In William Shakespeare’s play Romeo and Juliet, Juliet asks the age-old question: ‘What’s in a name?’ In the case of North-West University researcher Prof Nico Smit, the answer is clear ― his name is synonymous with expert contributions in the field of zoology.

This celebrated academic and parasitologist taxonomist follows in the footsteps of revered people such as biologist and author Sir David Attenborough and former President of the United States Barack Obama. Just like them, Prof Smit can also boast that living species have been named after him.

By Oldrin Masowa

The North-West University’s (NWU’s) School of Agricultural Sciences hosted its first ever Agri-Career fair on 19 October on the Potchefstroom Campus.

During the event, final-year students presented the findings of their soil science research and had the opportunity to network with the agricultural industry.

“The aim of the fair is to prepare students for the world of work to expose them to new agricultural skills and technology,” says senior lecturer in Agricultural Sciences, Dr George van Zyl.

One of the most challenging anxieties of the 21st century is safeguarding food security for the world’s exponential growing population, as stipulated by goal 2 of the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). According to projections, the global food demand is expected to rise between 60 to 98% by 2050, with a population of more than 9 billion.

South Africa’s freshwater sources are under pressure from various kinds of contaminants, and North-West University (NWU) researchers are searching for ways to keep track of some of the more elusive pollutants.

Prof Rialet Pieters, a researcher in the Unit for Environmental Sciences and Management, is an ecotoxicologist whose interests lie in organic chemical pollutants and their harmful effects on humans and wildlife.

Can you present your thesis within three minutes? These master’s and PhD students from the North-West University (NWU) proved that it is possible at the university’s second Three Minute Thesis (3MT) competition.

This competition is held annually at more than 200 universities worldwide, and challenges participants to present their research in 180 seconds in an engaging format that can be understood by an intelligent audience with no background in the research area.

Parasites may be viewed by many as pesky organisms,but understanding them and their impact on ecological systems is crucial in nature studies. The researchers and students at the North-West University (NWU) excel as experts in this field.

The NWU made history during the recent International Congress of Parasites of Wildlife by not only winning all the medals for postgraduates but also receiving the most coveted award for a researcher.

The North-West University (NWU), in partnership with SAS DataFly, a free resource that offers a fun and engaging way to explore data with students in real time, recently hosted a Teachers4DataAnalytics workshop for mathematics and science teachers.

The event was held at the NWU’s Vanderbijlpark Campus and was organised by statistics lecturers from the NWU and the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN).

By Oldrin Masowa

The Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences (FNAS) on the North-West University’s (NWU’s) Potchefstroom Campus recently hosted an awards ceremony in recognition of top student achievers.

During the event students were rewarded for achieving top academic results in their various modules during the first semester.

The North-West University (NWU) in collaboration with WATERnet and Baleware (Bridging Africa, Latin America, and Europe on Water and Renewable Energies Applications), is hosting an International Water-Climate Summer School from 4 to 18 October 2022.

The summer school is a hybrid, interactive, transdisciplinary event aimed at strengthening capacity to achieve Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6 – “Ensure access to water and sanitation for all”, and SDG 13 – “Climate action”.

North-West University (NWU) academic Otsile Maditsi says indigenous mining has a space to influence conventional mining.

“Indigenous mining is one of the 16 disciplines identified under the Indigenous Knowledge Act no 6 of 2019 as an early scientific method by indigenous communities of South Africa,” he says.