Transforming an idea into a thriving business may seem like a daunting task, but the North-West University (NWU) gives the expertise and support to point aspiring entrepreneurs in the right direction.

By Sandile Mahlangu

The School of Management Sciences at the North-West University (NWU) hosted its first entrepreneurship market day for the third-year Business Management students on 9 May at the NWU's Potchefstroom Campus.

Several lecturers from the Global, Innovative, Forefront, Talent (GIFT) Management research niche area in the North-West University’s (NWU’s) Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences (FEMS) will soon depart for Hungary, courtesy of funding received from the European Union’s Erasmus funding programme.

According to Prof Anna-Marie Pelser, associate research professor and GIFT director, funding was sourced in January 2020, but unfortunately, the war between Russia and Ukraine delayed the finalisation of the funding grant.

The subject group Information Systems at the North-West University (NWU) has its first National Research Foundation (NRF) Y2-rated researcher in Prof Joshua Chukwuere.

He is an NWU-grown scholar in information systems, specifically emerging and digital technologies. Prof Chukwuere is an associate professor in the research focus area known as Emerging Technologies/Digital Technologies in the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences (FEMS).

South Africa faces difficult challenges that require the next generation of university graduates to be skilled leaders with extensive abilities to collaborate with communities to solve problems and create change. 

Four North-West University (NWU) projects carried out in partnership with communities exemplify how collaboration with communities can be impactful.

Kurt Naicker, a senior lecturer and chartered accountant at the North-West University’s (NWU’s) School of Accounting Sciences, recently presented the first virtual annual Kahoot Higher Ed Meetup and 10-year celebration of bringing awesomeness to classrooms worldwide.

Kahoot is a tool that can be used to engage students in the learning process by using gamification techniques. It is an online game-based learning platform that allows educators to create and share interactive quizzes, surveys, and discussions with their students.

The North-West University (NWU) continues to deliver chartered accounting students of the highest calibre, as is evident from the recently released results of the Initial Test of Competence (ITC) of the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA) and the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Namibia (ICAN), which was written in January.

A recent study conducted by a PhD graduate and staff member of the North-West University (NWU) Business School, Dr Lungile Ntsizwane, looked at integrating administrative systems and processes in mergers within South African higher education institutions.

She says higher education institutions go through a complex change management process when merging.

This year, North-West University (NWU) students showed their mettle during the on-campus qualifying round of the 2023 Hult Prize competition.

This international competition challenges young people to solve the world’s most pressing issues through social entrepreneurship. Every year, the best team globally receives $1 000 000 in funding to make their idea a reality.

Local municipalities in North West have not achieved clean audit reports due to the mismanagement of financial resources. This is according to a research study conducted by Dr Auchalie Mothupi in his PhD studies at the North-West University (NWU).

The title of Dr Mothupi’s thesis was “Developing an accountability framework to enhance management of local municipal finance in the North West Province”.