Opinion piece by Dr Olebogeng Baikgaki from of the North-West University’s (NWU’s) subject group Transport Economics

The future of the North West Province’s two government-owned airports – GD Montshioa Airport in Mahikeng and Pilanesberg International Airport – requires urgent reconsideration. Both facilities hold strategic value for the province’s economic and social development, yet years of underfunding and weak management have led to infrastructure decline, regulatory non-compliance and reduced operational capacity.

The North-West University (NWU) will host a public lecture focused on equipping aspiring entrepreneurs with practical financial management skills to support sustainable business growth. The session will be presented by Clement Makwela from the School of Management Sciences.

• “As a country, we can only succeed if we adhere to the principles of transparency and accountability. Accounting professionals are the counterbalance to corruption.” – Prof. Bismark Tyobeka, Principal and Vice-Chancellor.
• “It is our duty to ensure that we deliver enough accounting professionals of the highest quality, with the ethical and leadership frameworks to stem the tide of corruption.” – Prof. Tyobeka.

The North-West University’s (NWU’s) Vanderbijlpark Campus recently hosted a breakfast briefing at the Big Lapa, gathering professionals, academics and aspiring chartered accountants for a morning brimming with engagement, insight and inspiration.

Organised in collaboration with the prestigious South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA), the “double-shot” breakfast briefing session was far from ordinary. It masterfully fused two pressing conversations shaping the professional landscape of today: the looming threat of cyber risk and the art of career development.

The office of the deputy dean for teaching and learning in the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences recently hosted a dynamic Entrepreneurship Breakfast themed “Ideas Without Borders” across all three North-West University (NWU) campuses.

The event brought together a diverse group of stakeholders, including lecturers, academic staff and institutional partners from various faculties, creating a vibrant platform for dialogue on embedding entrepreneurship in the university environment.

At a time when artificial intelligence (AI) is reshaping higher education, Prof. Liandi van den Berg is helping lead the way in rethinking how universities assess student learning. Her work, recently featured in the Digital Education Council (DEC) Best Practices Collection, highlights a forward-thinking approach that is gaining global recognition.

The North-West University (NWU) continues to embrace innovative teaching approaches that prepare students for the demands of a rapidly evolving workplace. This commitment was recently demonstrated through an engaging classroom initiative designed for first-year Human Resource Management (HRM) students, where technology and real-world application took centre stage.

Prof. Re-an Müller, deputy director of the School of Management Sciences at the North-West University (NWU), delivered a compelling public lecture at the Vaal University of Technology (VUT) as part of its 60-year celebrations.

Hosted by the Department of Marketing, Retail Business and Sport Management in the Faculty of Management Sciences, the lecture formed part of the theme “VUT beyond 60 years: inclusive sports as a catalyst for social change”.

The North-West University (NWU) recently took centre stage as co-host of the 5th World Association for Sport Management (WASM) Conference, held from 3-6 March 2026 at the Newlands Cricket Ground in Cape Town.

Hosted in partnership with the Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT), this landmark event marked the first WASM Conference ever held on African soil.

Balancing ecological preservation with tourism development is vital for the future of South Africa’s protected areas. This is one of the lessons North-West University (NWU) honours students learnt during an educational visit to one of Africa’s most iconic nature reserves, the Kruger National Park.

The visit deepened the seven tourism management students’ understanding of nature-based tourism, which brings together conservation and tourism management.