Artificial intelligence represents a significant strategic leadership opportunity for the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences and Stellenbosch University. To realise its potential, the Faculty must proactively develop the knowledge, capabilities, and partnerships required to harness these technologies effectively, rather than merely react to them as they emerge. We are committed to remaining ahead of the curve by creating opportunities for staff and students to engage with emerging developments and contribute meaningfully to their application across the Faculty.

We recognise that artificial intelligence will have a profound impact on higher education, biomedical research, medicine, and health sciences. Through collaboration, learning, innovation, and shared leadership, we will build the capacity required to use these technologies responsibly and effectively. By strengthening understanding and participation across our community, we aim to ensure that the benefits of these advances are realised in ways that support our academic, clinical, and institutional mission.

The Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences will remain at the forefront of modern healthcare by thoughtfully integrating frontier digital technologies, including artificial intelligence, robotics, and related innovations, across teaching and learning, clinical practice, business processes, and research. We see these developments not as isolated technical advances, but as opportunities to enhance the way we educate, discover, serve, and operate in an increasingly connected environment.

We are committed to fostering an inclusive community of staff and students who actively contribute to shaping the future of AI and related technologies within the Faculty. By embracing these developments proactively, we will strengthen educational quality, healthcare impact, operational effectiveness, and research excellence, ensuring that the Faculty remains a leader in advancing health sciences and healthcare in a rapidly changing world. Through collective effort and shared purpose, we will help co-create a future in which innovation contributes meaningfully to improved outcomes for our institution, our professions, and the communities we serve.

Kind regards | Ngemibuliso emihle | Vriendelike groete

Prof Nico C Gey van Pittius BSc (PU), BSc Hons (PU), MSc (PU), PhD (Stell), LLB (UNISA), LLM (Stell), MBA (Stell), MPhil (Stell), OAMLP (Oxford) | M.ASSAf, M.Akad.SA.
Vice-Dean: Research & Internationalisation and Professor of Molecular Biology 
Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Tygerberg Campus, South Africa
ResearchGate | ORCID ID: 0000-0002-8807-4105 | LinkedIn