North-West University

In 2019 the IWR had a rewarding year of renewal, and 2020 herald’s consolidation and growth Individual achievements are reported in the Hydrology and UCEWQ reports We welcome Tony Palmer as an Honorary Professor in the IWR Tony leads research in Eco-Hydrology.

Traversing time, our strive towards greatness without boundaries spans our past and our future – it is both part of the NWU’s DNA and heritage, and a proud legacy we want to leave for future generations.As a result, Greatness without boundaries became the theme interlacing all our activities in 2023 and, by extension, the story we tell in this integrated report.Our first intention with our story is to show you how we as a university offer people numerous opportunities to guide and empower them on their own journeys towards greatness. Our second aim is to invite you, our readers, to witness howwe create value for ourselves and our stakeholders while continuing to pursue ever-expanding greatness. We aim to show you how we mobilised and affected our resources, skills and relationships, known as our “capitals”, for the greater good. There are six capitals: intellectual, human, social and relationship, manufactured, natural and financial.

With the Covid-19 pandemic finally subsiding, our staff and students returned to our campuses, ready and eager to tackle the 2022 academic year while adhering to the last Covid-19 protocols that were still in place at that stage. Living through the pandemic was a journey of discovery: we discovered old strengths and new possibilities within ourselves and our world. In 2022 we harnessed several pandemic-driven discoveries and innovations, for instance adopting a hybrid-flexible (HyFlex) teaching-learning approach that enables simultaneous face-to-face and online teaching and learning. By resuming our on-campus activities, we returned to our essence: being a contact university with a vibrant student life. Through this “home-coming”, we were also able to rediscover the treasures the NWU has to offer. As a result, Discover the NWU became the theme interlacing all our activities in 2022 and, by extension, the story we tell in this integrated report. Our story has two levels of meaning. Our first intention is to show you how we as a university lead people to discover the NWU and the myriad of opportunities we offer to guide them on their own journeys of discovery. Our second aim is specifically linked to this report: we invite you, our readers, to discover more about the NWU itself – especially about how we create value by empowering people. We aim to show you how we mobilised and affected our resources, skills and relationships, known as our “capitals”, for the greater good. 

We use the concept of “materiality” to decide what information to include in this report. As set out in the International Integrated Reporting Council’s (IIRC) Integrated Reporting Framework, we see material matters as issues that:• substantively affect the university’s ability to create value over the short, medium and long term; and• are important to any stakeholder wishing to make an informed assessment of the NWU’s ability to generate value.

Owing to the Covid-19 pandemic, 2020 was a year like no other. Instead of “business as usual”, we as the NWU had to adapt to the new circumstances and explore, expand and evolve to save the academic year in the short term, but also stay steadfast on our path towards realising our strategy in the long term. In this integrated report we tell you, our stakeholders, how we achieved that balance by mobilising and effecting our resources, skills and relationships, known as our “capitals”. There are six capitals: intellectual, human, social and relationship, manufactured, natural and financial. (Read more about our capitals on page 3.)Although we aim to create value in all instances, our capitals can also undergo either a net decrease or experience no net change. In such cases, value is eroded or preserved.Keeping this in mind, we are committed to interact responsibly with our capitals, as our resources and relationships are, after all, vital to our ability to create sustainable value. 

In this integrated report we tell you, our stakeholders, how we implement our strategy to create valuefor ourselves and our stakeholders over the short, medium and long term.We also explain how we harness and affect our resources and relationships, known as our “capitals”, during this process.There are six capitals: intellectual, human, social and relationship, manufactured, natural and financial. (Read more about our capitals on page 54.)We realise that we have to interact responsibly with our capitals, applying an ethic of care. Our resources and relationships are, after all, vital to our ability to create sustainable value.

