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 trauma at…
Metals in bird eggs a source of concern in Orange River catchment area
The heron that laid the golden egg? Scientists from the North-West University (NWU) have found several metals and metalloids in bird eggs in the catchment area of the Orange River which could pose a potential health risk to humans. Prof Henk Bouwman from the Faculty of Natural Sciences says this study was part of a larger project to determine…
Web-gebaseerde platform vir spraaktranskripsie om SA Parlement te help
Met 11 amptelike tale in Suid-Afrika gaan dit nooit ’n maklike taak wees om ’n doeltreffende dog bekostigbare manier te kry om spraak na teks te transkribeer nie. Dit gaan egter verander met behulp van die innoverende denke van navorsers wat ’n oopbron-, web-gebaseerde platform vir spraaktranskripsie skep. Navorsers van die Noordwes-…
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 Multilingual…
It’s time to recognise waste pickers
They are a sight common in South Africa as they scavenge landfills and go through bins in suburbs, business and industrial districts. Yet little is known about the role waste pickers play in the economy. Sights set on shedding light on the factors that enable waste pickers to make a living, Professor Derick Blaauw of the Faculty of Economic and…
Maintaining the balance between protection and use of SA’s most diverse floodplain ecosystem
Thousands of people rely on the floodplain of the Lower Phongolo River in KwaZulu-Natal, as do millions of fish, frogs, birds, insects and other aquatic animals. But how can they all co-exist sustainably and what is needed to maintain the delicate balance of South Africa's biggest, richest and most diverse floodplain ecosystem? Finding the…
NWU students give R3,5 million to the needy
R3 523 735.10. It is an amount that changes lives, it is an amount that makes a bleak day a better one. It is a record amount that was distributed to various individuals, schools, projects and welfare institutions during the North-West University’s (NWU’s) annual Student Rag Community Service (SRCS) pay-out function. Founded in 1977, SRCS is…
Minister appoints two NWU experts
A national honour recently bestowed two experts of the North-West University (NWU). Prof Jeanetta du Plessis and Prof Richard Gordon, both from the Centre of Excellence in Pharmaceutical Sciences (Pharmacen), were appointed as members of the National Health Research Committee. The committee falls under the National Department of Health.…
NWU lecturer to participate in UCLA/South African Trauma Training Research programme
Dr Lufuno Makhado, a senior lecturer in the Department of Nursing Science on the Mahikeng Campus of the North-West University (NWU), , will be taking part in the University of California in Los Angeles (UCLA)/South African Trauma Training Research (Phodiso) Programme. He left for UCLA on 20 March 2017 and will be based there until the end of…
Campus legal hopefuls take center stage at symposium
The Law Faculty on the Mahikeng Campus of the North-West University (NWU) recently hosted a symposium at the campus multi-purpose student centre. The well-attended event saw second-year LLB students go against the final fourth-year students on the topic “The legacy of legal positivism and constitutional supremacy in South Africa”. The…
NWU law student publishes debut novel
Another student from the North-West University’s (NWU’s) Mahikeng Campus has self-published a book. Gaopalelwe Lesley Mathiba, a third-year law student, published his debut novel titled “The Essence Behind Motherhood: 'Behold your mother' ~John 19:27”. In this book Gaopalelwe attempts to give a thorough justification of the biblical and…
Abe Bailey Travel Bursary – chance of a lifetime for students to visit the UK
Saint Augustine once said that the world is a book, and those who do not travel limit themselves to reading only a single page. With this in mind, students of the North-West University (NWU) are invited to apply for the Abe Bailey Travel Bursary. The closing date for applications from the NWU is 15 June 2017 (as to provide sufficient time to the…
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)…
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 Speech…
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,…
NWU alumna crowned as Miss SA 2017
When the 21-year old Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters was announced as Miss South Africa 2017 on 26 March, the whole of the North-West University (NWU) and all its stakeholders, cheered as one. For the first time in history, an alumna of the NWU walked away with this crown. Demi-Leigh, who completed her BCom Business Management and Entrepreneurship degree…
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…
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 (…
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 Chanelle, an…