One thousand eight hundred participants and officials. Ninety-six teams. One North-West University (NWU), hosting the biggest Spar Netball Championships ever.

The Fanie du Toit Sports Grounds almost could not contain all the netball talent from 8 to 13 August, and the NWU once again proved that no tournament was too much for it.

The top teams competed in the Senior A division, battled in the under 21 championship, and a multitude of teams took part in various subdivisions.

 “The ‘s’ is silent,” explains Anais, who has just turned 20. “You pronounce it like ‘A-nay’.” Correcting people with the pronunciation of her name is second nature. “I am used to it,” she laughs.

However, this former pupil of Potchefstroom Gymnasium and now BCom Tourism Management student at the North-West University (NWU) does most of her talking on the chessboard. Look, this is a chess fundi if you have never seen one.

Folklore tells the tale of a mythical bird of Greek origin. A big, feathered creature with talons and wings, its plumage radiant and beautiful, burst into flame, consumed in its own fiery inferno only to soon after rise from its ashes in a transformation from death to life.

To many, this is simply a tale told to while away time, but for North-West University (NWU) residence officer at the Mahikeng Campus Leihandra Naidoo, this is a symbol of living life to the fullest.

by Phenyo Mokgothu and Nande Kolo

According to statistician-general and head of Statistics South Africa Risenga Maluleke, the world of work is a competitive space where the skilled and unskilled often compete for opportunities, with some feeling discouraged or ending up being employed in an industry that is misaligned to their profession. 

The North-West University (NWU) Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS) Centre in partnership with Modi Donkey Farm will be hosting a donkey farmers’ Lekgotla on 1 September 2022 at the NWU’s Mahikeng Campus.

Director of the IKS Centre Dr Motheo Koitsiwe says the purpose of the lekgotla is to discuss challenges and possible mitigation strategies, to establish a database and council for donkey farmers, and to start a donkey information desk at the NWU’s School of Agricultural Sciences.

He may be small in posture, but everybody knows he has an enormous spirit. Dr Ali Bacher, South Africa’s most famous cricket administrator, who at the age of 80 still enjoys global standing, this week visited the North-West University (NWU) to share enough life lessons and anecdotes to fill a number of books.

This guest lecture was hosted by the Faculty of Health Sciences and arranged by the Centre for Health and Human Performance, and man, it was interesting!

Where to start?

North-West University (NWU) alumnus and Miss NWU 2018 Taahirah Zungu will represent South Africa at the Miss Intercontinental World pageant that will take place in Egypt later this year.

This is after she was crowned as Miss Intercontinental South Africa for 2022 during a pageant held at Gold Reef City on 20 August 2022.

Originally from Mahikeng,Taahirah has completed two qualifications at the NWU, a diploma in sports coaching and a BHSc degree in sports coaching and human movement sciences.

“Preclinical research serves as a bridge to new medicines,’’ says North-West University (NWU) academic Prof Rose Hayeshi, associate professor and director of the DSI/NWU Preclinical Drug Development Platform (PCDDP).

Preclinical drug development is one of the stages of development for new medicines and her specific interest is in drug metabolism.

Prof Hayeshi says the development of new medicines can be divided into two broad areas – discovery and development.

The North-West University (NWU)'s subject group History recently held its inaugural seminar in a newly established hybrid history seminar series.

This series aims to create a discussion platform for scholarly works in progress and intellectual exchange within the NWU and the wider academic community, sharing cutting-edge research on various historical themes.

Dr Bismark Tyobeka, principal and vice-chancellor of the North-West University (NWU), has been nominated to replace Dr Trevor Dudley as South-Africa’s representative on the Senior Industry Advisory Panel (SIAP) of the Generation IV International Forum (GIF). This forum was created in 2001 as an international body to develop research necessary to ensure the deployment of fourth-generation nuclear systems by 2030.

Dr Bismark, how does it feel to be nominated to serve on the SIAP of the GIF?