• 8 August 2024: AI in Higher Education Series: AI in Medical Education – Transforming Medical Education: AI-Powered Personalized Learning in Immunology – Dr Jaisubash Jayakumar, University of Cape Town, South Africa

Date and Time: Thursday 8 August 2024, 15:00 – 17:00 SAST

Led by: Dr Jaisubash Jayakumar, Senior Lecturer in Medical Education, Department of Pathology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, South Africa

To attend this seminar, please sign up via Zoom here!

Session Description:  

This presentation will offer an insightful exploration into the transformative impact of integrating Artificial Intelligence (AI) within medical education. Drawing from practical experiences, I will showcase how AI tools dynamically adapt to individual learning needs, offering personalised feedback and fostering collaborative problem-solving in disciplines like immunology. Globally, medical students face the challenge of learning complex subjects, including immunology. Incorporating AI into immunology teaching enhances the learning experience by simplifying concepts and providing critique on accuracy. Through examples like the second-year MBChB immunology tutorial, I will illustrate how AI promotes technological literacy and critical thinking, optimising learning outcomes and engagement. By integrating AI, educators streamline the teaching process, fostering a dynamic learning environment where students explore, experiment, and comprehend immunological principles more effectively, thus improving academic performance overall. Join me as I discuss the implications and opportunities of AI integration in shaping the future of medical education.

Facilitator’s Bio:  

Dr Jaisubash Jayakumar is a senior lecturer in medical education at the Department of Pathology. He earned his PhD in Clinical Sciences and Immunology and a Postgraduate Diploma in Educational Technology from the University of Cape Town. In addition to his academic roles, he serves as the co-chairperson of the Faculty of Health Sciences Transformation and Equity Committee, where he spearheads various transformation initiatives within the faculty. Dr Jayakumar’s teaching philosophy focuses on inclusive, student-centred teaching and learning, enriched with pastoral care. His research interests and expertise span undergraduate medical education, student-centred pedagogies like Problem-Based Learning, and the transformation and decolonisation of higher education through humanising pedagogies and technology-enhanced teaching and learning. Dedicated to teaching and mentoring, Dr Jayakumar is committed to helping students develop their academic skills and achieve their academic goals. In his free time, he enjoys singing, meditating, and reading.

This year we will offer Facilitating Online twice depending on demand for places in the course. We are reaching the end of our funding from Carnegie Corporation of New York so we need to charge fees that that will make the course sustainable to continue.

5 August – 27 September 2024 (Apply by 16 July 2024)

Please apply here

About the course

Facilitating Online provides a solid foundation for facilitating online events and courses. It is registered as a short course at the University of Cape Town (UCT). Facilitating Online was developed by the Centre for Innovation in Learning and Teaching (CILT) at UCT. It is convened by Tony Carr and co-facilitated by facilitators from across Africa. The course is run online over 8 weeks.

We consider applications in the order in which they arrive so earlier applications stand a higher chance of being accepted

Recommendations by participants

“I learned many facilitation skills that I am now able to apply with my own students. I would recommend the course highly to anyone embarking on the online teaching and learning journey.”
Dr Judith McKenzie, Department of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, University of Cape Town.

“This course doesn’t just teach you ABOUT online Facilitation, it actually gets you to facilitate … It’s a real opportunity to learn and develop. And what’s more? It has an African taste…”
Daniel Adeboye, Online Maths Tutor, Tutor for the Future

Who should apply and why?
Educators and trainers are increasingly using online resources and interaction to support learning across blended and online courses. The shift online emphasises the importance of  sound online facilitation skills to facilitate engaged participants in debate, group work and shared knowledge construction across a range of online conversational spaces. 

Trained online facilitators are also able to make good choices about the use of online communication when designing learning activities. Facilitating Online provides opportunities for educational technologists, educators and trainers to develop the necessary orientation to become an effective online facilitator. Several past participants have reported that Facilitating Online unlocked new employment opportunities for them.

This course is aimed at change agent educational technologists and educators as well as trainers involved in leading online courses. Course participation is entirely online and will require up to 8 hours of participation per week. A certificate of completion is awarded for successful completion of 75% of the assessed activities of the course including some mandatory activities.

Selection criteria and process
Selection criteria include:

* reliable Internet access
* an opportunity to teach or facilitate in a blended or online course or training programme
* previous experience of online teaching or learning
* at least two years’ experience as a university educator, educational technologist or trainer

All applicants will require a letter of support from their line manager or Head of Department.

Applicants will be notified via email about whether they have been selected to participate in the course. You can address any other queries to [email protected]

Promotional Course Fees

For interest:

• The original version of the guidance to course leaders is available as an open educational resource.
• Watch a recording of ‘The Human in the Web Space’ online seminar led by Catherine Fortune (South Africa) and Irene Maweu (Kenya)