2018 ES Report BME

Division of Biomedical Engineering Annual Report on Engaged Scholarship 2017-2018“Our Mission is to be an outstanding teaching and research university, educating for life and addressing the challenges facing our society.”

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Siyazakha Biomedical Engineering Workshop for High School LearnersStaff, postdoctoral researchers and postgraduate students held a full-day workshop on26 June 2018 with 130 grade-9 pupils from 10 high schools who are part of SiyazakhaProject of UCT’s School Development Unit. The workshop showcased diverseapplications of mathematics and physical and natural sciences in medicine andhealthcare. Throughout the day, the learners toured different thematic stations: (1)Health Innovation, (2) Medical Devices, (3) Orthopaedic Biomechanics, (4) DigitalHealth, (5) Clinical Engineering, (6) Virtual & Augmented Reality in Healthcare, (7)Mechanobiology, and (8) Outreach Movies, created by first-year Master’s students ondifferent aspect on biomedical engineering and health innovation, and their motivation toselect these fields of study, Health Innovation. During the closing session Ms Thoko Miyaspoke to the pupils. Ms Mia is the Global Partnerships Manager of GirlHype(www.girlhype.co.za), a non-profit company with the mission to empower, connect, andsupport the next generation of South African women leaders in science, technology,engineering, and mathematics (STEM).The Siyazakha Project, led by the SDU’s Ms Gillian Kay, is a five-year project funded bythe Zenex Foundation aimed at increasing the uptake of Mathematics and PhysicalsSciences and at improving learner performance in Mathematics and Physical Sciencesin ten high schools across Khayelitsha, Mfuleni, Ravensmead and Joe Slovo Park. TheSDU supports the principals and senior management teams, offers teacher professionaldevelopment for English, Mathematics and Physical / Natural Sciences teachers andruns a learner programme for selected learners. The Grade-9 learner programme aimsmainly at stimulating an interest in Mathematics and Science and developing criticalthinking skills.Purpose: To showcase biomedical engineering to high school pupils from designatedgroups towards promotion of uptake of mathematics and physicals sciences andincrease attractiveness of careers in these areas. UCT staff members involved:Thomas Franz, Tania Douglas, Sudesh Sivarasu, Tinashe Mutsvangwa, Jill FortuinAbrahams, Bessie Malila, Nailah Conrad, Nathaniel Narra, Tamer Abdalrahman, Donnévan der Westhuizen, Kevin Sack, Trust Saidi (all BME), Gillian Kay (School DevelopmentUnit). Key thematic issues: School learners, designated groups, outreach, SET,transformation. Nature of external constituencies involved: 10 secondary schools 3

from Khayelitsha, Mfuleni, Ravensmead and Joe Slovo Park. Nature of relationshipswith external constituencies: Relationships with external constituencies are manifoldand includes joint conceptualisation with schools and industry, contributions (in kind) ofindustry partners to the events and feedback from all external partners. The initiativethrives through feedback from all external partners to enhance the initiative as it grows.Length of relationships: 5 months, with the aim of sustainable, long-term participationto the 100UP programme and the VC’s School Improvement Initiative. Dominant formof engaged scholarship: Teaching. Dominant mode of engagement: Public dialogue,popular education. Nature of outputs: Report on divisional and departmental webpages, article in faculty newsletter. Assessment of impact: Impact assessment throughUCT’s School Development Unit as part of the School Improvement Initiative andfeedback from the external constituencies involved.Presentations at SII 100UP Winter Camp for High School LearnersNailah Conrad and Wumi Inyang, both postdoctoral researchers in the Division ofBiomedical Engineering, presented seminars on health innovation and biomedicalengineering to 100 grade-11 pupils from 20 secondary schools in Khayelitsha. Theseseminars were part of 100UP Winter Camp held at UCT during 4-6 July 2018. The 100UPProject of UCT’s School Development Unit (http://www.sii.uct.ac.za/sii/100up) is basedon one of the five objectives of the School Improvement Initiative supported by UCT’sVice Chancellor (http://www.sii.uct.ac.za/).Purpose: To engage with grade-11 high school pupils from designated groups onscience, engineering and technology and thereby attract them to pursue studies and acareer in these areas. UCT staff members involved: Nailah Conrad, Trust Saidi, Donnevan der Westhuizen, Wumi Inyang, Tania Douglas, Sudesh Sivarasu, Thomas Franz (allBME), Gilbert Dolo (School Development Unit). Key thematic issues: School learners,designated groups, outreach, SET, transformation. Nature of external constituenciesinvolved: 20 secondary schools, Khayelitsha. Nature of relationships with externalconstituencies: Relationships with external constituencies are manifold and includesjoint conceptualisation with schools and industry, contributions (in kind) of industrypartners to the events and feedback from all external partners. The initiative thrivesthrough feedback from all external partners to enhance the initiative as it grows. Length 4

