Prof Marianne van Woerkom examined the importance of identifying and utilising the strengths and talents of employees in the workplace during a recent public lecture hosted by the Optentia research unit on the North-West University’s (NWU’s) Vanderbijlpark Campus.

Prof Van Woerkom, a professor of positive psychology and human resource studies at Tilburg University in the Netherlands, explained that harnessing employees’ strengths not only can help them to cope with work pressure, but it can also add value in their personal and professional development.

The North-West University (NWU) has bestowed an honorary doctorate on Prof Herman Hubert van der Spuy for his exceptional contributions that have helped shape the South African musical landscape.

Prof Van der Spuy’s influence and contributions as an adjudicator, examiner and adviser at music institutions throughout South Africa earned him this recognition on 26 October.

The School of Music at the North-West University (NWU) and the research niche area Musical Arts in South Africa: Resources and Applications (MASARA) recently hosted the sixteenth Cultural Diversity in Music Education (CDIME) conference under the leadership of Prof Albi Odendaal.

The biennial international conference ran from 9 to 11 October and was held at the Waterfront Breakwater Lodge in Cape Town. It provided a platform for the exchange of practices and research relating to cultural diversity in music education.

The School of Government Studies in the Faculty of Humanities at the North-West University (NWU) hosted a public seminar on Tuesday, 3 October.

The seminar's primary objective was to address bridging the gap between academia and practice, with a particular emphasis on the role of the School of Government Studies.

Events of this nature serve the best interest of the university to engage with its stakeholders in government.

• Nepotism is not limited to isolated cases in Africa, but a trend throughout the continent.
• Allowing nepotism practices through family, friends and those least qualified to occupy leadership positions is tantamount to stealing Africa’s future from its young generation.
• The liberation movement of the 1960s has not succeeded in addressing nepotism successfully as we see today that the post-colonial project has failed to resolve many socio-economic issues.

Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa recently raised eyebrows – and elicited no shortage of critici

• Crude oil prices are set to skyrocket after the attack on Israel.
• Israel is going to retaliate with full force.
• The attack has massive global implications.

On Saturday, 7 October, southern parts of Israel suffered a surprise attack on an unprecedented scale by Palestinian military group Hamas, leaving a wake of destruction, with more than 700 dead, thousands of injuries and a host of civilians taken hostage.

Israel’s response has been swift, with targeted air strikes in Gaza and talk of a ground incursion into the disputed region abounding. 

The Faculty of Law and the Faculty of Humanities at the North-West University (NWU) jointly hosted the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Forum on the evening of Wednesday, 27 September.

The event centred around AI-generated knowledge and its implications for copyright, originality, and embodiment.

A digital humanities researcher from the South African Centre for Digital Language Resources (SADiLaR) at the North-West University (NWU) has been selected for the next cohort of the Open Life Science (OLS) Open Seeds programme.

This is an international mentoring and training programme for early-stage researchers and young leaders interested in applying open principles in their work and becoming open science ambassadors in their communities.

The South African Centre for Digital Language Resources (SADiLaR) at the North-West University (NWU) recently hosted another successful DH-IGNITE regional event at the Premier Hotel OR Tambo in Kempton Park.

Staff and students from various universities and participants from the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research and the Human Sciences Research Council joined the three-day event.

Two digital humanities researchers from the South African Centre for Digital Language Resources (SADiLaR) at the North-West University (NWU) have been included in The Carpentries' newest cohort of certified instructor trainers.

Following the completion of a 10-week long Train-the-Trainer course, Mmasibidi Setaka and Rooweither Mabuya are now certified to train and certify Carpentries instructors.