The North-West University (NWU) is the community that it serves

A culture of inclusivity and care permeates through the various parts that make up the NWU, from the type of research being done to the way it approaches teaching and learning initiatives as well as student life and so much more.

At its core value-driven approach that aims to build a welcoming, inclusive, and enabling culture underpinned by behaviours congruent to social justice and diversity. Beyond that, the NWU strives to distinguish itself through its engaged scholarship and social responsiveness.

This is evident in the NWU’s community engagement initiatives. One of the purposes of the NWU is, through innovative teaching and learning as well as cutting-edge research, to benefit society through knowledge.

In 2019, the NWU produced a total of 323 community engagement activities, 175 in 2020 and 490 in 2021. These engagement projects stem from all eight the university’s faculties, its students, internal services, leadership structures and more.

“We follow a holistic approach to community engagement to sharing our expertise, which is intertwined with our core business of teaching and learning, and research, and emphasises sustainability and community impact. Our strategy refers to our commitment to social justice which includes addressing all aspects of the triple-bottom line and that sustainable development equals people plus planet plus economic factor. The NWU is committed to contributing to a better future for people, places and the planet,” says Prof Sonia Swanepoel, Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Community Engagement and Campus Operations.

“Our values and our value-driven behaviour entails caring and inclusivity, and this includes our students, staff and our greater NWU community. It is our prerogative to communicate with our community, to share information, to consult, to engage and to teach,” says Prof Sonia.

Community need assessments are run to discern how to best address the specific communities and Prof Sonia confirms that the NWU’s community engagement efforts is a continuous endeavour with the end goal being flourishing communities. 

“Our goal is to build stronger relationships with our communities by improving community forums and, in addition, our community activities must be evaluated for impact and sustainability. The goal of these relationships is to build a mutually beneficial exchange of knowledge and resources that can contribute to more sustainable, just and healthy communities.”

Prof Sonia is also adamant that the NWU, and our countries other tertiary institutions, should never waver in its responsibility to be used as a tool to promote the constitutional values of human dignity, equality and freedom. 

“Higher Education do not exist in isolation from society and is not an ivory tower and we can fare best when we understand current issues, and we dedicate our resources to answering societal needs.”

Click here for more info: https://www.nwu.ac.za/mynwu