roughly 384 400 km from the pale blue dot we call Earth hangs an orb that has fascinated humanity for millennia. The Moon is our planet’s only natural satellite and is about a quarter of Earth’s size. Only 12 people set foot on it between 1969 and 1972, but more than 50 years later the Artemis programme aims to add to that number.

In early March, NASA’s Artemis II mission will carry four astronauts on a lunar flyby during a 10-day trip, with later missions set to put feet back on the Moon’s surface.