School of Medicine

The School of Medicine (SoM) at Sefako Makgatho Makgatho Health Sciences University (SMU) has always been striving for excellence and quality in teaching and learning, scholarly community engagement, innovation and research. We have made great strides in achieving this goal through collaborative teamwork in the SoM, by regularly reviewing our rules to be in line with accepted norms and standards governing our higher education and professional bodies. We have streamlined the Undergraduate and Postgraduate Rules to be in separate booklets for ease of reference. The 2023 Academic Rules have been standardised, streamlined and referenced with the end-user in mind.

In 2022, SMU became an official member of the Association of African Universities (AAU). This membership not only assists in aligning the University to the National Framework for the Internationalisation of South African Higher Education, but will also allow for greater partnerships across African borders. The AAU’s main goal is to provide effective support for African higher education institutions in their core functions of teaching and learning, research and community service. The Ranking Web of Universities or Webometrics is the largest academic ranking of Higher Education Institutions offering every six months an independent, objective, free, open scientific exercise for providing reliable, multidimensional, updated and useful information about the performance of universities from all over the world. SMU is ranked 21 in South Africa out of 124 registered higher education institutions in South Africa, and ranked 3294 in the world in mid-year of 2022 period under review, this is against the backdrop that that SMU was only established in 2014 by the Department of Higher Education (DHET). The future can only be brighter and better at SMU.

Students will come to us from many different walks of life – from great wealth and from abject poverty. Each will be valued equally and each will be called to regard each other as being of equal value. They will encounter a diversity of staff who themselves all will play a unique role in constructing this community. From the first greeting of the security guard at the gate to the serious management issues over which the VC presides all of us make a contribution to what we are as school and university.

There are a great number of interactions between people within the School. The School is made up of different groups: scientists and researchers, specialist clinician teachers, undergraduate and postgraduate students, administrators and general staff. All of the interactions between these groups is governed by a set of rules. The rules are there to describe our terms of engagement. What to do, when to do it and what happens when we do something in a particular way. They come to life especially when they guide us to achieve the best of ourselves. The School endeavours to ensure that all our processes ultimately allow people to be the best that they can be. I have no doubt that amongst our students are the diamonds which, after some polishing, shine for all to see.

Our promise is to be responsive to needs of the South African community. The community which all of us are a part of and the community to which we all return. As we develop professionals, we are mindful of the call as professionals to ensure our competence for the safety of the people in our care, ensure these patients are able to exercise their right to dignity and autonomy and, perhaps, most importantly to become agents of social justice as advocates for our patients.

I am looking forward to 2019 and the challenges it brings. We must all – staff and students –ensure that we listen with compassion, we walk with humility and we act with justice in our relationships with each other.

Siyanimukela!!!!!