Minister of Social Development Ms Lindiwe Zulu recently appointed North-West University (NWU) academic Dr Elizabeth Smit as member of the Professional Board for Social Work at the South African Council for Social Service Professions (SACSSP). 

Dr Smit, the deputy director in the School of Psychosocial Health in the Faculty of Humanities, says her appointment for a period of five years comes after a nomination process early in May. 

The famous French fashion designer Coco Chanel said to be irreplaceable, one must always be different and that was definitely the case when Dr Anja Erasmus received her PhD in Environmental Science on 29 July 2022. She stood out by wearing a dress with her research printed on it.

Her journey at the NWU started in 2012 where she enrolled for her BSc degree in Tourism, Zoology, and Geography. She went on to obtain her Honours degree in Biodiversity and Conservation Ecology in 2015 and her Master’s degree in Environmental Sciences in 2017.

North-West University (NWU) alumnus Advocate Dineo Mongwaketse has recently been appointed as the first-ever female manager for the Mahikeng local municipality, and assumed office on 1 August.

Advocate Mongwaketse recently graduated with an LLM degree from the NWU. She also holds an LLB and MBA degree from the NWU, as well as a BTech in internal auditing and a national diploma in internal auditing from the Cape Peninsula University of Technology. After completing her LLB degree, she served pupillage at the North West Bar Association.

The story of Dr Elfas Torerai is a classic case of focus, determination, persistence and success personified. He started off as a rookie journalist, plying his trade in community newspapers. Before long, he joined the mainstream media where he rose to become the provincial correspondent of the now defunct The New Age/AfroVoice.

In between the tight deadlines, he pursued an LLB degree at Unisa, and graduated in 2018.

Ontiretse Motingwa

North-West University (NWU) Prof Ferdinand Potgieter, a professor and sub-area leader for discipline in the research unit Education and Human Rights in Diversity (Edu-HRight), recently received notice of his C2-rating as an established researcher from the National Research Foundation (NRF).

Ever wanted to pursue a career in the medical sciences, public health or hospitality and tourism? These are the highest-ranked subject offerings of the North-West University (NWU) according to the latest rankings from the ShanghaiRanking Consultancy.

The popular annual NWU-Juta Mock Trials competition is back in full force, with last year’s virtual format making way for an in-person competition this year.

“We are very excited to have everyone back in our mock courtroom,” says Adv René Koraan, director of Professional Development and Community Engagement and senior lecturer at the Faculty of Law on the Potchefstroom Campus. She says the competition is an excellent opportunity for second- and third-year students to gain much-needed experience.

It is time to buck the dusky trend. The national energy provider, Eskom, is haemorrhaging money at an unsustainable rate and is nearly R400 billion in debt. Equipment is failing, power outages have become the norm, while its energy availability factor (EAF) has fallen by almost 30% in just over a decade.

Change is knocking at the door, loudly enough to draw attention, but yet too softly for everyone to hear. Across the country’s borders the final shots of a war are being fired. The previous regime is gasping for breath, because the world’s sanctions are choking it. The media are being gagged and traitors are being necklaced. It is a discordant symphony of chaos and riots, the conductors are limpet mines, letter bombs and comrades in arms. The prevailing state of emergency is depressing and everyone is spoiling for a fight.

The love two researchers from the South African Centre for Digital Language Resources (SADiLaR) have for language and their determination to promote and develop it have received a further boost with their inclusion on two language bodies of the Pan South African Language Board (PanSALB).

Mmasibidi Setaka, digital humanities researcher in Sesotho, and Benito Trollip, digital humanities researcher in Afrikaans, are now members of the national language bodies (NLBs) for their respective languages within PanSALB ― an honour they both cherish.