Media Coverage minister of health presentation 27 February 2016
Health care profit motive under fire – “They don’t check pulse; they check your purse – Motsoaldi”
Media coverage Minister of Health presentation 27 February 2016
How low-cost tech could change high-risk pregnancies around the world
Thanks to the iPhone, smartphones have flooded the globe. A side benefit of that domination are the rock-bottom prices on electronic sensors – the tech that lets a phone count your steps or taps on its screen.
A group of UAB researchers aims to harness these cheap sensors for a nobler mission than Candy Crush: saving the lives of some of the 15 million preterm babies born each year worldwide. Preterm birth – defined as a baby born before 37 weeks gestation – is the leading cause of death in children 5 and under. It was responsible for some 1 million deaths in 2013, according to the World Health Organization. And that number is rising, the WHO reports.
By Matt Windsor – http://www.uab.edu
Tshwane Mayor Kgosientso Ramokgopa hands over R1.2m to cities six universities
Tshwane Mayor, Kgosientso Ramokgopa, hands over cheques to the value of R1.2m to Tshwane universities at Unisa
First Commemoration: Launch of the University
ADDRESS: INTERIM VICE-CHANCELLOR
Master of Ceremonies, Chairperson of the Council, Members of the Council, Members of the Interim Management Team, Directors of Schools, Heads of Departments, Members of the Academic and Support Staff, President of the SRC, Members of the SRC, Ladies and Gentlemen Students,
Allow me first of all to thank you for attending this special occasion, the first commemoration of the launch of the Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University. The 14th of April 2015 is commemorated as the date on which the young fledgling University, established on 16th of May 2014, was presented to the general public of South Africa, in particular, the Ga-Rankuwa community.
I am not privy to the emotion and chemistry associated with this moment, but informed by my experience as the Interim Vice-Chancellor, it must have been one of joy, of long awaited home coming, of relief surging through the veins of those who successfully fought a seemingly impossible liberation struggle.
The SMU was, as it were, like a wild bird released from its cage to forcefully fly into an unknown future, exposed to the experiences and uncertainties of the world and never to return to its state of captivity again. Committed to, not only optimise every opportunity presented by its newly acquired freedom, but to also outgrow and heal from the scars of its prolonged subjection.
Those who released this bird, I believe, did so with the trust that it will be strong enough not only to survive but also to find its rightful place among peers. That it will draw richly and unashamedly from its past experiences and that it will enjoy a competitive edge by continuously embracing and recognising its formative years.
Commemorating the launch of the SMU presents us with an opportunity to reflect on our flight into the future.
Ladies and gentlemen, although we hailed from different corners of our country, I want to believe we have the following in common:
- We passionately embrace the learning and development opportunities associated with this Campus over a long period of time, manifesting in decisive contributions towards the human resource and leadership needs of the country.
- We thankfully acknowledge the firm platform said learning and development opportunities continue to provide to the fledgling university, the SMU, to already fly into the future with eagle wings.
- We also share the call to do whatever it takes to protect and support this fledgling and to empower it to conquer its rightful territory.
I wish to recognise the fact that our staff and students in an exemplary way contributed significantly to the manifestation and growth of our commonalities.
Your passion to achieve a successful future for the SMU not only inspired me to burn the proverbial midnight candle, but it also trumped all efforts to deprive our student community from once in a life time academic opportunities.
We should be acutely aware of the fact that future judgements delivered on the governance, management, academic stature and professional and ethical standards of the SMU, will in effect also impact on perceptions pertaining to our academic and professional stature.
Assisted by our institutional radars, we are constantly obliged to obtain a comprehensive understanding of the immediate challenges facing our institution and the sector. Our future success demands from us to be well equipped and responsive.
The SMU leadership will be extremely satisfied if this occasion could serve to remind us of the dire need to author a new and shared experience, institutional culture, value framework and institutional pride.
Prof Chris de Beer
Interim Vice-Chancellor
Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University (SMU) leads the way on Curriculum Mapping in South Africa
One of the challenges in curriculum development/review is to make sure that clear objectives for knowledge, skills and attitudes are aligned with intended outcomes/competencies, assessment, as well as lectures/ courses/ units/ modules within and between different departments/ schools/ faculties. Web-based curriculum mapping ensures this alignment and structures the vast amount of available information in a transparent way. This is essential for all accreditation processes.
Two years ago, SMU (Medunsa at the time) started to collaborate with the Charite Medical University in Berlin, Germany, to adapt their “Learning Opportunities, Objectives and Outcome Platform” (LOOOP), an online tool for curriculum mapping. Three SMU programmes (MBChB, B.SLPA and BNSA) are currently being “mapped” within this platform and this process should be completed soon. SMU will be the first South African University with online mapped curricula.
At SAAHE/ Network TUFH conference held in Johannesburg during September 2015, Dr. Olaf Ahlers and Firman Sugiharto (both from Charite, Berlin, Germany), Prof Ina Treadwell (SMU) and Prof. Ben van Heerden (Stellenbosch University), presented a workshop on curriculum mapping. One of the aims of this workshop was to present the experiences of curriculum mapping at SMU and to motivate other faculties to map their curricula. This was also the aim of a similar workshop presented at the AMEE 2015 conference in Glasgow five days before, presented by Prof. Ara Tekian (UIC, Chicago, USA), Dr. Olaf Ahlers and Martin Dittmar (Charite, Berlin, Germany), Prof. Ina Treadwell (SMU) as well as Dr. Jan Becker (University of Munster, Germany).
In total, 56 colleagues from South Africa (NMMU, TUT, UCT, UFS, UKZN, UP, US and UWC) and 34 other universities in 23 countries from all continents (Australia, Canada, China, Finland, Germany, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Lebanon, Malawi, Malaysia, Netherlands, Nigeria, Pakistan, Palestine, Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Sweden, UK, United Arabic Emirates, USA and Zimbabwe) participated.
The positive feedback on both workshops was overwhelming and SMU was able to present itself as one of the forerunners of online curriculum mapping.