Message from the Dean FIT FOR PURPOSE

It is with great pride that the Wits Faculty of Health Sciences celebrates its achievements of 2022. Most significantly, we recognise the exceptional talent whose contribution drives the faculty to a leading institution in the country and the continent.

This wouldn’t be possible without the dedication of our professional and academic staff. There is no doubt that the collective efforts of these men and women are responsible for the faculty’s everdefining turning points since its inception.

All this is done with one goal in mind, namely to train healthcare professionals that are fit for the 21st century in an ever-changing world. This means that the faculty is reconceptualising a manner in which we use the latest technology to enhance our students’ experience and the management of patients.

Central to every aspect of our growth is our students and the knowledge that we impart to them. With so many brilliant minds and groundingbreaking developments in the health sciences profession, the education we provide would not have “the edge” if it doesn’t stand the test of time. Some of those celebrated in this ceremony are outstanding teachers and others are meticulous executors whose seamless work behind the scenes brings ideas.

How proud we are that our students walk, engage and learn from some of the top researchers in health sciences and innovative professionals of all disciplines.

In an era of an explosion of knowledge where over 9 million science research publications were published in 2022 alone, it is motivating that our students are taught by some of the toprated contributors of this time.

What a time it is that there are rigorous approaches in healthcare that not only expand but informs and advances the reach of the work of these top contributors that are in our midst. This phenomenon of Artificial Intelligence (AI) equips any category of healthcare worker to make a diagnosis, with such precision that even the greatest of specialists would come short of its multidisciplinary application.

This is the calibre of students that we pride ourselves to produce in our faculty. Not those that depend on technology, but collaborate and investigate their knowledge through such so that they are better practitioners in the future.

This has inspired the faculty to re-engage how we deliver our training to equip students to use the latest technology to their benefit and the benefit of their patients. All this in the hands of diligent, highly-trained and ethical healthcare practitioners is an emergence of healthcare workers of the 21st century – thanks to the exceptional staff of this faculty.

About the speaker

Dr Pantanowitz has been described in the media as an “iconic biomedical engineer”. As a technologist, he enjoys using his applied sciences skills to have a realworld impact.

He has co-founded several businesses/social impact projects including AURA, Resolute Education, shift.stream, and others. Dr Pantanowitz lectured on Software, Biomedical Engineering, and Medicine at Wits University in Johannesburg where he holds the Chair in Innovation. He is the incoming Director of the Wits Innovation Centre.

Dr Pantanowitz is an internationally chartered engineer and holds a PhD in Artificial Intelligence (AI) applied to healthcare innovation

About the talk

Dr Pantanowitz has innovated in healthcare using AI for 15 years. In this talk, he explores exciting cuttingedge AI innovations drawing from various tools such as data augmentation with applications of his own projects.

These include automated face mask detection, automated BMI detection, X-ray generation, and the brainternet project, to dream about how the field of healthcare is rapidly changing.

Critically, we consider how the chain of healthcare provision may be impacted, from patient to practitioner, unpacking why this pursuit is of the utmost importance, and how the professional of the future may be impacted and even enhanced.