Human Interest

Noord-Vaal Cross Country competition broadens its horizons

On Saturday 26 August, talented athletes from 40 secondary and six primary schools participated in the Noord-Vaal Cross Country competition hosted by the North-West University's (NWU’s) Vanderbijlpark Campus and Hoërskool DR Malan in Meyerton.

The event brought together talented athletes from Vanderbijlpark, Johannesburg, Pretoria, Meyerton and Potchefstroom.

Taking place along the picturesque banks of the Vaal River, participants immersed themselves in the stunning surroundings as they navigated the cross-country course.

Submitted on Tue, 09/05/2023 - 08:34

SA needs to find its moral compass

A North-West University (NWU) academic says he hopes his new book on South Africa’s moral compass will open up a vigorous social debate that could unleash deep interest among willing role players to bring back hope and morality to our young democracy.

Prof Koos Vorster is part of the Reformed Theology and the Development of the South African Society research unit which deals with the moral development of the South African society.

Submitted on Mon, 09/04/2023 - 08:15

Scarce skill puts NWU taxonomist at forefront of describing parasites

“What is in a name?” William Shakespeare wanted to know.  A young researcher from the North-West University (NWU) knows exactly how important a name is. She is currently believed to be the youngest gnathiid taxonomist in the world, at the forefront of describing these parasites and identifying their names – or the lack thereof.

Dr Anja Erasmus thrives on recording the tiny sea species and listing important information used to identify them. She is one of only a few active gnathiid taxonomists in the world ― the others being in the Philippines, Japan, Australia and Europe.

Submitted on Fri, 09/01/2023 - 12:06

Hypertext poetry project is part of exhibition in Rome

The eight-year-old Byderhand project of the subject group Creative Writing at the North-West University has been selected to form part of an international hypertext creation exhibition that will take place in Rome soon.

“This is singular international recognition for the subject group Creative Writing, and particularly for the garden-verses arm of the Byderhand project in the Karoo Desert National Botanical Garden,” says Prof Bernard Odendaal.

Exhibition offers a glance at hypertext works of more than three decades

Submitted on Thu, 08/31/2023 - 11:16

Professor Marius Smit embarks on new horizons

On 17 August, Professor Marius Smit from the Faculty of Education delivered his inaugural lecture, titled The symphony of seeds and harvest – harmonising the law, policy, and interventions to cultivate quality education.

In his lecture Prof Smit said that the harmonisation and proper robust application of the law, good policies and interventions can orchestrate an education system that will improve the quality of education in the country.

He illustrated this by highlighting the following points:

Submitted on Thu, 08/31/2023 - 09:32

New Covid-19 variant being monitored

The new Covid-19 subvariant EG.5 – also known as Eris – has made its way into South Africa with the first case reported in Gauteng in mid-August.

This after it crossed the borders of China, the United States, South Korea, Japan, Canada, Australia, Singapore, the United Kingdom, France, Portugal and Spain.

Dr Hazel Mufhandu, senior lecturer and virologist at the North-West University (NWU), tells us more about Eris.

Submitted on Wed, 08/30/2023 - 11:17

Why the need to develop scarce accounting skills is abundantly clear

Without quality oversight, output suffers. Without transparency, deception thrives. Misinformation and misinterpretation are propagated to become the norm as fiction becomes indistinguishable from fact. In a developing country such as South Africa that faces a multitude of challenges, this cannot be allowed.

An example of this is an economy that is increasingly struggling to awake from a prolonged slumber caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, rolling blackouts and widespread corruption in institutions fundamental to the health of the country.

Submitted on Thu, 08/24/2023 - 14:33