of relationships: 2.5 years, with the aim of sustainable, long-term participation to the100up programme and the VC’s School Improvement Initiative. Dominant form ofengaged scholarship: Teaching. Dominant mode of engagement: Public dialogue,popular education. Nature of outputs: Report on divisional and departmental webpages. Assessment of impact: Through UCT’s School Development Unit as part of theSchool Improvement Initiative and feedback from the external constituencies involved.100UP Biomedical Engineering Workshop for High School LearnersThe workshop on biomedical engineering for 100 grade-10 learners from 20 secondaryschools in Khayelitsha was held on 20 October 2018 at the Faculty of Health Sciences,UCT. The workshop was conducted in collaboration with UCT’s School DevelopmentUnit. It contributes to the 100up project which is based on one of the five objectives ofthe School Improvement Initiative supported by the VC. The grade-10 learners are intheir first year of the 100up programme. During the half-day workshop, the learners wereexposed to different aspects of biomedical engineering and related disciplines at thevarious units/sites involved, including medical device development, orthopaedicbiomechanics, medical imaging and image processing, biomaterials, mechanobiology,health innovation, and tissue engineering.Purpose: To engage with school learners from designated groups on science,engineering and technology and thereby attract them to pursue a career in these areas.UCT staff members involved: Thomas Franz, Tania Douglas, Jill Fortuin AbrahamsNailah Conrad, Trust Saidi (from Division of Biomedical Engineering); Marcin Jankiewiczand Ernesta Meintjes, (all from Cape Universities Body Imaging Centre at UCT), DeonBezuidenhout and Neil Davies (from Cardiovascular Research Unit, Dept. of Surgery),Gilbert Dolo (School Development Unit). Key thematic issues: School learners,designated groups, outreach, SET, transformation. Nature of external constituenciesinvolved: 20 secondary schools, Khayelitsha. Nature of relationships with externalconstituencies: Relationships with external constituencies are manifold and includesjoint conceptualisation with schools and industry, contributions (in kind) of industrypartners to the events and feedback from all external partners. The initiative thrivesthrough feedback from all external partners to enhance the initiative as it grows. Length 5

