by Kegorapetse | Jul 23, 2019 | SMU Media
In the true spirit of Nelson Mandela Day, the SMU community left their offices, their work stations, dressed in overalls and embarked on operation topa-topa (clean-up operation) for more than 67 minutes.
Led by Prof de Beer SMU the Vice-Chancellor and Mr Tshepo Lechaba NEHAWU Chairperson, the volunteers divided into three groups. The one group went to Residence 1B, along with the Prof de Beer and Mr Lechaba and there, they scrubbed and mopped up the bathrooms and leaving them fresh and sparkling clean.
The second group, carrying black refuse bags, picked up the litter strewn outside the residences. The third group then cleaned all the litter around the main buildings including the parking lots where they picked up tons of dried up leaves.
At the end of the 67 minutes the community returned to their work stations confident that they have contributed to make the surrounds pristine. This collective action will hopefully contribute to raise the level of environmental consciousness of the university so that no one throws litter all over and more join the movement to pick up litter whenever they come across it, anywhere on campus. These local actions will go a long way to connect and enhance the global campaigns to create a better world, for future generations, just as Nelson Mandela did, spending 67 years of his life, in service of human kind.
by Kegorapetse | Jul 23, 2019 | Research, SMU Media
The Health and Welfare SETA, invite applications from registered employed (part-time), and unemployed (full-time) South African students pursuing Postgraduate Diploma/Honours/B-Tech, M-Tech/Masters, D-Tech/Doctoral and Post-Doctoral studies at South African universities and other accredited higher education and training institutions.
While other areas of study within the sector will be considered; preference will be given to majors / streams and research focus that fall within the following priority areas:
- Veterinary Sciences, Marine Aquaculture and Marine biology
- Nursing Sciences focus – Nursing Education, Health Professions Education, Mental Health Nursing, Maternal and Child Health, Community Health Nursing, Rural Health, and Primary Health Care;
- Social Work focus – Social Health Care, Occupational Social Work and Social Work (in Forensic Practice); Clinical Social Work, Child Protection Law and Play Therapy.
- Psychology focus – Counseling, Clinical, Forensic, Educational, and Community,
- Public Health focus – Clinical Epidemiology, Health Economics, Health Systems (Policy, Planning & Management), Medical Informatics, eHealth, Telemedicine, Biostatistics, Bioethics and Health Law (Medical Law);
- Mental Health focus – Forensic Mental health, Child-Adolescent and Adult Psychiatry, Public Mental Health and Community Psychiatry,
- Health sciences focus – Radiography, Audiology, Speech Language Therapy, Pharmacy, Optometry, Dentistry, and Physiotherapy,
- Medical Sociology, Environmental Sociology, Demography and Population studies;
- Environmental Health/Biology/Chemistry and Occupational Health and Safety;
- Social Welfare focus – Child and Youth Care, Social Services and Development, Poverty and Inequality, Disability care – Rehabilitation and Management,
A special consideration will be given to Honours students undertaking programmes, which will lead to scarce skills specializations, professional registration and licensing. Students with disabilities are encouraged to apply.
Application process: Interested students must complete (type text by using Word) and sign an HWSETA postgraduate bursary application form attached, and submit in a pdf format no later than 26 July 2019. The application must include a proof of registration (a university stamped copy), draft research proposal (where applicable), motivation letter (1 page), required proposed budget (itemized) to complete the research project and a clear certified copy of the South African Identify Document.
Applications must be submitted via email to:jadah.matentji@smu.ac.za.
Enquiries may be directed to Ms. Jadah Matentji at jadah.matentji@smu.ac.za
by Kegorapetse | Jul 18, 2019 | SMU Media
The highlight of the recent five-day Gender Based Violence (GBV) workshop involving SMU and the University of Nottingham (UoN) was the show case event that was held at the Sheraton Hotel; and provided a much valued platform for sharing of experiences, insights and best practice among stakeholders who serve as first line contacts for the victims of sexual or family violence, on a daily basis, in the country and also elsewhere.
This critical mass of anti GBV activists who attended, included health professionals from SMU, University of Nottingham (UoN) in the United Kingdom (UK), University of Pretoria (UP), Adelaide Tambo School of Nursing (TUT), Gauteng Health Department, researchers, psychologists, social workers, lawyers, prosecutors, South African Police Services Family Unit, forensic service centre managers, doctors, nurses, department of basic education and the deputy minister in the Presidency: Women, Youth and People with Disabilities.
