Dr Monicca Bhuda, an alumnus of the North-West University (NWU) and a lecturer at the University of Mpumalanga, has been bestowed with the 2023 Voice of Heritage award at the National Heritage Council of South Africa’s (NHC’s). 10th annual Golden Shield Heritage Awards.

These awards honour heritage champions and recognise their excellence in the heritage sector. The Voice of Heritage award is made in recognition of the remarkable contributions made by individuals dedicated to safeguarding and promoting South Africa's rich heritage.

By Menziwa Msibi

The North-West University (NWU) Library and Information Service and the School of Electrical, Electronic and Computer Engineering recently hosted the 3rd IFLA Symposium on Artificial Intelligence in Potchefstroom.

They did this in collaboration with the International Federation of Libraries Association Information Technology (IFLA IT) Section.

By Menziwa Msibi

North-West University (NWU) academics Prof Tinus Botha and Thomas Erlank recently gave a lunch hour recital at the Chris Seabrooke Music Hall at the Wits University School of Arts.

Dr Peter Cartwright, a piano lecturer at the Wits School of Arts, launched the lunch-hour concerts programme, and invited the NWU musos to perform a selection of works by Schubert, Schumann, and Beethoven.

The lunch-hour concert was well attended and warmly received by students from Wits’ School of Arts.

A group of North-West University (NWU) students recently participated in an Industry Solutions Challenge at the Southern Africa Telecommunication Networks and Applications Conference (SATNAC).

For this challenge, postgraduate and undergraduate students had to form teams across institutions and/or campuses, participating in one of four industry-inspired challenges – provided by SATNAC’s top sponsors.

As was widely expected, the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) again decided by a vote of three to two to continue to keep interest rates on hold, following a similar decision at the previous meeting of the MPC on 20 July.

Prof Raymond Parsons, economist from the North-West University (NWU), says this further “hawkish pause” outcome was the right decision by the MPC, taking into account the overall global and domestic factors at present shaping South Africa’s economic environment.

Hendrik Snyman, a fourth-year industrial engineering student at the North-West University (NWU), emerged as the victor in the recent Operations Research Society of South Africa (ORSSA*) optimisation modeling competition.

The competition, which took place during the tutorial session of this year's 52nd annual ORSSA conference, presented an exciting opportunity for attendees to showcase their optimisation modeling skills. Prof Fanie Terblanche from Elytica presented the competition, and also sponsored the first-place cash prize of R3 500.

North-West University (NWU) academic Prof Leepile Sehularo addressed the contentious issue of marijuana legalisation in South Africa during his inaugural lecture on 20 September 2023.

Under the theme "Legalisation of marijuana: The debate continues," Prof Sehularo provided a thorough examination of the profound implications of the ongoing debate.

There can be no denying the strain placed on South Africa’s education system, even less so the mounting challenges facing the country’s youth, not to mention the teachers entrusted with ensuring their education.

The North-West University’s (NWU's) Unit for Continuing Education partnered with the Gauteng City Region Academy (GCRA) to launch a solar technician training programme.

Taking place on the Vanderbijlpark Campus, this four-week programme aims to empower young and unemployed individuals. It equips them with work readiness skills, technical expertise, and hands-on experience regarding installing, maintaining and troubleshooting solar panels.

By Menziwa Msibi

The 2023 Bua! Poetry Competition Slam sparked a surge of creativity across the North-West University (NWU). The Creative Writing subject group in the School of Languages launched its inaugural intercampus Bua! Poetry Slam session across the three campuses earlier this year.

The Bua! Poetry Slam featured three distinct poetry competitions, each one hosted on a different campus. The Potchefstroom event took place on 5 April, followed by the competition in Vanderbijlpark on 3 May, and the Mahikeng competition on 25 August.