“No job, no food, please help.” These words on makeshift cardboard signs can be seen at every street corner on any given day in South Africa. With an unemployment rate of 26,7% in the first quarter of 2018, it comes as no surprise that South Africa is one of 20 nations with the highest unemployment figures in the world.

With populations expanding in many parts of the world and rapid urbanisation straining countries’ resources, the need for food and food security has never been so great. While this has created enormous opportunities for farmers in many parts of the world, including South Africa, our agricultural sector is facing significant challenges – not least of which is the uncertainty surrounding land reform in the country and encroaching climate change, which is affecting annual yields and the growth potential of the sector.

The North-West University (NWU) will host various National Science Week (NSW) activities in Potchefstroom from 30 July to 4 August 2018.

On 25 June 2018 staff members, academics and students from the North-West University (NWU) attended the seventh public lecture within the NWU Research and Innovation Seminar Series.

Twenty final-year students and staff members from the North-West University’s (NWU’s) School of Nursing Sciences took part in the Tirisano Training Research Programme (TTP) from 25 to 28 June 2018 at the Indaba Hotel.

The North-West University (NWU) will host the 26th biennial conference of the South African Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (SASBMB) in conjunction with the Federation of African Societies of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (FASBMB) from 8 to 11 July.

“The ability to listen is essential for professionals and healthcare providers if they want to fully understand and support people living with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and their families. By listening, professionals will be able to distribute the right information in specific situations to better the lives of individuals living on the ASD spectrum.”

Organisational interventions should aim to help young adults and managers to suppress and inhibit workaholic tendencies and maintain a positive work-life balance. This is what Prof Cecelie Schou Andreassen from the University of Bergen in Norway said during a guest lecture hosted by the Optentia research focus area on the North-West University’s (NWU’s) campus in Vanderbijlpark.

How can the North-West University (NWU) align assessment to support self-directed learning (SDL) and realise the goals as stated in its Teaching and Learning Strategy: 2016-2020? It is around this question that Prof Kobus Lombard’s recent inaugural lecture as newly appointed professor at the campus in Vanderbijlpark pivoted.

Prof David Mello, an associate professor in the subject group Public Administration and Local Government at the North-West University’s (NWU’s) campus in Mahikeng, delivered his inaugural lecture titled “Fusing social and human capital for optimum performance of municipalities” on 21 June 2018.