What began as a personal search for direction has developed into a series of bodybuilding titles for North-West University (NWU) student Bokang Matsetela. In just two years, the fourth-year economics student has progressed from entering her first competition to standing among the country's top university bodybuilders, proving that discipline can shape more than physical strength.
The North-West University (NWU) congratulates Dr Lebogang Mathibe Ramalepe, a senior psychology lecturer and public health researcher at the Vanderbijlpark Campus, on her appointment as chairperson of the National Council on Gender-Based Violence and Femicide (NCGBVF).
As poultry producers face growing pressure to reduce antibiotic use while managing rising temperatures, a North-West University (NWU) study has found that combining probiotics and stimbiotics in broiler chicken diets could help the birds maintain growth and cope better with heat stress without compromising performance, meat quality, health or welfare.
When false information spreads online in English, artificial intelligence (AI) can often help identify it. But when the same misinformation appears in isiZulu, Sepedi or many other South African languages, the tools are limited.
A North-West University (NWU) PhD study by Dr Seani Rananga is addressing that gap by developing multilingual AI that can detect misinformation across English, isiZulu and Sepedi, laying the groundwork for safer digital spaces in South Africa.
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.
For decades, bodybuilding has been regarded as a male-dominated sport, with men often taking centre stage in competitions. However, a new generation of women athletes is challenging that narrative by proving that strength, discipline and excellence have no gender boundaries.
Walk into almost any entrepreneurship workshop in South Africa and the ritual is familiar.
Someone hands out a business-plan template. Boxes must be completed. Markets analysed. Revenue streams estimated. Risks quantified. Funding projections prepared.
Only afterwards comes the awkward silence.
By Michelle Hammann
Danielle Verster has been in the running game for most of her life. She is currently a North-West University (NWU) student-athlete and has been sponsored by Nike for five years. She has been to numerous countries for athletics championships, mostly for the 1 500 m or 800 m, and for cross-country events.
For Zimri Leuvennink, life has never been about standing still. Whether in a gym, on a stage or in a recording studio, she thrives on movement, energy and connection. This final-year biokinetics student on the Potchefstroom Campus is stepping confidently into the spotlight after landing a recording contract.
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- We tell mothers to breastfeed, but do we make it possible?