Kaka Mokakale from the North-West University’s (NWU’s) subject group Setswana was announced the winner in the Best Poetry category of the 2023 South African Literary Awards (SALA).

The awards were made after the Africa Century International African Writers conference that took place on the NWU’s Potchefstroom Campus.

Kaka competed against six nominees out of more than 30 entries, and his anthology of poetry – TSWINA YA POKO – were announced the winning entry.

The alumni of the North-West University (NWU) continuously shine in their respective fields of expertise, both nationally and internationally. The NWU recognised ten of these remarkable career professionals during the university’s prestigious Alumni Awards of Excellence event in Pretoria on 9 November.

These awards acknowledge exceptional alumni who are making impactful contributions in their careers and to society.

The North-West University (NWU) has recently launched a campaign to address the issue of plastic pollution. The campaign was initiated after the vice-chancellor, Prof Bismark Tyobeka, earlier this year challenged all staff and students to fight plastic pollution.

The launch of the campaign, #BeatPlasticPollution #StopUsingPlasticBottles, took place simultaneously across all three campuses, with events held at the Mahikeng, Potchefstroom and Vanderbijlpark campuses.

Imagine an hourglass and think of one of the countless impoverished communities in South Africa. Ask yourself: How do we enrich the lives of the people in these communities and equip them with the skills to secure sustainable employment opportunities? If you fill the hourglass with resources and turn it over, these resources will trickle down steadily, but leave few lasting effects for the community. Therefore, the question remains unanswered.

The North-West University’s (NWU’s) Vanderbijlpark Campus recently hosted a meeting with the executive mayor of the Emfuleni Local Municipality (ELM), Cllr Sipho Radebe, to strengthen their partnership and to further explore possible opportunities that would positively impact the surrounding communities.

Winning an award once is admirable. Winning it twice is even better. Winning it again and again is a feat.

Students and graduates of the North-West University’s (NWU) Graphic Design subject group shine in national and international awards competitions year after year. Showing incredible consistency, they have been bagging awards through their distinctive creativity and skills.

This year, true to their tradition, NWU designers again excelled at the international Loerie Awards and the Student Gold Pack Awards.

On Friday, 3 November, the three campuses of the North-West University (NWU) each hosted their annual memorial service in honour of all the staff and students who had sadly passed away during the past year.

Thirty-two students and eight personnel had passed away – a figure the NWU could never have anticipated.

“These individuals are not just a number or a statistic; they are people who touched our lives and we are thankful that in their lives our paths crossed,” said Prof Linda du Plessis, deputy vice-chancellor for Planning and Campus Operations (Vanderbijlpark Campus).

Elvis Moyo, a PhD candidate in the Centre for Applied Radiation and Technology (CARST) at the North-West University (NWU), represented the institution and South Africa at the Morganti Ju-Jitsu World Championships from 14 to 15 October in Recife, Brazil.

Elvis's dedication and determination bore fruit as he secured a bronze medal in the stand-up fighting category. In addition, he came close to clinching another medal in the grappling category, finishing in fourth place.

Prof Marianne van Woerkom examined the importance of identifying and utilising the strengths and talents of employees in the workplace during a recent public lecture hosted by the Optentia research unit on the North-West University’s (NWU’s) Vanderbijlpark Campus.

Prof Van Woerkom, a professor of positive psychology and human resource studies at Tilburg University in the Netherlands, explained that harnessing employees’ strengths not only can help them to cope with work pressure, but it can also add value in their personal and professional development.

University curricula must incite difficult conversations to meet today's challenges, and in recent years there has been a growing movement towards decolonising the education curriculum in South Africa. The question of “what knowledge is of most worth”, or “whose knowledge is of most worth” has been at the heart of this debate.