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Dr Yolandi Swart – developing the next generation of health professionals

22 March 2022 | Story André Damons

The new Director of the Undergraduate Medical Programme (MB ChB programme) in the School of Clinical Medicine within the Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of the Free State (UFS) has a passion for teaching and learning and brings a wealth of experience with her.

Dr Yolandi Swart, who took over from Prof Lynette van der Merwe on 1 March 2022, says she is excited about the new opportunities that this position brings. She was not actively job-hunting and came across the advertisement by accident but was thrilled when she was informed that she is the recommended candidate.

A deep love for the UFS

“I will be heading up an amazing team of people who drive the MB ChB programme, making sure that we walk with our students on their journey to become the next generation of health professionals who will contribute to the health and wellness of our population. Our functions include coordinating the undergraduate curriculum, providing student support, as well as logistic support to ensure the smooth running of the MB ChB programme,” says Dr Swart.

As an alumna of the university (she obtained both her MB ChB and postgraduate MMed in Community Health at the UFS), she has a deep love for the UFS, as it has played a huge role in developing her into the person she is today.

According to Dr Swart, she looks forward to getting to know the students and seeing them develop into the best they can be, as well as engaging with the academic staff as they guide and train the students. She brings a diverse background to the position, having practised as a doctor, specialised in Community Health, and worked in clinical research at various levels, including senior management. This has afforded her the opportunity to equip herself with skills that she hopes will provide support and direction to the Undergraduate Programme Management team in order to provide excellent service in all its functions.

Her vision

“I love teaching and learning – taking a concept and making it accessible to someone. There are few things as satisfying as seeing that expression that says ‘Oh, now I get it!’

Kovsies has always had a reputation of producing excellent doctors. “It is my vision to build on that reputation, integrating local and international best practices as they develop into our students’ training, with the aim of developing young professionals who are competent, resilient, and able to face the challenges that life will throw at them – so that they, in turn, can play their role to influence lives for the better.”

Prior to her appointment, she worked at FARMOVS as a clinical research physician for more than six years, the past year and a half as the company’s Medical Director. Says Dr Swart: “I love challenging myself with new things every so often. Past and present hobbies include surfing (which died an early death, as I was horrible at it), scuba diving (yes, with sharks as well), horse-riding, and self-defence. Most recently, I got hooked on traditional archery – a very challenging skill to try and master.”

Dr Swart says she has learned throughout her personal life and professional career that life sometimes takes unexpected turns – but if one is open to the opportunities afforded by those unexpected turns, it often turns out so much better than the original plan could ever have been. “Difficulties and challenges will always come – but if one faces them with a positive attitude, they teach life skills that you would otherwise never have attained.”

News Archive

Game farming a lens to analyse challenges facing democratic SA – Dr Kamuti

2017-05-30

Dr Tariro Kamuti, Postdoctoral Fellow at the Centre
for Africa Studies at the University of the Free State.
Photo: Rulanzen Martin

One of the challenges facing South Africa’s developing game farming policy is the fractured state in the governance of the private game farming sector, says Dr Tariro Kamuti.

Dr Kamuti, a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Centre for Africa Studies (CAS) at the University of the Free State (UFS), was presenting a seminar on Wednesday 17 May 2017 under the topic, Private Wildlife Governance in a Context of Radical Uncertainty: Challenges of South Africa’s Developing Game Farming Policy, which takes material from his PhD. He received his PhD from both the Vrije University in Amsterdam and the UFS in 2016.

His presentation explored how the private game industry positions itself in accordance with existing agricultural and environmental regulations. It also investigated the state’s response to the challenge of competing needs over land and wildlife resources which is posed by the gaming sector. “The transformation of the institutional processes mediating governance of the private game farming sector has been a long and enduring arrangement emerging organically over time,” Dr Kamuti said.

Game farming links wildlife and agricultural sectors
“I decided on this topic to highlight that game farming links the wildlife sector (associated with conservation and tourism) and the agricultural sector. Both make use of land whose resources need to be sustainably utilised to meet a broad spectrum of needs for the diverse South African population.

“The continuous skewed ownership of land post-1994 justifies questioning of the role of the state in confronting challenges of social justice and transformation within the economy.”

“Game farming can thus be viewed as a lens through which to study the broad challenges facing a democratic South Africa, and to interrogate the regulatory and policy framework in the agricultural and wildlife sectors at their interface,” Dr Kamuti said.

Challenges facing game farming policies
The state alone does not apply itself to the regulation of private gaming as a sector. “There is no clear direction on the position of private game farming at the interface of environmental and agricultural regulations, hence game farmers take advantage of loopholes in these institutional arrangements to forge ahead,” Dr Kamuti said.

He further went on to say that the state lacked a coherent plan for the South African countryside, “as shown by the outstanding land restitution and labour tenant claims on privately owned land earmarked for wildlife production”.

The South African government was confronted with a context in which the status quo of the prosperity of the middle classes under neoliberal policies was pitted against the urgent need to improve the material well-being of the majority poor. Unless such issues were addressed, this necessarily undermined democracy as a participatory social force, Dr Kamuti said.

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