“There is a growing dissatisfaction among South African employers towards the type of graduates that are currently being produced by higher education institutions, because they lack problem-solving, teamwork and critical thinking skills.”

This is according to Dr Quatro Mgogo, a senior lecturer in the School of Communication at the North-West University’s (NWU’s) Mahikeng Campus.

He recently presented a seminar, titled “Organising pedagogical activities for differently abled students”, which focused on peer empowerment and peer mentorship.

The North-West University (NWU) welcomes its newly elected Student Representative Council (SRC) that officially took office on 6 September.

The incumbent SRC will serve for a period of one year under the leadership of the SRC president, Yikumba Andreas, a graduate in Management Sciences and Marketing Management, and a current bachelor’s degree student in Economic Sciences with Economics and Risk Management.

Prof Roelien Goede is passionate about teaching and moved to Potchefstroom, where she had been appointed as lecturer in the then School for Computer Science, Statistics and Mathematics, in 2001.

Her main research focus, for which she received a C2 rating from the National Research Foundation (NRF) of South Africa in 2018, is the improvement of data warehousing in South Africa using systems thinking.

The improvement of data warehousing includes a focus on technical improvements and on improving the readiness of graduates to enter the data warehousing industry.

Prof Hanlie Moss, research director of PhASRec (Physical Activity, Sport and Recreation) at the North-West University (NWU), completed her master’s degree in Biochemistry, although she has always had a profound interest in the way the human body moves.

She coached gymnastics while completing a BSc in Physiology and Biochemistry and decided to study human movement science to become a better coach.

Mojalefa Motaung, North-West University's (NWU's) outgoing Vanderbijlpark Student Campus Council (SCC) president and Student Representative Council (SRC) deputy president, has his sights set on making his mark in the business world. The 22-year-old owns Roar Clothing, a thriving clothing line.  

Ontiretse Motingwa

On 3 September the North-West University (NWU) Soccer Institute will be conducting a competition for players under the age of 19 with the aim to discover new talent.

“The soccer institute has been fostering and producing top-tier talent for many years, and we have no intention of stopping now,” says Vuyo Sambo, manager of the institute.

Prof Febe De Wet, an associate professor in the School of Electrical, Electronic and Computer Engineering at the North-West University (NWU), has more than three decades of experience in her field, and her passion is the driving force in making a meaningful contribution to her industry.

She is working on several projects that deal with speech technology and language resources for native South African languages Her current project involves localising Mozilla Firefox's Common Voice platform for the 11 official languages recognised in the South African Constitution.

Everyone interested in digital humanities is in for a double treat.

The Digital Humanities Association of Southern Africa (DHASA) will be hosting a summer school from 31 October to 3 November 2022, followed by the inaugural digital humanities conference organised by the North-West University's (NWU's) Faculty of Humanities from 2 to 4 November 2022.

During the summer school a series of courses will cover a wide range of topics related to the digital humanities field, which is a relatively new research field in South Africa.

Varsity Football continues to play a prominent role in nurturing talent for role players involved with the game – from players, technical staff, masters of ceremonies, photographers, and sports writers – to name but a few.

Dimpho Khumalo, master of ceremonies (MC) for the North-West University (NWU) during the 2022 Varsity Football tournament, believes her role as MC in this tournament is a steppingstone to greatness.

Mental health expert Prof Miriam Mmamphamo Moagi is a research professor at the School of Nursing Science (Mahikeng Campus) of the North-West University (NWU). In contrast to typical nursing-related interests, her research interests include mental health, substance use and abuse, programme development, student/adolescent health and well-being, and the homeless who are mentally impaired. Her current research developed from when she was conducting her doctoral research.