BIOSKETCH
Prof Veena Singaram is the Inaugural Head of the Health Professions Education (HPE) Unit.Beginning her career as an Anatomy lecturer, she later specialised in HPE and assumed several senior academic leadership roles. She served two terms as Academic Leader of Research and Higher Degrees in the School of Clinical Medicine, strengthening postgraduate research capacity and doctoral throughput. She has also led MBChB curriculum coordination and renewal and headed the Mentorship and Academic Support Office, advancing structured academic support systems that support student progression and success.Singaram holds a doctorate in HPE from Maastricht University (Netherlands) and is a FAIMER-SAFRI Fellow and faculty (Foundation for Advancement of International Medical Education and Research). She has received national and international recognition, including the prestigious Karolinska Institutet Prize for Research in Medical Education (KIPRIME) Fellowship, the Distinguished Educator Award from the Southern African Association of Health Professions Educationalists (SAAHE), the REACHT Academic Award in the School of Clinical Medicine, Vice-Chancellors Catalyst for Change Award and the Technology Innovation Teaching Award for developing Ignitiated™, a formative feedback mobile application that promotes learner autonomy and feedback-seeking behaviour in clinical education.Her scholarship advances feedback culture transformation, workplace-based assessment reform, and collaborative learning, alongside curriculum renewal, planetary health integration, and educator and student development in healthprofessions education. She serves on national higher education and professional bodies, supporting reform in teaching, assessment, and quality assurance across undergraduate and postgraduate specialist training.Prof Singaram publishes widely in high-impact journals and books and presents internationally through global collaborations. She serves in editorial roles across leading Health Professions Education journals, contributing to and shaping scholarship in the field.A committed mentor and postgraduate supervisor, she has guided numerous Masters and Doctoral candidates in HPE, fostering a growing scholarly community within the College and region. She has also played significant leadership roles within SAAHE, serving as an Executive Member and Chair of the SAAHE KwaZulu-Natal Chapter, and as Conference Convenor for three national conferences (2013, 2018, 2024).Grounded in relational and values-based leadership, Singaram adopts a collaborative, systems-oriented approach to advancing innovative and socially responsive health professions education in the Global South.
