The Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences at the North-West University (NWU) and the Nicolaus Copernicus University (NCU) recently hosted a successful inaugural NWU-NCU Joint Research Seminar. This milestone event represented a significant advancement in the ongoing commitment of the NWU to fostering international research partnerships and promoting its strategic goal of internationalisation.
North-West University (NWU) alumnus Tsholofelo Lejaka has entered the ring as Boxing South Africa’s (BSA’s) new chief executive officer.
Tsholofelo previously served as BSA CEO from 2016 to 2020, and he returned to the organisation in September 2024 as acting accounting officer. His appointment, effective 17 June 2025, follows a comprehensive recruitment process initiated in January 2025 to restore stability within the organisation.
Never underestimate the value of actively participating in student activities while studying. Ntlantla Lucky Kgatlhane, now a senior political reporter at the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC), is testament to that. He started out at the North-West University’s (NWU’s) Mahikeng Campus radio station, writing for the campus newspaper and generating content for the university’s website.
“I would never choose any other university because for me, the NWU is where it all started, where I built the foundation of my career,” he says.
What happens when students begin to wonder if universities are still necessary? This was one of the questions posed by the North-West University’s (NWU’s) Prof Anné Verhoef during a talk for postgraduate students on artificial intelligence (AI).
“AI is changing everything,” said Prof Verhoef, director of the NWU AI Hub and a professor of philosophy. “It is not just about technology. It forces us to ask what makes us human and what skills will matter in the future.”
As Phase 5 of the Basic Education Employment Initiative (BEEI) prepares to place thousands of young education assistants in schools across South Africa, support for their mental and emotional well-being is coming into sharper focus. In the North West province, an academic from the North-West University (NWU) is stepping in to provide such support to the 1 326 assistants allocated to the province.
In commemoration of History Month, the School of Social Sciences at the Vanderbijlpark Campus of the North-West University (NWU), in collaboration with its community partner, Vaal HiRAI, hosted a poignant community engagement seminar under the theme “Remembering Sharpeville”. Attended by 36 participants, the seminar served as a powerful reflection on the importance of historical memory and the role of public history in community identity.
By Gofaone Motsamai
A social sciences and economics student at North-West University’s Mahikeng Campus is balancing the demands of academic life with running a minicab business.
Maano Rambwa, now in his final year, ventured into entrepreneurship in 2023 when he launched Candy Corner, a small business selling sweets around campus. “I saved the money from that for two years,” he says.
When the 2025 Comrades Marathon kicked off on Sunday, 8 June, Benjamin Tjiane was running more than just the 90-odd kilometres between Durban and Pietermaritzburg. He was pursuing a goal that had started during the Covid-19 lockdowns. What began as a personal challenge has evolved into something much deeper.
“My first race was 21 km in 2019. After Covid-19, I challenged myself to run 42 and 50 km races, which were qualifying criteria for the Comrades," Benjamin remembers, “and that is how I started running Comrades marathons, realising I have endurance."
The School of Nursing at the Potchefstroom Campus of the North-West University (NWU) is making significant strides in community engagement, bringing life-saving skills to primary school teachers in and around Potchefstroom. Their First Aid for School Teachers (FAST) initiative is a registered community engagement project that started with great enthusiasm this year.
On 10 June 2025, Prof Bismark Tyobeka, principal and vice-chancellor of the North-West University (NWU), arrived in Curitiba, Brazil, alongside a delegation of senior academic staff to formalise a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the NWU and the Universidade Federal do Paraná (UFPR).
The agreement aims to strengthen collaboration in research, staff development, and the exploration of new academic fields, while also advancing initiatives related to student and staff exchange programmes.