A timely new academic publication has joined South Africa’s shelves of legal scholarship. Commercial Law and Related Issues: A Review of Contemporary Legal Issues and Regulatory Development in South Africa and Selected Jurisdictions, published by Juta, was officially launched during a recent legal research conference at the Potchefstroom Campus of the North-West University (NWU).

South Africa is preparing the most sweeping reconfiguration of local government since 1996. Velenkosini Hlabisa, the minister of co-operative governance and traditional affairs (CoGTA), has unveiled a plan to reduce dysfunction, shore up finances and restore public trust in the country’s 257 municipalities. At least 35 of these are now deemed dysfunctional, crippled by empty coffers and chronic failures in basic service delivery.

In a sport defined by discipline, patience and relentless pursuit of perfection, Dr Fanie Roos has done what no Professional Golfers’ Association (PGA) professional has ever done before. He did not just break par, he broke barriers.

Dr Roos, a husband, father, coach and academic, has become the only PGA golf professional in South Africa to earn a PhD. It is a feat that blends two worlds rarely united: the high-performance intensity of elite golf and the deep analytical rigour of academic research.

Patients at Witrand Hospital recently received clothing and bathroom supplies from a group of fourth-year nursing students from the North-West University (NWU).

The students, who are completing their clinical hours in mental health care, said the initiative was part of their responsibility to provide care that goes beyond treatment.

“So amazing how this world was made, I wonder if God is a woman. The gift of life astounds me to this day. Give it up for the woman, oh, that woman. With a smile and a style, she’ll protect you like a child, that’s a woman.”

These powerful lyrics from Shaggy’s Strength of a Woman perfectly captured the spirit of the Faculty of Humanities at the North-West University’s (NWU’s) Potchefstroom Campus’ Women’s Month celebration, which was wrapped in gratitude and admiration.

As Starlink’s vast constellation of satellites traverse the sky in low-Earth orbit, they evoke wonder and awe in those gazing up at the night heavens. Science fiction has become technological reality. Yet, for South Africans, the benefits remain as distant as the stars beyond our solar system.

North-West University (NWU) alumnus Andries van Heerden is the chief executive officer of Afrimat Limited, a JSE-listed company that supplies iron ore, anthracite, phosphate, construction materials and industrial minerals across Southern Africa.

“I started as a first-year mechanical engineering student in Potchefstroom in 1984,” he recalls. His studies took him to the NWU’s Vaal Campus, where he graduated in 1988.

Reflecting on his time at university, he says: “I think my dream to become a successful entrepreneur was really born during the two years in Vanderbijlpark.”

High feed costs and declining meat quality are two of the biggest challenges facing the global poultry industry. For many smallholder farmers in South Africa, these issues are even more pressing, as they struggle to balance production costs with the demand for affordable, nutritious meat.

Against this backdrop, Phethile Emmelina Mabuza, an MSc graduate in animal science from North-West University (NWU), has pioneered a sustainable solution rooted in both innovation and local resources.

The North-West University’s (NWU’s) stand against plastic pollution, launched in 2023, has evolved into an institutionalised environmental policy and the results speak for themselves.

In the first six months of 2025, the NWU recycled 140,6 tons of campus waste, including 36 tons of single-use plastic. This reflects reduced plastic bottle consumption and increased recycling efforts prompted by the initiatives, according to Percy Sehaole, specialist in environmental management and coordinator of the campaign against plastic waste.

Two places on the Mail & Guardian’s 200 Young South Africans list for 2025 have been filled by education academics associated with the North-West University (NWU).

They are Dr Makhura Benjamin Rapanyane, a senior lecturer in political studies and international relations at the NWU, and Dr Monicca Thulisile Bhuda, an NWU alumnus and lecturer at the University of Mpumalanga.

Both were recognised in the education category of the 200 Young South Africans list.