There is a distinct North-West University (NWU) flavour to this year’s IRB Rugby World Cup in Japan with both the Springboks and the Namibian national side boasting some NWU talent.

Names evoke responses, they conjure up images. They are our legacies and some are more resistant to the ravages of time and fading memories than others. Utter the name Dorette Badenhorst and the image you’ll see is one of a champion team celebrating, the response will be that of joy.

The North-West University (NWU) honoured some of its most remarkable alumni at an awards ceremony on 11 October in Sandton.

“The rise in South Africa's ranking from 67th to 60th out of 141 countries in the 2019 World Economic Forum (WEF) Global Competitiveness Report is welcome news at a time when the country's economic performance is at a low ebb and the economy is in a 'low growth trap'.”

Contestants in the prestigious Mr and Miss Vaal beauty pageant recently shone on the red carpet during this glittering event.

If you have not yet booked your seat for the much anticipated “Success is a choice” workshop by Robin Banks – one of the world’s leading authorities on the subject of mind power and personal mastery – you should hurry-up and do so.

The world is already knee deep into the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR), and South African academics and researchers need to come up with innovative technological solutions to ensure students’ skills keep up.

Vehicle security is a major concern in South Africa, especially with the latest national crime statistics revealing that more than 48 000 cars and motorbikes were stolen in the last financial year.

Vanderbijlpark, a pollution hotspot, has been chosen as the location for a state-of-the-art observation station that will monitor both the weather and air quality.

It promises to be a busy month ahead for the North-West University’s (NWU’s) Optentia research focus area with a number of workshops aimed at professionals, members of academia and postgraduate students.