Greetings to everyone

It is once again an honour and privilege to update you about the NWU Council's first meeting of the 2024 academic year. We had a successful Council meeting which was preceded by a workshop on 13 March 2024.

This is an exceptional year for the NWU as we celebrate 20 years of existence and excellence. We launched the 20-years anniversary celebrations on the evening of 14 March 2024 at the Feather Hill hotel just outside Potchefstroom.

It was great to see fellow alumni, former staff members, student leaders, and Council members at the event. We really enjoyed the trip down memory lane.

I trust that many of you joined the proceedings via the live streaming service of the event. If you missed out, you can view the event here. There will be a variety of events throughout the year across our campuses and other venues where this milestone will be celebrated.

Council noted that the 2024 academic year is well underway and progressing smoothly. We welcomed our 2024 first-year students during a successful Registration and Orientation programme in February. We are pleased that we have managed to reach our enrolment target despite some difficulties including NSFAS funding allocations and clearances.

View my video message below.

It is customary for the NWU Council to host a workshop prior to its first meeting of the year. The workshop focuses on some of the crucial issues or topics that affect the higher education sector globally and seeks to enlighten Council members and management about strategic risks, challenges, and opportunities ahead. Our workshop on 13 March was extremely productive and focused on the following topics: Taking a strategic view of the funding of South African public universities; Status update on the implementation of the NWU Strategy: 2024 and beyond; The disruption of generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) on higher education: how do we respond?

Management, under the leadership of the principal and vice-chancellor, Prof Bismark Tyobeka, presented a report to Council highlighting the activities and achievements since the last Council meeting in November 2023. The report focused on progress against the five-year strategy, including: The establishment of our Medical School Launch of Nexus CRM module as part of the Student Information System (SIS) Eagle project International collaborations Progress regarding our strategic projects Digital Business Strategy and major IT projects The official academic opening Enrolment targets Council noted the good work and progress made and congratulated the vice-chancellor and management. Click here to view the presentation.

In 2023, Council granted approval in principle for the establishment of a commercial entity as part of efforts to broaden the university's income streams and ensure financial stability and sustainability. We regard this as a crucial matter considering the financial constraints faced by higher education institutions in our country and internationally. Management presented the plans and progress made towards the establishment of the NWU Enterprises (Pty) Ltd to Council. Council was satisfied with the plans and granted full approval for the establishment of the company. The company will be created as a wholly owned subsidiary of the NWU and launched officially during the second semester of 2024.

The following policies were approved, and will shortly be available here: Reviewed NWU General Academic Rules (A-Rules) Policy on Student Discipline

Council approved the establishment of a Digital Humanities Centre in the Faculty of Humanities. The centre's purpose will be to advance digital humanities scholarship, by enhancing existing knowledge and related digital methods and skills, creating new forms of digital knowledge tools, techniques, and methodologies, and exploring the digital domains' impact on humanities-based disciplines. In essence, the centre will be a space for research, teaching, and learning in disciplines related to Digital Humanities practice. It aims to be an intersection where digital projects can be supported, promoted, and connected, and provide a cyberinfrastructure space to enable and augment scholarly work and research.

As was announced towards the end of 2023, the Minister of Health, Dr MJ Phaahla, MP, has officially supported the university's plan to establish the NWU Medical School. The Minister of Health's support is a culmination of the good work that has been done over the years by the NWU Medical School Task Team. Council noted the report of the NWU Medical Team Task Team about a site visit to the Tshepong Hospital in Klerksdorp, which is targeted to be one of the strategic delivery sites for the NWU Medical School clinical training of students. The Task Team was pleased with the management and facilities at the hospital and impressed upon Council that the selection of the hospital was an excellent decision. The Task Team is scheduled to meet with the Department of Higher Education and Training in the near future. We anticipate a positive engagement and look forward to finalise all the necessary work to ensure that we can welcome our first intake of 50 aspiring medical doctors in 2028.

We are pleased that NSFAS has cleared the majority of students and they will be able to complete their registration. We will, of course, continue to work with stakeholders such as NSFAS to ensure timely distribution of allowances and financial assistance. Council noted with appreciation the progress made in terms of addressing and responding to the challenges and opportunities pertaining to new infrastructure and upgrading of facilities across the three campuses. Much has been achieved during 2023, and a lot more is planned for 2024 and beyond. The achievement of equity of provision across our campuses remains a priority. Get a full picture of what is happening in this regard here.

Once again, I wish all members of the university community only the best for 2024. Council is looking forward to yet another successful academic year.

Thank you

Bert Sorgdrager
Chairperson: NWU Council