Overview of NWU
Performance highlights
In 2022 we continued to create value for the NWU and for our stakeholders.
The following achievements – and in many instances also improvements – are noteworthy:
13 735
qualifications awarded in 2022
(2021: 14 484)
205
Postdoctoral fellows in 2022*
(2021: 212)
(2021: R2,69 billion)
86,4%
undergraduate success rate (contact and distance students combined) in 2022
(2021: 89,2%)
213
PhDs awarded in 2022
(2021: 264)
43
research entities
comprised five centres of excellence, 11 research units, 16 research focus areas and 11 research niche areas
1 726,10
article equivalents published*
(2021: 1 656,1)
R321 million
spent on capital works, macro maintenance and minor works across the three campuses
(2021: R481 million)
4,5% of global
universities
The Center for World University Rankings placed the NWU in the top 4,5% of universities in their Global 2000 list.
8 888
distance students enrolled in 2022
(2021: 9 830)
1 450
international students from over 64 countries
(2021: 1 400 students from over 60 countries)
The NWU was placed among the top eight South African universities in the 2022/2023 QS World Rankings.
2 473
active collaboration agreements
(2021: 2 147)
298
NRF-rated researchers in 2022
(2021: 280)
* Please note that these figures are not final, as we have not yet received confirmed/approved figures from the DHET. There is a two-year lag with regard to the research output.
Who we are
The North-West University is one of the 26 public higher education institutions in South Africa. We have three campuses: two in the North West province and another in Gauteng.
We have a single set of policies, systems and standards, and are driven by a set of constitutionally based values, a core value being ethics in all our endeavours.
We wish to foster engaged and caring staff and students, ensuring a suitable environment in which we can reach our purpose and realise our dream.
To excel in innovative learning and teaching and cutting‑edge research, thereby benefiting society through knowledge.
To be an internationally recognised university in Africa, distinguished for engaged scholarship, social responsiveness and an ethic of care.
To transform and position the NWU as a unitary institution of superior academic excellence, with a commitment to social justice.
What we do
Our core business is teaching-learning and research, with community engagement and innovation intertwined in these activities.
Ultimately, though, our core business is about creating value in the form of outputs and outcomes, while pursuing an ethic of care.
Where we operate
We operate in South Africa but collaborate extensively with institutions and people all over the world. In 2022, the NWU had approximately 2 473 (2021: 2147) active collaboration agreements.
What sets us apart
- The Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) ranking has placed the NWU among the top eight South African universities. Globally, we have been placed in the 1 001 to 1 200 ranking category for the 2022/2023 QS World University Rankings. The NWU’s performance has been consistent in this ranking category for the past four years.
- The NWU is the best choice among local universities for studies in the field of engineering. The latest subjects ranking by Times Higher Education (THE) places the NWU at the top of the ladder in this field.
- The Center for World University Rankings placed the NWU in the top 4,5% of universities in their Global 2000 list.
- We had more than 1 459 international students from over 64 countries in 2022.
Engineering students win national award
Picking up bottle caps littering our beaches and then being rewarded for inserting them into a vending machine sounds like a winning idea, especially when it bags you a national award too.
Njabulo Mhlungu and Nosisa Ngcaba, two industrial engineering students who developed this idea, won the first annual student competition of the South African Institute of Industrial Engineers (SAIIE).
Njabulo and Nosisa came up with the idea of a vending machine that can be placed on or near beaches. Read more.
Industrial engineering students Njabulo Mhlungu and Nosisa Ngcaba present their winning idea at the annual conference of the South African Institute of Industrial Engineers.