Strengthening clinical training, academic collaboration and student support took centre stage as Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University (SMU) engaged with a delegation from Job Shimankana Tabane Provincial Hospital (JST Hospital), reaffirming a strategic partnership that continues to shape the development of future health professionals.
The stakeholder engagement brought together institutional leadership to reflect on the relationship between SMU and JST Hospital, assess existing areas of collaboration, and identify opportunities to strengthen further clinical training, research, community engagement, and infrastructure development.
Professor Douglas Maleka, SMU’s Acting Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Academic and Community Engagement, Research, Innovation and Internationalisation, emphasised the value of strategic partnerships between higher education institutions and the public healthcare sector. Such collaborations, he noted, are central to the university’s mandate of producing competent and socially responsive health professionals whose education is grounded in practical experience and the realities of healthcare delivery.
Providing an overview of the relationship, Professor Risenga Chauke, Dean of the School of Medicine, highlighted JST Hospital’s role as an accredited clinical teaching and training platform for SMU. “The relationship between SMU and Job Shimankana Tabane Provincial Hospital is an important component of our clinical training ecosystem,” said Professor Chauke. “It provides our students with opportunities to translate theoretical knowledge into clinical practice while learning from experienced healthcare professionals within a functioning healthcare environment.”
JST Provincial Hospital, a level two regional and tertiary hospital in Rustenburg, North West, provides students from several health professions training programmes with opportunities to gain practical experience in a multidisciplinary clinical environment. These include undergraduate students from Medicine, Nursing Science, Physiotherapy and Occupational Therapy. Post graduate students include those that are specialising (Master of Medicine) as well as fellowships in sub-specialties.
Acting Chief Executive Officer of JST Provincial Hospital, George Maisela, said the engagement focused on strengthening coordination between the two institutions and ensuring that the partnership remains responsive to the needs of students, clinicians and communities. “The objective of this engagement is to strengthen the relationship between the two institutions and identify practical areas in which we can work together more effectively,” Maisela said. “We want to ensure that our partnership contributes meaningfully to teaching and learning, research, community engagement and the delivery of quality healthcare.”
The meeting was also attended by the Director of Student Affairs, Tulani Nkuntse, reflecting the importance that SMU places on student wellbeing and institutional support within the clinical training environment. Supporting students during clinical rotations remains essential to maximising the educational value of their placements while helping them adapt to the demands of professional healthcare settings.
Infrastructure development also emerged as a significant area of discussion, particularly the planned JST Hospital student accommodation project. SMU Project Lead and Deputy Director: Infrastructure Planning and Maintenance, Qhubekile Dlamini, provided an update on the initiative, which is progressing towards advertisement, with design and implementation scheduled to commence from 1 November 2026.
The proposed accommodation is expected to provide a more sustainable solution for students undertaking clinical rotations at JST Hospital while reducing the university’s dependence on privately sourced accommodation.
According to Dlamini, the project represents a strategic investment that could deliver significant long-term benefits by reducing accommodation costs and strengthening the infrastructure supporting clinical training.
The stakeholder engagement reaffirmed the shared commitment of SMU and JST Hospital to building a robust and mutually beneficial academic-clinical partnership. As the collaboration develops, it is expected to enhance clinical learning, support healthcare delivery and advance SMU’s broader contribution to the preparation of highly skilled, socially responsive health professionals.
By Dimakatso Modise
