EWP 2017 – inspiring and empowering female entrepreneurs

The North-West University’s (NWU’s) Enterprising Women Programme (EWP) is going from strength to strength and has directly benefitted more than 50 female entrepreneurs - which in turn have gone on to impact the lives of countless others.

This year marks the fifth rendition of this entrepreneurship focused short learning programme which…

A South African web-based platform for speech transcription

With 11 official languages in South Africa, finding an effective yet affordable way to transcribe speech to text was never going to be easy, but that is set to change with some innovative thinking from researchers who are creating an open source web-based platform for speech transcription.

Researchers from North-West University’s…

Survivor to thriver: creating a brighter future for victims of sexual abuse

The heart-wrenching reality of childhood sexual abuse is a global scourge which two researchers from North-West University (NWU) are tackling by assisting survivors to deal with their trauma and thrive.  

The worldwide prevalence as measured in 22 countries indicates that 18% to 20% of girls and 8% to 9% of boys have to cope with this…

Social sciences the Rubik’s Cube of humanity – Prof Herman van der Merwe

Did you know that it took the Hungarian inventor and professor of architecture Erno Rubik one month to master his own mechanical puzzle, the Rubik’s Cube? With 42 Quintillion possibilities but only a few correct solutions, the Rubik’s Cube is the epitome of human society: with each block representing a social science topic.

This is…

Alumna scoops Denel’s Top Young Achiever Award

“The answer is in front of you, you just need to look for it and see it!”

This is Chanelle Vermaak’s mantra. Not only did it help to keep her motivated during her undergraduate and later postgraduate studies in Information and Computer Science (BSc), but it is also what carries her trough every challenge that life may pose.

For…

Grace Telane – an entrepreneur who is too fit to quit

Meet Grace Judith Telane: an entrepreneur who is literally too fit to quit! As the owner and manager of the Gym with Grace Aerobics Studio and Fitness Club, Grace (42) is not only living her dream but also contributes towards job creation in the Vanderbijlpark region.

In 2015, Grace signed-up for the eight month Enterprising Women Programme…

ArcelorMittal South Africa and NWU team-up to empower small business owners

The North-West University (NWU) and ArcelorMittal South Africa (AMSA) recently teamed-up to present an entrepreneurial training initiative to small business owners in the Vanderbijlpark region.

The university – by means of the bhive Enterprise Development Centre (bhive EDC), provided vital business related training to entrepreneurs located in…

Stefan’s journey to pageant success

When you first meet Stefan Coetzer - the reigning Mr Vaal, and final year sport science and psychology student, it is hard to imagine him as a frightened young boy suffering at the hand of the schoolyard bully.

Stefan (21) has indeed come a long way since then. After the untimely death of his mother in 2002, when he was just six years old,…

Are tax payers getting value for their money?

Prof Danie Meyer and Dr Andre Mellet from the North-West University’s Vanderbijlpark Campus (NWU) and experts in Local Economic Development (LED) and Monetary Economics respectively, is of the opinion that South African tax payers are not reaping any rewards from increased taxation.

New and additional Tax   During the National Budget…

Has SA reached the ceiling for tax collection?

The court of public opinion has it that the 2017 Budget Speech represented a contractionary budget with increased taxes and with lower levels of incentives for economic activity.

In light of this, Prof Danie Meyer and Dr Andre Mellet from the North-West University’s Vanderbijlpark Campus (NWU) and experts in local economic development (LED…