The North-West University (NWU) is the best choice among local universities for studies in the field of engineering. The latest subjects ranking by Times Higher Education (THE) places the NWU at the top of the ladder in this field, and highlights the NWU’s other quality subject offerings.

According to THE’s World University Rankings by Subject for 2023, the NWU is first among local institutions in engineering, moving up from third position last year. It places the NWU in the 401 to 500 category globally.

Computers are becoming essential in modern society with a tremendous influence on how humans create and solve problems. The North-West University's (NWU’s) Intelligent Systems research group is on a mission to develop next-generation solutions that will help solve transportation problems using technology.

Researchers of the North-West University (NWU) regularly work in communities to improve lives and find solutions to pressing issues. In the fight against breast cancer, a hospital in Potchefstroom has called on the expertise of the Medicine Usage in South Africa (MUSA) research entity in the Faculty of Health Sciences.

Prof Alfred Brunsdon from the North-West University’s (NWU’s) Faculty of Theology recently received a C2-rating from the National Research Foundation. What makes this recognition noteworthy is the niche area of his research which is discrepancies between academic content and cultural contexts of African theology students.

More than 100 000 people in South Africa have turned to the waste-picking sector as a source of employment. This is according to Nonhlanhla Ngcobo, a PhD student and a researcher at the South African Chair in Cities, Law and Environmental Sustainability in the Faculty of Law at the North-West University’s (NWU’s) Potchefstroom Campus.

“The slow economic growth rate in South Africa does not bring hope to the 31% of people currently unemployed, especially those with very low levels of education and skills,” she says.

One of the most challenging anxieties of the 21st century is safeguarding food security for the world’s exponential growing population, as stipulated by goal 2 of the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). According to projections, the global food demand is expected to rise between 60 to 98% by 2050, with a population of more than 9 billion.

South Africa’s freshwater sources are under pressure from various kinds of contaminants, and North-West University (NWU) researchers are searching for ways to keep track of some of the more elusive pollutants.

Prof Rialet Pieters, a researcher in the Unit for Environmental Sciences and Management, is an ecotoxicologist whose interests lie in organic chemical pollutants and their harmful effects on humans and wildlife.

By Nolwazu Xulu

The Sol Plaatje Secondary School under-18 football team is the very first champions of the North-West University (NWU) Vice-Chancellor Soccer Challenge.

The tournament took place on 22 October 2022 at the NWU Mahikeng Campus Stadium.

“Against the background of difficult global and domestic economic circumstances Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana generally delivered a realistic and credible fiscal message in the Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS) today.”

In commenting on the MTBPS, Prof Raymond Parsons, economist from the Business School of the North-West University (NWU), says South Africa’s public finances have now been put on a much more sustainable basis.

He points out that both expenditure and revenue are good-news stories that help to build economic resilience.

By Ontiretse Motingwa and Nolwazi Xulu

Prof Howard Chtimira, a professor of securities and financial markets law at the North-West University’s (NWU’s) Faculty of Law, delivered his inaugural lecture on 21 October 2022 at the Mahikeng Campus.

Titled “A legal conspectus of selected challenges affecting financial inclusion for the poor and low-income earners in South Africa”, the lecture advocated for better financial inclusion strategies in South Africa.