It was decided on an impulse, but she knew it would work. Like the Springboks and their millions of supporters, she believed.

When captain Siya Kolisi lifted the Webb Ellis Cup after the Springboks beat the All Blacks 12-11 in the final of the IRB Rugby World Cup in France, Nomvula Chasakara, chairperson of the Potchefstroom Campus Student Council (PCSC) at the North-West University (NWU), and her dedicated team had ensured that R100 000 would be allocated to aid struggling students with their registration fees in 2024.

The first-ever North-West University (NWU) Student Leadership Summit held on 6 October 2023 at the Birchwood Hotel and OR Tambo Conference Centre witnessed the participation of more than 150 students representing various student leadership structures from all three campuses.

The theme, "Navigating your journey", served as a guiding compass throughout the summit, emphasising the significance of goal setting, planning, and progress tracking in one's personal and professional life.

The North-West University (NWU) hosted a donors' event in Sandton, Johannesburg on 5 October 2023 to reach out to its various donors, bringing them up to date with what is happening at the university and to discuss the dilemma of the “missing middle”.

A recurring theme at the event was the challenge faced by "missing middle" students. The parents of these students earn too much to qualify for funding from the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS), yet they can't afford to pay for their children’s education.

Times Higher Education (THE) has ranked the North-West University (NWU) among the top seven local universities in their latest World University Rankings.

The ranking agency released the rankings for their 2023 cycle on 27 September. It places the NWU in the 601 to 800 category - the same as in last year’s ranking.

Compared to last year, the NWU improved its placing overall in the teaching, industry income and international outlook areas.

Members of the Ikageng community and representatives of the North-West University (NWU) took part in the Ikageng fun run on the overcast Saturday morning of 23 September.

The primary goal of the event was to bring together diverse communities, including people of all races, genders and those who have special needs, to create a welcoming environment.

Among the participants were Comrades Marathon duo heroes Dr Adele Broodryk and Mr Tete Dijana.

Research Week at the North-West University (NWU) was jam-packed with events showcasing the excellent and impactful work NWU researchers do.

This week is a biennial series of events that has been established to put the spotlight on postgraduate research programmes and researchers’ work, thereby enhancing excellence, visibility, collaboration, and networking.

This year’s Research and Innovation Week took place from 18 to 22 September with the theme "Research and innovation for sustainable impact".

Maricélle Botes, a final-year PhD student at the North-West University`s (NWU’s) Research Unit for Law, Justice and Sustainability, has been honoured with the National Research Foundation’s (NRF’s) Research Excellence Award for Next Generation Researchers in the Humanities, Social Sciences, and Law category.

The award, presented at a glittering event, recognised her outstanding academic performance and demonstrated potential for contributing significantly to the national system of innovation.

The objective of the North-West University (NWU) to invest in and increase its impact across communities has become fundamentally connected with community engagement.

The launch of the 2023/24 cricket season took place at the Willows Garden Hotel on Thursday, 7 September, with attendees including representatives from the NWU and North West (NW) Cricket.

In addition, the NW Dragons unveiled their new kit, offered the guests the first look at the squad for the upcoming season and announced their partnership with the NWU.

The IRB Rugby World Cup (RWC) kicks off on Friday, 8 September when the host nation, France, takes on three-time champions New Zealand, as these sides clash in Stade de France, Saint-Denis. As always, the world will be watching. The previous tournament – which South Africa won – was held in Japan in 2019 and was the most-watched rugby event in the history of the game, with more than 857 million people tuning in from around the globe.

The North-West University (NWU) has added another top placement to its impressive show in international rankings. The ShanghaiRanking Consultancy ranks the NWU in the category for the top 5 to 7 South African universities in its 2023 Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU).

The placing in the 5 to 7 category is an improvement from being ranked seventh in the country last year.

ARWU places the NWU in the 501 to 600 ranking category internationally – a considerable achievement, as it was ranked in the 601 to 700 category in 2022.