The North-West University (NWU) is set to host Community Engagement Stakeholders Forum meetings across its three campuses in Mahikeng, Potchefstroom and Vanderbijlpark.
The NWU says it acknowledges that social dynamics and the complexity of challenges faced by communities necessitate universities such as the NWU to have strategic partnerships with external partners to achieve a sustainable impact.
“To attain this, we are guided by the NWU Strategic Plan: 2024 and beyond, which employs community engagement as an important catalyst to drive teaching and learning and research and innovation.”
NWU believes that the annual stakeholders forum meetings represent a significant step forward in its mission to engage meaningfully with communities while driving positive change.
“We look forward to fostering innovative partnerships and tackling societal challenges together as we get to know one another,” says Bibi Bouwman, director of sustainability and community impact.
The forum meetings also aim to strengthen the NWU’s ties with current and potential stakeholders. These ties are aimed at fostering strategic collaborations between various sectors and academia to create opportunities for students’ placement for service learning and co-creation of knowledge through research.
This initiative underscores the university’s commitment to becoming a more responsive and inclusive institution. The invitation is extended to all civil society organisations, schools, faith-based organisations, industry partners, local government institutions, and the business sector to join the forum and explore opportunities for collaborative impact.
Renowned guest speaker, Monica Brown, will be talking about empathetic leadership. The title of her talk is “Leading with heart and mind: the importance of empathy and authority in community development.”
At the Mahikeng campus, the meeting takes place on October 16, at the Potchefstroom campus on October 17 and on October 18 at the Vanderbijlpark campus. All three meetings will take place from 10:30 to 12:30. For more information, contact Lester Mpolokeng on lester.mpolokeng@nwu.ac.za or 0183892951 and Tumelo Legae on tumelo.legae@nwu.ac.za 0182852598/0726532766.
