North-West University
It all starts here.
It all starts at the North West University. Three campuses, fifteen faculties and more than 65,000 students.
The NWU is a multi-campus university with a footprint across two provinces in South Africa. The Mafikeng and Potchefstroom Campuses are situated in the North-West Province and the Vaal Triangle Campus is in Gauteng. The head office, known as the Institutional Office, is in Potchefstroom, situated near the Potchefstroom Campus.
The African Continent once took the lead in the creation, preservation and sharing of educational resources.
At the magnificent Ancient Library of Alexandria (283 BC - 391 AD), scribes borrowed books from around the known world, copied and returned them. This provided open education resources, "OER", to the most famous thinkers of the world who flocked to Alexandria to study. In Timbuktu families wrote scrolls to preserve truths and knowledge in arts, medicine philosophy and science. These handwritten collections of manuscripts (13th to 20th century) were passed from generation to generation, creating a resource with an estimated total of 700 000 works to share with the world.
The North-West University, with its roots in the African continent, regards the participation in the OERu network as the ideal opportunity for Africa to once again be a major role player in the provision of meaningful study opportunities to the "famous thinkers" of the world. The stellar work done in Timbuktu bears testimony to the fact that we Africans know how to preserve and repurpose educational resources! Under the leadership of Mr Nelson Mandela, South Africa as a nation became known as a symbol of reconciliation and sharing. South Africans know how to share and work together today to create a better world for tomorrow.
The North-West University, as a provider of higher education, participated in the building of a democratic South Africa and knows that we have both the experience and will to make a meaningful contribution to see the mandate of the OERu realised.