Speaking at this event, Prof Hlengiwe Mkhize, complemented Dr Moreoagae Randa, the SMU Nursing Science Department lecturer and also the prime mover, behind the event. Prof Mkhize said that the strategic event provided participants with an opportunity to connect, and the networks that Dr Randa had established with UoN will not only infuse international experiences, but it will also go a long way to reinforce the research component behind the GBV activism and also ensure that the initiative becomes sustainable.
Dr Gill Langmack, representing the UoN, outlined how they use digital resources such as story boards to enable the victims of GBV to tell their stories to assist them in their healing process, in a meaningful way. The story boards take different shapes, such as anonymous letters, pictures, paintings, etc, which are pasted on a huge paper board. These story boards are available on the website of the UoN and are accessible to an international audience.
“Based on the discussions and inputs made at the show event, a way forward towards addressing the scourge of GBV is beginning to emerge giving us renewed vigour to move forward”, Dr Randa said. The following recommendations were tabled and adopted by the workshop:
- The department of basic education needs to explore ways and means to integrate GBV in the life orientation subject to raise the consciousness of learners about this scourge.
- GBV convicted offenders who have served their imprisonment sentences, must be put through a well outlined rehabilitation programme to enable them to integrate into the community and not to reoffend.
- Prominent personalities such as sports men and women, musicians etc. should be featured in anti- GBV campaigns to win hearts and minds to the anti-GBV cause.
- Health care professionals, who are the first line contacts for the victims of GBV need to undergo victim sensitivity courses and also be trained to be able to identify cases of GBV, even if the victims do not disclose experiences of GBV.
- Community involvement should be strengthened, men and boys to be active participants and promoters of change to get rid of GBV.
by Kegorapetse | Jul 16, 2019 | SMU Media
The Department of Public Health (DPH)’s face-to-face contact is integral to teaching and learning, where students and academics debate on current public health issues, during the annual winter and summer school programme. Compulsory classroom teaching takes place during the programme, which is two weeks on-campus blocks at the beginning of each semester for the Master of Public Health programme, one week on campus block for the Post Graduate Diploma in Public Health, and face-to-face seminars for the doctoral programs.
During the summer and winter school face-to-face blocks, students are introduced to:
- The online teaching platform through laboratory sessions.
- The discipline of public health.
- Semester courses.
- Laboratory sessions for biostatistics and epidemiology.
- Lab sessions for qualitative and quantitative data analysis.
- Introduction to research methods.
The DPH has successfully achieved to prepare public health professionals to, critically assess and resolve the public health problems facing Africa through its online courses. “The online approach has enabled the Department to produce the highest number of MPH graduates compared to other MPH programmes in South Africa. It is also the only programme in the country that offers the doctor of public health (DrPH) degree. In the May 2019 graduation ceremony, the Department graduated 26 Postgraduate Diplomas in Public Health, 61 Masters of Public Health, and 3 Doctor of Public Health graduates,’’ said Prof Mathildah Mokgatle, acting HoD: Public Health.
Since its establishment, the DPH has become a platform for research and training, offering doctorate and masters education focusing on areas such as Social and Behavioural Health Sciences, Epidemiology, Occupational and Environmental Health Sciences, Biostatistics, and Health Systems Management and Policy. The academic programs range from postgraduate diploma to a doctorate in public health. Currently, four programmes are running:
- Postgraduate Diploma in Public Health (PGDGPH).
- Master of Public Health (MPH).
- Doctor of Philosophy in Public Health (PhD).
- Doctor of Public Health (DrPH).
The DPH continues to offer all its programmes and courses online to accommodate working health professionals in the SADC region. Besides South Africa, professionals are from Botswana, Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Eritrea, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Swaziland, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
The unique way of offering courses online allows students to study at their own pace, in their own homes and countries, and thus enable professionals from various disciplines to find solutions for public health problems in Africa and apply them in their communities. “Online teaching forms a significant aspect of the programme (80%), is based on the principle of continuous learning, and places heavy emphasis on student interactions with the course facilitators and fellow classmates.,” said Prof Mathildah Mokgatle.
by Kegorapetse | Jul 10, 2019 | SMU Media
In June 2018, there were a number of allegations of corruption and maladministration raised in relation to the implementation of the University’s infrastructure projects. In order to get to the bottom of these allegations, Council resolved, at its meeting held in June 2018 to conduct an independent and in-depth forensic investigation with a view to testing the veracity or otherwise of these allegations. To that end, the University appointed Sizwe Ntsaluba Godobo (SNG) Grant Thornton to conduct a forensic investigation into these matters.
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