Abu Dhabi to launch its first medical school at Khalifa University
UAE’s top education institution is keen to recruit engineering graduates familiar with AI for medical degree
Abu Dhabi’s first medical school will be launched in September by Khalifa University of Science and Technology, the country’s top-rated university.
The College of Medicine and Health Sciences will give students hands-on training at hospitals and offer a bridging course that will allow students to switch career paths to medicine and an American-style doctor of medicine programme starting next year.
In the US the model is to take medicine as a postgraduate course, including training at hospitals.
To this end a collaborating partner in the US will work with Khalifa University to design and implement the academic programme, in addition to assisting with recruiting and training the academic staff.
Fiona McKenzie, director of Gabbitas Middle East, an educational consultancy in Dubai, said: “This is a hugely exciting development for Abu Dhabi to have a medical teaching programme that will be training doctors here.
“I am sure that there will be strong collaborations between the existing hospitals in Abu Dhabi and the postgraduate programme at Khalifa University.
“Having a medical school creates a great ecosystem of research and training and learning in and around the medical environment. Being qualified to offer a medical school is always highly regarded in university circles so it will be good news for the academic ranking of the university and a great opportunity for Abu Dhabi to become a hub for training and developing doctors in country.”
Scholarships will be offered to successful candidates, while additional incentives will be offered to Emirati students.
Khalifa University of Science, Technology and Research is launching the capital’s first medical school in September – helping Abu Dhabi to become a training centre to develop the next generation of doctors.
The facility will offer a bridging course allowing students to switch career paths to medicine from the academic year starting in September. An American-style MD (doctor of medicine) programme will start in September 2019.
Dr Tod Laursen, president of Khalifa University, said this is something the city has been crying out for.
The College of Medicine and Health Sciences will be at the university’s main campus. Students in the medical programme will receive clinical training at hospitals in Abu Dhabi from Year 1.
After graduation, students will have the opportunity for residency with a partner hospital in the UAE.
“It’s the first medical school in Abu Dhabi city and that is significant.
“If you look at the healthcare industry growing around here or at the healthcare needs of the population, this is a city that cries out for having its own medical college,” said Dr Laursen.
“The medical profession depends on continuing education and research possibilities for the physicians to be able to retain people.
“If Abu Dhabi is going to be a destination for top-flight doctors our medical school is part of that story,” Dr Laursen said.
The medical programme will use the American model.
In the UK, a student can start medical school as an undergraduate or join a postgraduate programme. In the US, the model is to take medicine as a postgraduate course.
A collaborating partner in the US will work with Khalifa University to design and implement the academic programme, in addition to assisting with recruiting and training the academic staff.
In the past, The National has highlighted the need for locally trained doctors and nurses to cope with the country’s increasing healthcare demands.
The UAE’s first medical school was the College of Medicine and Health Sciences, part of UAE University, which opened in Al Ain in 1984. Hundreds of doctors have graduated from there since 1993.
Dubai Medical College has also been training female doctors for the past three decades.
Fiona McKenzie, director of Gabbitas Middle East, an educational consultancy in Dubai, said: “This is a hugely exciting development for Abu Dhabi to have a medical teaching programme that will be training doctors here.
“I am sure that there will be strong collaborations between the existing hospitals in Abu Dhabi and the postgraduate programme at Khalifa University.
“I think there will be a lot of interest in this MD programme.”
Ms McKenzie said the school will be at the forefront of medical advancement.
“It is interesting to note that they are keen to recruit students with an engineering background who will be familiar with AI and robotics because they are obviously keen to prepare students for the constantly evolving world of medicine.
“They are also offering a bridging programme for students who wish to transition to medicine, which I am sure will also be popular because it will open up another pathway to training to become a doctor.
“This is a great opportunity to take a degree in an affiliated subject first and then to choose to specialise in medicine later,” she said.
“Having a medical school creates a great ecosystem of research and training … being qualified to offer a medical school is always highly regarded in university circles so it will be good news for the academic ranking of the university and a great opportunity for Abu Dhabi to become a hub for training and developing doctors in-country.”
Anyone with a bachelor’s degree in engineering or science can apply for the programme.
“We want to recruit professors, physicians – people who can teach at the school but will also be doing research,” Dr Laursen said.
Scholarships will be offered to successful candidates, while additional incentives will be offered to Emiratis.
Khalifa University is the country’s top-rated university.