In light of the serious challenges that climate change poses on water supply, the North-West University (NWU) is bolstering its water-related research.

To date South Africa has recorded more than 2,8 million Covid-19 infections and administered close to 16,6 million vaccine doses.

The decision by the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) to leave the repo rate unchanged for the fourth consecutive time last week was widely expected and in line with market expectations.

The North-West University (NWU) hosted its annual lecture on academic freedom on 15 September 2021. The lecture was a hybrid event hosted at the NWU’s Council Chambers in Potchefstroom and via the online platform Zoom.

The guest speaker for this year’s lecture was Prof. Kwadwo Appiagyei-Atua, an associate professor from the School of Law at the University of Ghana in Legon, Accra.

The topic was “The coloniality of higher education in Africa, the decolonisation agenda, and academic freedom”.

Power fluctuations sometimes associated with renewable energy resources could become a thing of the past through research under way at the North-West University (NWU) on new and better ways to store hydrogen.

The HySA Centre of Competence (Coc) at the NWU explains the storage problem as follows:

Electrical energy produced from renewable energy sources such as wind and solar is used to generate hydrogen through the process known as water electrolysis.

Diversity is the bedrock of the North-West University (NWU) and faith is a pillar of strength for many within the NWU and to billions of people around the globe. The Faculty of Theology has again shown that diversity and faith go well together by producing exceptional PhDs at the first PhD graduation ceremony of 2021.

Brown seaweed is known to be a rich source of minerals such as calcium, manganese, potassium, sodium, phosphorus, sulphur and iron. Add oyster mushrooms to the mix and the result could be a highly nutritious source of feed for indigenous chickens.

This is the thinking of Godfrey Mhlongo, North-West University (NWU) PhD student in animal health, whose PhD thesis is titled “Towards the optimisation of brown seaweed (Ecklonia maxima) for indigenous chickens using oyster mushrooms”.

Wasps are often viewed as pests but they can play a huge role in the ecosystem, from pollination to being a link in the food chain. North-West University (NWU) master’s student Yasfir Tarif Nadat is now undertaking a study to show how wasps can be indicators of pollution.

His study is inspired by a paper he and a team of researchers from the NWU, Linköping University and the University of Zimbabwe worked on. The team included Prof Henrik Kylin, Dr Rudo Sithole, Velesia Lesch and the NWU’s Prof Henk Bouwman.

Chromium from mining activities has been found in high concentrations in plant species commonly grown in household gardens in Sekhukhuneland, Limpopo, representing a potential health hazard.

These are some of the findings of Sutapa Adhikari, a doctoral student from the North-West University (NWU), who has been studying the contamination of food and medicinal plants by chromium (Cr) and platinum mine dust in Sekhukhuneland.

The whole family can be affected when living with a family member with a mental disorder, disability or developmental delay. Mechanisms to cope with the resulting stress include escape, avoidance, denial or looking to religion.  This is according to Tshepang Modise, nursing science master’s graduate at North-West University (NWU).

Tshepang has conducted research titled “Coping mechanisms used by families of mental health care users (MHCU) in Mahikeng Sub-district, North West Province”.