Oldrin Masowa

Approximately 20% of university students in South Africa experience mental breakdowns, with depression and anxiety being the most common mental problems.

DJ Hans Kekana, better known as DJ HK, took off his headphones and stepped out from behind his turntables to receive a PhD in geography during the North-West University’s (NWU’s) graduation ceremony on 23 May 2022.

This adds to his already impressive list of successes in academic research, public service, the music industry, entrepreneurship and events management.

His journey

Hans registered for his first-year studies at the former University of Bophuthatswana (Unibo) in 1992 and joined the South African Student Congress (Sasco).

A group of 15 researchers from the North-West University’s (NWU’s) Unit for Environmental Sciences and Management recently presented their work at the 32nd Annual Meeting of the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC) Europe conference in Copenhagen, Denmark.

The theme for the meeting was “Towards a reduced pollution society”.

According to one of the NWU researchers, Dr Hannes Erasmus, a variety of topics were discussed, ranging from laboratory-based studies to field studies in terrestrial, fresh water and marine ecosystems.

Language traverses borders. It connects us, inspires us, educates us and enriches us. It is the fundamental tool that allows us to connect with each other. And, in a diverse, multilingual society, the more we appreciate each other’s native language, the fewer boundaries there will be between us.

It is very encouraging that the latest much-better-than-expected gross domestic product (GDP) figures for the first quarter of 2022 show a further strong recovery in the economy following the economic setbacks of the Covid-19 lockdowns and the widespread civil unrest of July 2021.

Prof Raymond Parsons, economist from the Business School of the North-West University (NWU), says the figures that were announced on 7 June 2022 reinforce the 4,9% GDP growth recorded for 2021 as a whole, after the negative -6,4% growth experienced in the previous year.

Ontiretse Motingwa

The All Sports Chapter (ASC) on the North-West University’s Mafikeng Campus recently hosted an inter-residence tournament in support of Student Counselling Development’s (SCD’s) Meal-A-Day project.

Students were invited to donate non-perishable goods in exchange for tickets to attend the finals of the tournament.

The Meal-A-Day project is a food security programme that provides needy students with a monthly supply of non-perishable food and other essentials such as toiletries and clothes.

Popular political analyst Levy Ndou has added another feather to his graduation cap. Ndou, a sought-after political analyst and strong critic of corruption, was conferred a PhD degree in public management and governance by the North-West University (NWU) at a recent graduation ceremony at the Kompas Gemeente in Vanderbijlpark.

 Ontiretse Motingwa

The North-West University (NWU) celebrated Africa Day across all three its campuses on 26 and 27 May 2022.

This year the Africa Day theme was “The Year of Nutrition - Strengthening resilience in nutrition and food security on the African continent”.

 “Master”. That is a title few can lay claim to. Best of the best. That is when a profession becomes a calling and is then developed into an art. Terseus Liebenberg definitely falls into this category.

Over more than three decades his knowledge and skill have taken athletes with talent and transformed them into global stars.  

In the recent 2021–2022 SA Athletics Annual, a publication of the SA Athletics Statisticians (SAAS), Liebenberg was named the top coach of the readmission era by the executive committee of the sports body.

Getting a degree, let alone an honours degree, is surreal for Meshan Letsoalo. By all accounts, he should not be where he is today, as the odds were stacked against him from birth.