Over the past two years, we have adopted a new strategy and organisational structure. These changes have made us a stronger, more united university, committed to superior academic excellence and social justice. Now that our strategy and organisational structure have been finalised, we use these as a foundation to create value by empowering people to soar – to go higher and further in pursuit of their goals.How do we do it?We share our knowledge and hone people’s skills, thereby creating the energy for momentum and the ability to soar into the unexplored; to see what has never been seen, and to create the future.

The North-West University celebrated its 10th year of existence in 2014. During these ten years, it has pursued the vision to become a pre-eminent university in Africa, driven by the pursuit of knowledge and innovation. The mission according to which all goals and objectives were developed over the years by means of three-year rolling planning cycles was to become a balanced teaching-learning and research university that implements its expertise in innovative ways. This mission was furthermore pursued while the institution lived its values, strived for sound management, and in ongoing pursuit of transformation. In support of this mission, the strategy has been to increase the quality and quantity of research through focus by means of campus niches, appropriate incentives, as well as capacity building and development. In addition, the strengthening the quality of teaching and learning was continuously done by improved client focus, e-learning, innovation and diversity. The following five mission elements provided the backdrop for the goals and objectives stated in the Institutional Plan for 2014 (please refer to enclosed CD):i. To drive transformation as an integrated, urgent, fair and well-managed process of fundamental and sustainable change to address institutional inequalities while accounting for the needs of the country and all its people. The NWU does this by empowering people through quality education, world-class research and the meaningful implementation of its expertise;ii. To develop, educate and empower through innovative and high quality teaching-learning, well-rounded graduates who are able to think laterally and critically in their service to the country and its people, the continents and the world;iii. To develop and maintain high-quality, ..

During 2012, the Council of the NWU remained committed to ensure the effectiveness of its governance and oversight function. The concerted effort embarked upon during 2011 to improve the attendance of Council and Council committee meetings in order to ensure quality decision-making continued during 2012.A self-evaluation exercise was undertaken during the second semester of 2012.Members of Council and the respective Council committees completed a self-evaluation questionnaire to evaluate the role and functioning of the various governing structures in respect of their mandates. The evaluations focused particularly on risk management, adherence to good corporate governance principles, discipline and members’ understanding of Council’s oversight role. The size, composition and independence of the structures, as well as the effectiveness of the leadership, teamwork, meetings and annual workshop, were also evaluated. From the results of this self-evaluation, it is evident that Council is independent in its decision-making process and clearly understands its governance role in relation to the day-to-day management role assigned to the Vice-Chancellor. The lines of responsibility between the governing structures and management are clearly demarcated and observed. There is coherence and alignment between Council, the Council Committees and management in working towards and reaching shared goals. The self-evaluation also confirmed that the respective structures are functioning effectively and succeed in concluding their business at their meetings.

The ultimate test of the success of an organisation is how consistently and reliably it performs over time. Since the merger in 2004, the NWU has shown it can be relied on to maintain financial stability, practise good governance and incrementallyimprove its core academic business. Over the past seven years, the university has steadily increased the undergraduate pass rate, which now exceeds the nationalaverage by a significant margin. Among contact students in 2011, the pass rate at the NWU was 85,2%, putting the NWU well ahead of the national average. Among distance students, the pass rate was even better, 85,3%. Another achievement that stands out is the low drop-out rate, which was only 12,5% in 2011, compared to the national rate of between 20% and 30%. These accomplishments are reflected in the growing number of degrees being awarded. In 2011, the NWU conferred 15 093 degrees, which is about 56% higher than in 2004.Research was another strong growth area. Total research output for the year stood at 1 483, compared to 1 318 in 2010. Although all three campuses contributed to this, the Mafikeng Campus recorded the most striking increases in output. Good progress was made in strengthening the university’s international relationships, which are important for academic exchange and research collaboration. By the end of 2011, the NWU had 76 cooperation agreements with universities and business partners around the world. Transformation was a major focus and will continue to feature prominently on the university’s agenda in the foreseeable future. Minimum diversity targets are in placeand the Institutional Plan has been restructured to make transformation the first mission element, ensuring it receives close attention.