Dear Staff and Student Colleagues 

Welcome to our new undergraduate Health Sciences Students’ Council (HSSC) for 2024-2025. They represent the first council since the pandemic to have contested an election. It augurs well for a more robust student engagement in faculty governance. I trust that you join me in congratulating them on stepping up and showing up for their colleagues.

The undergraduate HSSC is a governing body of 10 registered undergraduate students who have completed at least one semester of study. They are elected on an annual basis by the undergraduate student body registered in the Faculty of Health Sciences. The HSSC is responsible for representing the faculty student body on various faculty committees and structures (such as the Faculty Board and the Faculty Teaching and Learning Committee), supporting student organisations and liaising between students, professors and staff members.
 
Dr Kerrin Begg, the Deputy Dean for Undergraduate Education, and I appreciate the outstanding work done by the outgoing Council. We have witnessed the outstanding leadership of Mr Lutho Pikok and the engaged leadership of his colleagues. I am grateful for Lutho’s support of the birthday campaign he co-sponsored with me which raised in excess of R70 000 for student financial support. Lutho and his team have made considerable time commitments while in the process of their studying for demanding programmes. Their servant leadership does not go unnoticed, and their humility and genuine concern for the well-being of the student body has been exemplary.
 
I wish to formally welcome our new student leaders, who take up their roles on 1 November 2024: 

Chairperson: Kwandiso Ngubane

Deputy Chairperson: Rahul Rama-Panchia

Secretary General: Buhlebenkosi Makhanya

Treasurer: Mbasa Vapi

MBChB Academic Officer: Thabo Mokoena

Health and Rehabilitation Programmes Academic Officer: Matema Baloyi

Public Relations and Marketing Officer: Titi Khoza

Student Wellness and Outreach Representative: Pearl Makgato

Transformation Officer: Kholofelo Phasha

Sports and Entertainment Officer: Aphilanga Diko

Halala, Kwandiso and team. The challenges facing students are plenty but I know you will ably navigate them. Our student body is a rich tapestry and your stepping forward to lead in these complex times promises us fresh possibilities to build a faculty in which all find a home away from home. I look forward to co-operating with you on enhancing student well-being and deepening our understanding of the everyday complexities that our students face. 

Kaise ke gangans
Associate Professor Lionel Green-Thompson
Dean: Faculty of Health Sciences