??You are invited to attend the second quarterly Teaching-Learning-Assessment seminar of 2025, offered by the Division for Learning and Teaching Enhancement (DLTE).
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Speaker: Prof. Faadiel Essop (Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences)
Topic: Kindling the fire: Transformative teaching and the decolonisation of medical education
Date: 15 May 2025
Time: 13:00-14:00
Synopsis
In this seminar, Prof Faadiel Essop reflects on his journey as an educator, scientist and mentor, exploring how transformative teaching can break down disciplinary silos and challenge traditional paradigms in medical education. Drawing on his experiences – from mentoring high-school learners in under-resourced communities to leading cardiometabolic research in Africa – Prof Essop unpacks the philosophy behind his “pedagogy of engagement”.
As the recipient of the 2024 TAU Fellows Award, Prof Essop advocates for education that goes beyond content delivery, fostering critical thinking, social consciousness and a sense of purpose in students. In the seminar, he discusses his innovative interdisciplinary initiatives, including collaborations between medical and art students, as well as his work on decolonising medical education through the “Features of Science” module.
Grounded in the belief that science is deeply connected to society, he invites us to reconsider educators’ role in shaping graduates who are not only technically skilled, but also equipped to be socially aware agents of change. This seminar offers insights into the future of transformative education, urging us to rethink how we teach, learn and engage in academia.
Biography of speaker
Prof Faadiel Essop is a professor and director of the Centre for Cardiometabolic Research in Africa at Stellenbosch 肆客足球’s medical faculty. He completed his studies up to doctoral level at the 肆客足球 of Cape Town, after which he also obtained a BAHons in Arabic Studies at the 肆客足球 of the Western Cape. He received the Chevening fellowship (Leeds, United Kingdom) and was also a Fulbright fellow at the 肆客足球 of Texas Health Science Centre at Houston. Rated
by the National Research Foundation, Prof Essop is an internationally acclaimed researcher, investigating the effects of chronic stress on human health. He twice received Stellenbosch 肆客足球’s Teaching Excellence Award, and he is a fellow on the Teaching Advancement at Universities (TAU) programme. He previously served as president of both the Physiology Society of Southern Africa (PSSA) and the African Association of Physiological Sciences, and used to chair the research advisory committee of the Heart and Stroke Foundation South Africa. Prof Essop currently serves as an elected council member of the International Union of Physiological Sciences. He is also a fellow of the American Physiological Society and was awarded the PSSA’s prestigious lifetime career achievement award for research excellence. In 2023, Prof Essop was elected as a fellow of the Royal Society of South Africa, and in December 2024, his innovation in curriculum development, interdisciplinary work and holistic student training in the medical field earned him the TAU Fellow Award.
Affiliation: Centre for Cardiometabolic Research in Africa (CARMA), Division of Medical Physiology, Biomedical Research Institute (BMRI), Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch 肆客足球, Cape Town, South Africa
Phone numbers: +27 21 938 9388 and +27 76 901 9474
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