Whether his graceful dive would cause his wings to be clipped was touch and go. He still gives a slightly embarrassed laugh when he thinks about it. It was Monday, 27 February in Potchefstroom during the Varsity Cup. The North-West University (NWU) Eagles were battling the Shimlas on the Fanie du Toit Sports Grounds in what was to end in a 63-16 victory against the visitors from Bloem. Just before the break the ball was played along the line and landed in Naiden Jaarts’s eager hands. This wing did what all try gluttons do.

The Rugby Institute of the North-West University (NWU) has again proven itself to be one of the country’s foremost player factories, with no fewer than six players from the NWU Eagles’ Varsity Cup-winning squad having secured provincial contracts.

These players have also obtained or are in the process of completing their respective academic degrees from the NWU, thereby yet again underlining the NWU’s commitment to providing well-rounded athletes with a future beyond the sports fields.

Prof Jean-Marie Kileshye Onema, executive manager for SADC WaterNet and extraordinary professor at the North-West University’s (NWU’s) Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, has been elected the secretary-general of the International Association of Hydrological Sciences (IAHS).

Prof Onema's election, which took place during the 28th International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics in Berlin, Germany, marks a momentous occasion in the history of IAHS. He is the first African to hold this significant position since the association's inception 101 years ago.

As was widely anticipated, the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) decided by a 3:2 majority to keep interest rates on hold for now, instead of opting for a further increase of 25 basis points.

In commenting on the MPC’s decision on 20 July, Prof Raymond Parsons, economist from the Business School at the North-West University (NWU), says it was the right call by the MPC, given the latest global and domestic economic cross-currents, as well as the cumulative impact of previous rate hikes on the economy.

It is again time for students to don their judicial robes for the popular annual NWU-Juta Mock Trials competition.

This year’s competition promises to be especially exciting, with the semi-finals and final taking place on 6 and 7 August respectively in the North West High Court in Mahikeng. The opening function will be hosted on 4 August.

“This will also be the first year that all four our semi-finals will take place simultaneously, bringing all the action to the courtrooms at the same time,” says Adv René Koraan, senior lecturer at the Faculty of Law.

The South African Centre for Digital Language Resources (SADiLaR) at the North-West University (NWU) hosted a successful fourth workshop on Resources for African Indigenous Languages (RAIL) in Dubrovnik, Croatia.

By Sandile Mahlangu

With the country having commemorated Youth Month last month, some North-West University (NWU) students celebrated the event differently this year. Four students from the university got an opportunity to embrace being a young person in our country and shared it with the rest of the world through commercial radio stations – 5FM and OFM.

North-West University PhD candidate Ntokozo Happy Msiza is one of only four young people that have been selected to represent South Africa at an agricultural summer school at the University of São Paulo in Brazil.

The bodybuilding team from the North-West University’s (NWU’s) Vanderbijlpark Campus once again emerged victorious in the national University Sports South Africa (USSA) championship for 2023.

This is the fifth time the team scooped the top spot, despite facing stiff competition from other teams.

This year the event took place at Forte Hare University in the Eastern Cape.

The North-West University (NWU) will be hosting the 2023 BRICS Network University Seminar from 5 to 6 July on the NWU’s Potchefstroom Campus.

BRICS is an acronym denoting the various global partnerships between Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.