AfrIPEN Conference 2026

African Wisdom, Global Relevance: Reclaiming Interprofessional Futures
1–3 September 2026 | University of the Western Cape
Main Conference Venue — GYM, 1st Floor A118 / A120 — Breakaway Rooms, 1st Floor

Tuesday, 1 September 2026

08:30–09:00
Registration
Student volunteers
09:00–09:15
Conference Chair Welcome
Luzaan Africa
09:15–09:45
Opening
National Anthem
Moment of Silence: Professor Hugh Barr
Entertainment
09:45–10:05
AfrIPEN Chair Address
Gerard Filies
10:05–10:25
Keynote 1
Firdouza Waggie
10:25–10:35
Q&A
Gerard Filies
10:45–11:15
Tea Break & Poster Walk-Through
11:15–11:45
Reclaiming Power: Decolonial Pedagogies in IPE

A118 — Session 1A
Decolonising Health Professions Education
(Pholoso Nyalungu)

Can Health Sciences Education Truly Decolonise? Regulatory Power and Epistemic Limits
— Lindiwe Gumede
Critical Dialogue as a Vehicle for Decolonising Imposed Occupations in Professional Education
— Lizahn Cloete
Reframing interprofessional competencies through Ubuntu: a decolonial proposal
— Gerard Filies, Luzaan Africa

A120 — Session 1B
Power, Participation and Collaborative Practice
(Shamila Gamiet)

Linguistic and contextual adaptations of an international developmental resource guide for caregivers and early childhood educators in low-resourced settings in South Africa
— Renata Eccles, Maria du Toit, Jeannie van de Linde
Mapping Together: A Collaborative African Approach to Strengthening IPECP Curricula Across Health Professions
— Hanlie Pitout, Katerina Elhert
Micro Learning and Digital Empowerment: Training collaboratively using WhatsApp
— Abigail Dreyer
12:00–13:00
Context Matters: Designing IPE for African Realities

A118 — Session 2A
Teaching and Learning for Collaborative Practice
(Renata Eccles)

Invisible Unions, Fractured Teams: Exploring Interprofessional collaboration in South Africa’s Rural Health Centres
— Thokozile Kgongwana
We were wondering... Collaborative poetry in interprofessional education
— Lizanne van der Walt, Jana Muller
The development and evaluation of an Interprofessional Education Programme for a University in Ghana: A multi-method study
— Amy Bening, Christmal Christmals
Interprofessional Education as Relational Practice: Designing Context-Responsive Learning Using the 4C-ID Model
— Estelle Viljoen, Firdouza Waggie
Reclaiming Interprofessional Futures Through Rural African Learning Platforms: Lessons from graduates
— Jana Muller

A120 — Session 2B
Student Workforce Development and Professional Learning
(Tammy-Lee Williams)

Interprofessional mentoring: A critical pharmacy educational intervention in primary healthcare settings in South Africa
— Madile Mmoloke, Christmal Chistmals
“Behind the White Coat”: Unmasking Stigma and Re-imagining Healthcare Provider Well Being Across Kenya, Cameroon, and South Africa
— Abigail Dreyer, Wankumbu Simukonda
Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices of Basic Life Support Among Nursing Students at a Nurses and Midwifery Training College in Cape Coast, Ghana
— Evelyn Eyeson
A Review of Continuous Professional Development Programmes for Interprofessional Competencies of Intensive Care Teams
— Nombulelo Zenani, Seugnet Scholtz
Mapping virtual clinical experiences in undergraduate audiology: A scoping review
— Divhanani Sithi
Towards Context-Responsive Interprofessional Education: Insights from Community-Based Practice in South Africa
— Carmen Milton, Shabnam Abdoola
13:00–14:00
Lunch
14:00–14:20
Keynote 2
Vikki Park
14:20–14:30
Q&A
Hanlie Pitout
14:30–15:30
Workshop
Training Interprofessional Education (IPE) Facilitators within an African Context and Decolonial Pedagogies
— Melissa Owens, Sharron Blumenthal
15:30–15:45
Tea Break
15:45–16:30
Collaborative Practice in Specialised Contexts — Discussion Panel
Moderator: Hanlie Pitout
Panelists: Lizemari Hugo, Tammy-Lee Williams, Nombeko Mshunqane
17:00–18:30
Opening Ceremony
Welcome — AfrIPEN Chairperson
Dean's Address — Anita Padmanabhanunni
Award Presentations: IPR.G & Faculty — Hossein Khalili
& Luzaan Africa & Gerard Filies
Networking and Food

