Despite being nutrient-rich and drought-resistant, indigenous foods are often overlooked in food security strategies. North-West University (NWU) student Modjadji Mandy Rasehlomi seeks to change that.

Modjadji, a master’s student in Indigenous Knowledge Systems, has been delving into the untapped potential of indigenous foods to address the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of No Poverty (SDG 1) and Zero Hunger (SDG 2).

Water is a limited natural resource and for Africa to improve its management of this resource, artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning skill sets need to be taught and embraced at institutions of higher learning.

It is time to realise and accept that we, as a species, share a responsibility to work together to safeguard all the environmental systems that regulate the functioning and state of the planet.

While Africa is a continent with a rapidly growing population of young people, it is crucial for the region to pay attention to the global agenda on ageing.

The United Nations declared the years 2021 to 2030 as the "Decade of Healthy Ageing". This global collaboration, aligned with the last 10 years of the Sustainable Development Goals, seeks to improve the lives of older people, their families and the communities in which they live.

If you think you have seen arum lilies in all their beautiful shapes, sizes and colours, you are in for a surprise: two new species were recently discovered in the Sekhukhuneland bushveld where these plants grow naturally and spectacularly.

A researcher of the North-West University (NWU) has been selected to serve on the board of directors of the South African Heart Association (SA Heart®). He will also work in its executive and stakeholder committees.

Prof Ruan Kruger from the Hypertension in Africa Research Team (HART) will serve on the board for a period of three years. “It is a great honour. The SA Heart® board comprises the best cardiologists in South Africa, and for me as a physiologist to be selected is a wonderful milestone.”

It is no surprise that, as a world-renowned expert in intelligence and foresight, Prof Jonathan Calof from the Ottawa University in Canada and extraordinary professor in the research focus area TRADE at the North-West University (NWU), is finding another global stage: China.

by Vukosi Mathale

The North-West University (NWU) has taken significant steps to foster innovation and bring research breakthroughs to the market. Central to this effort is the Technology Transfer and Innovation Support (TTIS) Office.

The role of TTIS is to help researchers translate their academic research into practical solutions that have a societal impact. Researchers who believe that their research outputs have the potential to extend beyond the university, should submit an intellectual property (IP) disclosure to the TTIS.

The faculties at the North-West University (NWU) are doing exciting work on the research front.

Prof Philimon Modisha is an associate professor in the Faculty of Engineering and his research is centred on liquid organic hydrogen storage. His research is mostly at the Department of Science and Innovation Hydrogen South Africa Infrastructure Centre of Competence, co-hosted by the NWU and the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research.

A researcher in the School of Communication at the North-West University (NWU), Dr Quatro Mgogo, has embarked on a study to explore how Facebook emojis are being employed to shape the meanings of izaci namaqhalo esiXhosa (isiXhosa proverbs and idioms).

The study also delves into how isiXhosa-speaking Facebook users are harnessing emojis to breathe fresh life into isiXhosa expressions. This study, rooted in interpretivist research philosophy, seeks to decode the cultural values of the Xhosa community through their use of emojis in digital communication.