African people have been observing the stars and planets since ancient times and modern-day science is now paying close attention to the wealth of knowledge within traditional African astronomy.

Within the next 30 years the number of older people in Africa will grow from 46 million to 170 million. This is the problem that the continent will be facing by 2050, said Prof Jaco Hoffman from the Optentia research focus area at a recent Course on Social Gerontology in Southern Africa.

Nutrition researchers at the Centre of Excellence for Nutrition (CEN) of the North-West University (NWU) are doing important research on the treatment effects of severe acute malnutrition in Sub-Sahara Africa. Their findings will be used by the World Health Organization (WHO).

Over the years the North-West University (NWU) has made a name for itself as one of the top universities in the country. Now the NWU is part of a broader initiative, BRICSEd, to take quality education to countries across Africa and beyond.

Not many African universities approach the African Union (AU) to ask: “How can we be part of the solution?” This is according to Prof Johnny Strijdom, head of the Division of Social Welfare and Drug Control within the AU and new extraordinary professor at the Optentia research focus area on the North-West University’s (NWU’s) campus in Vanderbijlpark.

A much welcome result of the #FeesMustFall movement is that over the next three years, the South African government spending framework has made provision for the allocation of R57 billion towards fee-free higher education and training. However – according to Prof Ilyayambwa Mwanawina, associate professor at the North-West University’s (NWU’s) Faculty of Law, there is still a lot of groundwork to be done. 

Dr Musawenkosi Saurombe, a postdoctoral fellow at the North-West University’s (NWU’s) campus in Mahikeng is participating in the 2018 BRICS Youth Parliamentarian Forum as part of a delegation sent by the South African Youth for International Diplomacy (SAYID).

Prof Refilwe Phaswana-Mafuya, the North-West University’s (NWU’s) deputy vice-chancellor for research and innovation, was elected as fellow of the African Academy of Sciences (AAS).

Mr Tebogo Kupi, an academic and researcher from the North-West University’s (NWU’s) campus in Mahikeng, recently attended a regional training course on nuclear safeguards and non-proliferation for the South African region in Centurion, Gauteng.

The Covenant University in Nigeria invited Prof Masood Khalique, an academic in the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences on the North-West University’s (NWU’s) campus in Mahikeng, to present a series of lectures and to explore the possibility of research collaboration.