NWU School of Management Sciences / Skool vir Bestuurswetenskappe

Last week we hosted Dr Yoseph Mamo from the Old Dominion University in the United States and he shared a very insightful presentation about the different elements of the global sports industry, giving some very interesting facts and figures regarding the past Soccer World Cup.

The session offered our students a valuable international perspective while connecting key concepts to practical examples from the South African sport environment and past FIFA World Cup. These real-world examples helped demonstrate how sport management principles are applied beyond the classroom.

The presentation also encouraged meaningful discussions and gave students a broader understanding of the opportunities, challenges and constantly evolving nature of the global sport industry.

Some of the students prodvided feedback saying, " I have learnt that you should not limit yourself to opportunities within your country, but also look beyond to other countries."

📍Destination📍
Hillside Teachers' College situated in the beautiful Bulawayo, Zimbabwe.

🥅Main goal☑️
Growing active esports in Southern Africa with the approach.

🚀Missions🏃
👩‍🏫Presenting strategies to integrate Active Esports in Teaching & Learning Practices, specifically in Physical Education and the Foundation of Sports. Expanding opportunities for 5.0 implementation. Brainstorming ideas for an esports curriculum due to growing demand.
📖 Discussing research avenues to expand active esports in the literature to support practical implementation.
👩‍💼🏭 Sharing the business models I envision for the and transform Thandekile Ndebele current esports lab to integrate Active Esports to facilitate physical activity. 🚴‍♂️🤸🏃

It was an honour to be afforded the opportunity to share my passion and ideas across disciplines. I was humbled to be treated as the guest of honour and experiencing Zimbabwean tradition and hospitality at HTC. I was also pleasantly surprised walking into the boardroom in the presence of the Vice Principal and HODs across Teaching Disciplines. I was expecting a much smaller gathering.😆

Driving home the importance of the session was the detailed and informative presentation by Sports Director edward chekure concerning the state of esports in Zimbabwe and his vision going forward.

👌🤩I got to present the mission points with my latest favourite technology, the Meta Quest 3, demonstrating a few games and applications. This discussion and demonstration sparked ideas to establish a VR Lab at HTC - and exciting avenue that will transform Teaching & Learning Practices.

I look forward to the collaboration between our institutions with far-reaching impact.

💫A special thanks to Khanyile Dlamini who shared my details with Thandekile, followed by Edward. Without these connections, none of this would have happened.



North-west University

Building Tomorrow’s Leaders at Three Rivers High School!

Today we launched our enhanced SMS BUILD Leadership Development Program with the talented learners of Three Rivers High School and what an inspiring journey it was!

Our interactive sessions focused on empowering young leaders with essential skills, including:

- Taking on leadership roles with confidence and responsibility
- Ethical decision-making and effective problem-solving
- Owning and learning from mistakes
- Strengthening communication and active listening
- Exploring personal values and aligning them with school values
- Embracing the power of a growth mindset
- Crafting a meaningful and actionable leadership manifesto

The energy, curiosity and commitment shown by the learners were truly impressive. It’s clear that the next generation of leaders is full of potential, they simply need the right tools, guidance and opportunities to build their leadership skills.

A big thank-you to the Three Rivers High School community for trusting us with this important work. We look forward to continuing the journey of leadership, growth and positive impact together!

The NWU’s 2025 academic promotions process has officially wrapped up — and what an exciting line-up we have to celebrate! Congratulations to our promoted colleagues:
🌟 Promoted to Professor: Re-an Müller & Marko van Deventer
🌟 Promoted to Associate Professor: Anita Lennox, Lerato Mdaka, Chantel Muller & Faan Pelser
🌟 Promoted to Senior Lecturer: Falkor Eckardt, Junior Longweni, Kezell Klinck & Thuba Ndlela.

We’re incredibly proud of each colleague’s commitment and excellence. Here’s to continued growth, impact, and success — you make our school shine!

(Our Senior Lecturer promotions were finalised earlier this year, while the Professor and Associate Professor promotions will officially take effect on 1 January 2026.)

At the heart of Chantel Muller's POWER-Hub research and social responsiveness is the goal of instilling a workplace wellness culture by offering and validating on-demand (OD) XR sports and fitness gaming solutions. 🏃🚴‍♂️🤸🥊💃

This objective aligned perfectly with the team's recent visit to the FEDU Administrative Staff Event on the Potchefstroom Campus - one team, one culture. A special discussion with Executive Dean Prof. Lloyd Conley and Deputy Dean of T&L, Prof. Kotie Kaiser, further highlighted the need to break down silos across disciplines. This means linking the untapped potential of XR technologies with Teaching and Learning practices at NWU.

Many colleagues enthusiastically 'enrolled' in the fun. Some were 'schooled' in boxing and dancing, while a few 'booked' it out of there, 'flaking' fun, finding the immersion a bit too 'advanced'. Regardless, the FEDU Admin Staff were real 'class' acts—'pencil' pushers by day and pros by fight. 🥊🤸 They took 'calculated' risks, 'erased' their worries for a while, and gave the Hub a good 'grade'! 😁🤩

A special thanks to the team of the day Anita Lennox vd Westhuizen and the research students Senwamadi Moloi.










By CM