Wednesday, 2 September 2026

09:00–09:20
Keynote 3
Jose Frantz
09:20–09:30
Q&A
Luzaan Africa
09:40–10:40
Ubuntu in Practice: Indigenous Knowledge and Collaborative Care

A118 — Session 3A
Ubuntu, Relationships and Professional Identity
(Abigail Dreyer)

Ubuntu in Practice: Indigenous Knowledge and Collaborative Care
— Faniswa Gxamza
Ubuntu in Academic Formation: Mentoring Emerging Interprofessional Educators in Africa
— Pholoso Nyalungu, Arian Filies, Luzaan Africa
Reimagining the relationship between social work and community development: from disciplinary tension to collective practice and care
— Marichen van der Westhuizen, Marquin Smith
Findings and recommendations from a scoping review exploring the processes for creating an interprofessional mental health identity among pre-registration healthcare students
— Melissa Owens, Gerard Filies
Barriers and Enablers of Effective Interprofessional Learning in Online Environments
— Meghna Patel, Sthembiso Ncube, Pholoso Nyalungu, Arian Filies
The Northern IPE Strategy: Creating a UK Regional Community of Practice to Advance Interprofessional Education
— Melissa Owens, Vikki Park

A120 — Session 3B
Collaborative Care Across Contexts
(Fatima Ismail)

Interprofessional Ethics Presentation: Learning Experiences of Final-Year Students
— Andrea Hamzen, Hanlie Pitout
NICU managers' perspectives of the role of speech-language therapists
— Alethea Stemmet, Renata Eccles, Alta Kritzinger, Esedra Krüger, Bhavani Pillay
Experiences and Needs of Early Childhood Development (ECD) Practitioners Regarding Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) in High-Prevalence, Low-Resource Settings
— Norma Motlywa
Knowledge, perceptions and attitudes of healthcare professionals towards interprofessional educational and collaborative practice in a Gauteng tertiary hospital
— Yvonne Ramuthaga, Hanlie Pitout
AfriVIPE: Lessons Learnt and Opportunities for Advancing Interprofessional Education in Africa
— Farhin Delawala, Hanlie Pitout, Aayesha Kholvadia, Luzaan Africa
Equity-Informed Priorities for Scaling Children’s Education in Central African Republic, South Sudan, and Yemen: ACCESS Project
— Cassandra Carels, Qaboos Al-Thafeef
10:45–11:15
Tea Break & Poster Walk-Through
11:15–13:00
Community-Led Innovation: From Grassroots to System Change

A118 — Workshop

Community-Led Innovation: From Grassroots to System Change

GYM — Session 4B
Community-Based Learning and Contextualised Education
(Shamila Gamiet)

Strengthening Child Health Through Interprofessional Community Outreach: A Collaborative Model from a Rural Child and Youth Care Centre in South Africa
— Jana Muller, Handri Liebenberg, Maret Goosen
Insights for enhanced disaster management in a flood situation: Interprofessional Collaborative Practice (ICP)
— Suzan Nyalunga, Hanlie Pitout
EMR Maturity Assessment to Enhancing Inter-professional Collaborative Practice in Ghana’s Health System
— Philomina Aviisah, Frances de Costa Vroom
Sensory and Developmental Screening & Monitoring Using mHealth Technologies: Improving Access to Care
— Maria du Toit, Renata Eccles, Jeannie van der Linde
Applying for the NUTA Award — Discussion Panel
Moderator: Gerard Filies
Panelists: Christmal Christmals, Fatima Ismail, Luzaan Africa
13:00–14:00
Lunch
14:00–14:20
Keynote 4
Hossein Khalili
14:20–14:30
Q&A
Shamila Gamiet
14:30–16:00
Workshops