of relationships: 2.5 years, with the aim of sustainable, long-term participation to the100up programme and the VC’s School Improvement Initiative. Dominant form ofengaged scholarship: Teaching. Dominant mode of engagement: Public dialogue,popular education. Nature of outputs: Report on divisional and departmental webpages. Assessment of impact: Through UCT’s School Development Unit as part of theSchool Improvement Initiative and feedback from the external constituencies involved.Improvement of Adherence to Chronic Medication in the ElderlyHealth Innovation and Design A and B (HUB5031F and HUB5032S) are Master’s levelcourses that use a design thinking methodology to develop contextually appropriatehealth innovations. the courses aim to introduce participants to human-centred designof solutions to promote health and wellbeing and address needs identified throughengagement with relevant stakeholders. In the first semester our students interviewedresidents and clinic staff of Neighbourhood Old Age Homes (NOAH) in Woodstock togain an understanding of how residents manage their chronic medication, with a view todeveloping ways to improve adherence to medication. Further interviews wereconducted on the desirability of a proposed solution. The solution is being further developand tested in the second semester of 2018.Purpose: Redesign the ways to improve adherence to chronic medications in the elderly,as older persons are overwhelmed by changes in their health. UCT staff membersinvolved: Tania Douglas, Tinashe Mutsvangwa, Nailah Conrad, Trust Saidi, Donné vander Westhuizen; students of the course Health Innovation and Design, UCT KnowledgeCoop. Key thematic issues: Improving medication adherence; Health Innovation;Addressing user needs; Contextually appropriate interventions; Design Thinking. Natureof external constituencies involved: Non-governmental organisation providing seniorcitizens in Cape Town (Woodstock and Khayelitsha) with residential, clinical and socialsupport. Nature of relationships with external constituencies: Joint conceptualisationand design, consultation, obtaining feedback etc. This is the third project that we haveconducted with NOAH and we chose the current problem in consultation with the healthmanager at NOAH. Through the design thinking process we endeavoured to make ourinformation gathering phases more engaged. We had an initial round of interviews with 6

residents at NOAH which gave us the insights from which to reframe a problem basedon what we learnt. Preliminary solutions ideas were shared with NOAH residents andstaff through multiple feedback sessions. Length of relationships: Since 2015.Dominant form of the engaged scholarship: Research and teaching. Dominantmode of engagement: Teaching: Organisation of Service Learning/community-basededucation programmes as part of the formal curriculum; Applied/ action research;Research: Knowledge application/transfer e.g. the development of products or patent.Nature of the outputs: Articles, abstracts, conference proceedings and reports. Thecommunity receives insights/prototypes/frameworks of workable solutions that they mayimplement. Assessment of impact of the initiative: A parallel research project is beingconducted to assess the level of engagement and the nature of participation. The impactof the solution, once implemented, will be assessed.The Living Heart Project – A Public-private Partnership to Accelerate Researchand Translation in Cardiovascular Diseases and TherapiesThe Living Heart Project is uniting cardiovascular researchers, educators, medicaldevice developers, regulatory agencies, and practicing cardiologists on a shared missionto develop and validate highly accurate personalized digital human heart models. Thesemodels will establish a unified foundation for cardiovascular in silico medicine and serveas a common technology base for education and training, medical device design, testing,clinical diagnosis and regulatory science —creating an effective path for rapidlytranslating current and future cutting edge innovations directly into improved patient care.The Living Heart Project is led by Dassault Systèmes Simulia, a multinational softwarecompany. The project current has 58 members from academia and research, 37members from industry, 12 clinician members and two regulatory members.Purpose: To form a public-private partnership to accelerate research and translation incardiovascular diseases and therapies. UCT staff members involved: Thomas Franzand Neil Davies. Key thematic issues: Strategic research; innovation; translation.Nature of external constituencies involved: 37 international companies. 2 regulatorybodies. Nature of relationships with external constituencies: Relationships withexternal constituencies include joint conceptualisation of activities with Dassault 7

Systèmes Simulia and other members of the Living Heart Project, consultations andproviding feedback. Length of relationships: Three years, ongoing. Dominant form ofthe engaged scholarship: Research and Service. Dominant mode of engagement:Advice to external organisations; knowledge transfer; technical assistance. Nature ofthe outputs: Computational models, research publications, collaborations.Assessment of impact: Impact is for example assessed through peer-review ofresearch outputs. Division of Biomedical Engineering Department of Human Biology Faculty of Health Sciences University of Cape Town Private Bag X3 Observatory 7935 South Africa Tel: +27 21 650 3093 E-mail: [email protected] Web: www.bme.uct.ac.za 8