From the dusty streets of Sharpeville to the boardrooms of the South African financial sector, Molefi Seshabela’s journey is a powerful tale of resilience, failure and triumph. It is a story of defiance – of a young boy who grew up surrounded by poverty but refused to let poverty write the final chapter of his life.

For the North-West University (NWU) alumnus Tsakani Mabena, 2026 has marked a significant chapter in her journey as a young advocate for the preservation, promotion and advancement of indigenous knowledge systems (IKS).

One of the most renowned cricketers in the Vaal Triangle has shown that talent, temperament and a love for the game can take a player to great heights. Wikus Botha, the former NWU Vanderbijlpark director of Cricket, was named the Cricket South Africa (CSA) Rural Player of the Year at the 2026 awards ceremony.

North-West University (NWU) alumnus Leonard Hamunyela has reached another significant career milestone following his appointment as Head of the Enterprise Banking segment at FNB Namibia Commercial.

According to new research by North-West University (NWU) master's-degree graduate Thabiso Masoko, young livestock farmers continue to rely on indigenous knowledge systems (IKS), even when they believe such practices belong to the past.

At the age of 31, Dr Reoikantse Lucrucia Shuping has become South Africa’s youngest doctoral graduate in African Language and Linguistics (Setswana), following research that addresses the divide between spoken and written Setswana.

Dr Shuping, a Setswana lecturer in the School of Languages at the North-West University’s (NWU’s) Mahikeng Campus, received her DPhil degree from the University of the Witwatersrand on 13 July 2026.

When Prof. Musawenkosi Donia Saurombe arrived at the North-West University (NWU) as a teenager, she carried with her a determination to excel. Years later, that determination has culminated in one of her highest achievements: her appointment as a full professor at the University of Johannesburg.