Dubai: In a strategic partnership agreement signed on the sidelines of the Arab Health Congress, Dubai Healthcare City (DHCC) entered a partnership with Queen’s University Belfast to develop the Mohammad Bin Rashid University of Medicine and Health Sciences and its College of Medicine.
As per the agreement, Queen’s University Belfast will assist in the development of the Mohammad Bin Rashid University of Medicine and the College of Medicine, including curriculum development, recruitment and selection of staff, and student selection and admissions. The UK-based institution has significant academic and professional expertise in all aspects of university management, governance and administration.
The College of Medicine is expected to open for applications in September with the first cohort of medical students to be welcomed in September 2016. Leading up to the launch, Dubai Healthcare City and Queen’s University Belfast will focus on course development, recruitment of high-quality academic and professional service staff and the provision of the necessary infrastructure.
The Mohammad Bin Rashid University of Medicine has the College of Dental Medicine, which is already operational. The college offers six postgraduate programmes, accredited by the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research, in collaboration with the UK-based Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh. It has 53 residents.
Dubai Healthcare City will work closely with Queen’s University Belfast to devise and implement a strategy that addresses the health-care education, training and research needs of Dubai and other regional communities.
Marwan Abedin, Chief Executive Officer, DHCC, said: “The Mohammad Bin Rashid University of Medicine and Health Sciences’ objective is to advance health care in the UAE by developing human capacity, graduating medical professionals to the highest level of skills and expertise and fostering world-class research. The strategic partnership with Queen’s University will help deliver on our mission.”
Professor Patrick Johnston, President and Vice-Chancellor, Queen’s University Belfast, said: “I am both delighted and excited about today’s announcement, in which Queen’s University Belfast will partner Dubai Healthcare City to develop the new university [Mohammad Bin Rashid University of Medicine and Health Sciences], including the College of Medicine. We see this as part of a long-term partnership and collaboration in education and research, with mutually beneficial outcomes for both partners.
“It is an extremely important project, where our longstanding experience in this field will make a major contribution, as an international partner, to deliver a project that addresses the healthcare education, training and research needs of Dubai and other regional communities.”
