The North-West University (NWU) Entrepreneurship Festival is strengthening the entrepreneurial ecosystem of the university by equipping students and aspiring entrepreneurs with the knowledge, skills and support needed to transform ideas into viable business opportunities. Anchored by the flagship NWU Leopards’ Lair Business Competition, the festival brings together initiatives that promote entrepreneurial thinking, business development and the practical application of innovation.

Opinion piece by Dr Lehlohonolo Mofokeng, a lecturer in education management and leadership at the NWU

• Protest is a democratic right, but violence and intimidation threaten the very student success activists seek to protect.

• South Africa’s post-school education system faces R59 billion in outstanding debt, placing both students and universities under immense pressure.

• South Africa already knows which skills its economy needs. Prof. Linda du Plessis says the real failure lies in not using that information to guide university funding, enrolment planning and programme development. 

The North-West University (NWU) has achieved an exceptional 99% pass rate in the combined January and June 2026 Initial Assessment of Competence (IAC) examinations administered by the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA).

The achievement places the NWU well above the national combined pass rate of 73%. In the January examination, the university recorded a pass rate of 97%, compared with the national average of 65%.

The North-West University (NWU) has reached a decisive milestone in establishing the Desmond Tutu School of Medicine following the accreditation of its Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBChB) programme by the Higher Education Quality Committee (HEQC) of the Council on Higher Education (CHE).

The CHE confirmed the accreditation in correspondence dated 21 August 2026. The six-year, 940-credit programme will be offered in contact mode at the Potchefstroom Campus.

Students from the School of Industrial Psychology and Human Resource Management at the Vanderbijlpark Campus of the North-West University (NWU) had the opportunity to hear directly from professionals about life after university during a panel discussion held on 31 July 2026.