GYM — HYBRID

Bridging Borders Through Hybrid Interprofessional Education: Advancing Collaborative Practice from Africa to the World
Meghna Patel, Sthembiso Ncube, Pholoso Nyalungu, Arian Filies

A118

Bridging the Knowledge-to-Action Gap: Implementing Holistic Chronic Pain Management Principles Through Interprofessional Education and Collaborative Practice in Traumatic Spinal Cord Injury
Tammy-Lee Williams, Conran Joseph
18:00–Late
Gala Dinner

Thursday, 3 September 2026

09:00–09:20
Keynote 5
Jan-Jaap Reinders
09:20–09:30
Q&A
Gerard Filies
09:30–10:10
Africa as a Global Contributor: Exporting Interprofessional Excellence

A118 — Session 5A
African Innovations with Global Reach
(Aayesha Kholvadia)

Developing cultural–, global health–, and person-centred healthcare competencies in selected rehabilitation profession students through COIL workshops
— Renata Eccles, Jeannie van der Linde
An African Model for Strengthening Interprofessional Education and Collaborative Practice: Integrating Data-Sharing and Relational Educator Networks
— Faatima Ebrahim, Minette Coetzee
Interprofessional training for undergraduate rehabilitation therapy students at the University of the Witwatersrand enhancing cancer rehabilitation in South Africa
— Vaneshveri Naidoo, Kim Coutts, Merling Phaswana, Sonti Pilusa, Bhavna Bahgoo, Mary Lou Galantino, Nabeela Sujee
Beyond Borders and Disciplines: African-Led Global Interprofessional Education for Collaborative Practice
— Meghna Patel, Sthembiso Ncube, Pholoso Nyalungu, Arian Filies

A120 — Session 5B
IPE to Collaborative Clinical Practice
(Shamila Gamiet)

A Model for Interprofessional Clinical Supervision: The Diamond Approach
— Luzaan Africa, Tammy-Lee Williams
Simulated Patients’ Perspectives on Interprofessional Education and Collaborative Practice: A Qualitative Study of an IPECP Simulation Event
— Hanlie Pitout, Mary Masetla
Integrating interprofessional education competencies in clinical teaching evaluation Inventory for South African settings
— Mthibi Phala, Nombulelo Zenani
Unpacking Comprehensive Primary Healthcare through Interprofessional Clinical Supervision
— Sakeenah Abrahams, Luzaan Africa
10:10–10:30
Conference Group Photo
10:30–11:00
Tea Break & Poster Walk-Through
11:00–13:00
Workshop
Africa Health Professions Education Quality Standards — WHO
13:00–14:00
Lunch
14:00–15:00
Workshop
Mapping African Capacity Building Priorities, Expertise, and Opportunities for Interprofessional Education and Collaborative Practice: Advancing African–Global Collaboration
— Hanlie Pitout, Eman El-Habbad
15:00–15:20
Tea Break
15:20–16:30
Working Groups
Presentations (5 × 10 minutes)
Focus Area Leads
16:30–17:00
Closing Remarks
Luzaan & Gerard

Venue note: The main conference venue is the Gym on the 1st Floor. A118 and A120 are breakaway rooms, also located on the 1st Floor. Breakaway sessions are highlighted in purple.

*** Poster Walk-Through
A conceptual framework to guide clinical learning for student nurses in a Nursing Education Institution in Gauteng, South Africa — Mpho Motsaanako
From Grassroots to Collaboration: Using Performance Analysis to Drive Interprofessional Innovation in a University Cricket Community — Chad Frans
Integrating Interprofessional Education and Collaborative Practice in Primary Healthcare: A Case Study of Undergraduate Rehabilitation Education in South Africa — Rentia Farmer, Brittany Fell
Exploring activities that promote school-based collaborative practice among clinicians: A systematic review — Gwyneth Gordon, Luzaan Africa
“We matter too!” Intensive care nurses’ perceptions of their experience in interprofessional teams in North West Province, South Africa — Nombulelo Zenani
Reaction Time Training in Netball Players Using Virtual Reality: A Randomised Controlled Trial — Chandre Pinto, Nondwe Mlenzana
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