Member University in Focus: Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University, South Africa

MEMBER UNIVERSITY IN FOCUS:

Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University, South Africa

DID YOU KNOW THAT:

• Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University (SMU) was previously known as MEDUNSA, an institution that opened its doors in 1976 and which graduated the first black health professionals for South Africa.
• SMU is the only dedicated health sciences university in Southern Africa.
• The University proudly boasts of having the first African female Professor of Surgery in South Africa, Prof Dikeledi Mokone.
• The Deputy Dean in the School of Medicine, Prof Risenga Chauke and his cardiothoracic team at Dr George Mukhari Academic Hospital performed the first Yang Procedure and Double Valve Replacement on the African continent.
• SMU is the only institution in South Africa with a dental hospital on campus. The hospital is used as a training facility as well as a functioning hospital assisting the community with their dental needs.
• SMU’s Prof Zack Koto, an internationally acclaimed surgeon, was the first surgeon in the country to make use of the Hot Axios Stent Technique (HAST) to relieve a patient suffering from jaundice due to an obstruction in their bile duct.
• SMU is a Health Sciences institution focused on improving the quality of life in the communities of South Africa, Africa and the globe. Our teaching, learning, community engagement and research focuses on pursuing innovative solutions to the world’s great challenges about health.
• Our performance as a University in Africa and on the world-stage continues to improve as we move closer to realising our goals of being global leaders in health sciences, in each of our spheres of teaching, learning and research.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION:

Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University (SMU) was established when the then Minister of Higher Education and Training in South Africa, Dr Blade Nzimande in line with  section 20 of the Higher Education Act 1997 (Act 101 of 1997), promulgated the Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University (SMU) in the SA Government Gazette no: 37658 of 16 May 2014.

The institution is located in Ga-Rankuwa, just outside of Pretoria in the Gauteng Province of South Africa. The university’s Vice-Chancellor is Prof. Peter Mbati.

OUR VISION:

In developing a vision for the university, the institution acknowledged a number of critical aspects which gave the institution its identity. These include a focus on excellence in teaching and learning, developing research and innovation, combining clinical practice and community service and focus on a broad range of fields in the health sciences. The university also has a critical role in contributing to the transformation of the health sciences sector in South Africa while at the same time making a meaningful contribution to the needs of the community it serves and South Africa as a whole.

With these components in mind, the institution adopted as its vision the following: Transforming health services through excellence and innovation.

OUR MISSION:

The mission statement highlights that the institution provides a comprehensive range of qualifications across a broad range of health sciences fields. The mission also highlights that the institution combines excellence in teaching and learning with a focus on research and innovation with community engagement at the centre of its approach to all that it does.

The mission statement of the institution is as follows: SMU is a dedicated health sciences university providing professional training and education in a range of fields through excellence in teaching, learning, innovative research and community engagement.

PROGRAMMES:

SMU has five schools. The schools offer programmes (degrees and diplomas) at undergraduate and postgraduate level.

The five schools are:

School of Medicine;

School of Pharmacy;

School of Dentistry;

School of Science and Technology (Departments of -Statistical Sciences, -Biochemistry and Biotechnology, -Biology and Environmental Sciences, -Chemistry and Chemical Technology, -Computer Science and Information Technology, -Academic Literacy and Science Communication, -Physics, and Mathematics and Applied Mathematics); and

School of Health Care Sciences (Departments of -Human Nutrition and Dietetics, -Nursing, -Occupational Therapy, -Physiotherapy, -Public Health, and -Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology).

Visit: https://www.smu.ac.za for more information or enquiries.