Concise, clear communication is imperative in the academic realm. It is a skill to make your research vision heard and an even greater one to make it understood.

The North-West University (NWU) is one of the top institutions in South Africa in engineering studies. This is according to the latest rankings by subject by Times Higher Education (THE) that list the NWU in the third position (the same as last year) among nine local higher-education institutions in the field of engineering.

There is a famous Chinese proverb that says “If you are planning for a year, sow rice; if you are planning for a decade, plant trees; if you are planning for a lifetime, educate people”.

Power fluctuations sometimes associated with renewable energy resources could become a thing of the past through research under way at the North-West University (NWU) on new and better ways to store hydrogen.

The HySA Centre of Competence (Coc) at the NWU explains the storage problem as follows:

Electrical energy produced from renewable energy sources such as wind and solar is used to generate hydrogen through the process known as water electrolysis.

Diversity is the bedrock of the North-West University (NWU) and faith is a pillar of strength for many within the NWU and to billions of people around the globe. The Faculty of Theology has again shown that diversity and faith go well together by producing exceptional PhDs at the first PhD graduation ceremony of 2021.

Brown seaweed is known to be a rich source of minerals such as calcium, manganese, potassium, sodium, phosphorus, sulphur and iron. Add oyster mushrooms to the mix and the result could be a highly nutritious source of feed for indigenous chickens.

This is the thinking of Godfrey Mhlongo, North-West University (NWU) PhD student in animal health, whose PhD thesis is titled “Towards the optimisation of brown seaweed (Ecklonia maxima) for indigenous chickens using oyster mushrooms”.

Wasps are often viewed as pests but they can play a huge role in the ecosystem, from pollination to being a link in the food chain. North-West University (NWU) master’s student Yasfir Tarif Nadat is now undertaking a study to show how wasps can be indicators of pollution.

His study is inspired by a paper he and a team of researchers from the NWU, Linköping University and the University of Zimbabwe worked on. The team included Prof Henrik Kylin, Dr Rudo Sithole, Velesia Lesch and the NWU’s Prof Henk Bouwman.

Chromium from mining activities has been found in high concentrations in plant species commonly grown in household gardens in Sekhukhuneland, Limpopo, representing a potential health hazard.

These are some of the findings of Sutapa Adhikari, a doctoral student from the North-West University (NWU), who has been studying the contamination of food and medicinal plants by chromium (Cr) and platinum mine dust in Sekhukhuneland.

The whole family can be affected when living with a family member with a mental disorder, disability or developmental delay. Mechanisms to cope with the resulting stress include escape, avoidance, denial or looking to religion.  This is according to Tshepang Modise, nursing science master’s graduate at North-West University (NWU).

Tshepang has conducted research titled “Coping mechanisms used by families of mental health care users (MHCU) in Mahikeng Sub-district, North West Province”.

With calls for safer, cleaner environments, a North-West University (NWU) researcher suggests that local governments use and enforce existing environmental regulations to ensure a better quality of life for all.

Maricélle Botes, part of the research team at the Faculty of Law's South African Research Chair in Cities, Law and Environmental Sustainability (CLES), says that while regulations and instruments are available, they are not being utilised.