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23 November 2022
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Story André Damons
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Prof Motlalepula Matsabisa, Professor and Director of Pharmacology, will play host to the various stakeholders to network and share knowledge on current developments in indigenous knowledge research and product development, biodiversity, innovation, and commercialisation of the IK-based research products. The Indigenous Knowledge System (IKS) for Health unit in the Department of Pharmacology within the UFS Faculty of Health Sciences was last year awarded an annual Technology Innovation Agency Platform (TIA) grant of R17 million for the next five years.
The research and teaching programme in the School of Clinical Medicine has since been rebranded and is now known as the African Medicines Innovation and Technology Development Platform (AMITD), which will strive to respond to community health needs and address industry research needs and challenges.
The indaba will showcase progress made by TIA and other entities in enriching the development and commercialisation of IK-based innovations. It will take place from 24 to 25 November 2022 in the Equitas Senate Hall at the UFS.
Prof Matsabisa is the chairperson of the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) Regional Expert Advisory Committee on Traditional Medicines for COVID-19. He is also a visiting professor at the Beijing University of Chinese Medicine (BUCM) in Beijing, China, and the Deputy President of the South African Society for Basic and Clinical Pharmacology.
Laptop in, paper out
2013-07-31
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Prof Pieter Nel gives advice to students.
Photo: Johan Roux
31 July 2013 |
The first major steps to a paperless lecture environment for the School of Medicine were taken in July 2013 with the presentation of laptops to all first-year- medical students.
The aim is to have the entire undergraduate medical programme computer-driven within a few years and to get rid of paper in the classroom.
Prof Pieter Nel, Programme Director: Health Sciences at the school in the Faculty of Health Sciences, said, “As far as we know, this action is the first of its kind in any medical school in South Africa whereby an entire class are supplied with computers for this purpose. We also have no knowledge of anything similar in any programme within any other faculty at any university in South Africa.”
All first-year medical students received laptops. The UFS is facilitating the process to provide students with computer access via their own laptops. “The reason for this is that the undergraduate health-sciences programme will be totally computerised from now on. Students will therefore utilise their laptops in all their contact sessions.”
The entire building where teaching takes place is equipped with Wi-Fi. The students buy the laptops at a much lower cost than the commercial price.
Prof Nel said the printing costs of study material during a student’s undergraduate study years can amount to as much as R5 000.
In future, first-year students will receive laptops, computerising the entire undergraduate health-sciences programme within a few years, Prof Nel said.
During the presentation of the first laptops, Prof Gert van Zyl, Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences, referred to this action as a big step forward in modernising the undergraduate training of medical students in the faculty.