MBRU Holds its Second Board of Trustees Meeting
Mohammed Bin Rashid University of Medicine and Health Sciences (MBRU) held its second Board of Trustees meeting chaired by His Highness Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chancellor of the University and Chairperson of Its Board of Trustees at the University’s campus in Dubai Healthcare City (DHCC) on September 25, 2017.
The Board of Trustees is headed by H.H. Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, and includes- H.E. Abdul Rahman bin Mohammed Al Owais, Minister of Health & Prevention, H.E. Humaid Mohammed Al Qatami, Chairman of the Board of Dubai Health Authority, H.E. Dr. Raja Easa Al Gurg, Vice Chairperson of Dubai Healthcare City Authority Board of Directors, and the Vice Chairperson of the Board of Trustees, H.E. Abdullah Abdul Rahman Al Shaibani, Secretary-General of The Executive Council-Dubai, H.E. Dr. Abdulla Mohamed Al Karam, Chairman of the Board of Directors and Director General of Knowledge & Human Development Authority, Dr. Amer Ahmad Sharif, Vice Chancellor-MBRU, and Professor Alawi Alsheikh-Ali, Dean of College of Medicine.
During the meeting, Dr. Amer Ahmad Sharif, MBRU’s Vice Chancellor, presented the University’s key achievements across the 2016-2017 academic year, followed by updates on MBRU’s implemented strategy and its future plans.
MBRU’s College of Medicine has been operational for one year. Since its launch at Arab Health 2016, the College of Medicine has made strides on many fronts such as enrolling the 1st cohort of medical students comprising of a diverse student body with a notable Emirati representation and growth. The admissions process is based on a competitive and innovative selection method, which is an evidence-based implementation of Multiple Mini-Interviews (MMI’s) that were conducted for the first time in the UAE, in collaboration with Queen’s University Belfast (QUB), MBRU’s academic partner.
The College of Medicine has maintained an ongoing highly selective process for attracting talented faculty members with wide-ranging national, regional and international expertise. With over 2200 screened CVs and 180 interviews held, 17 fulltime faculty members joined the College, in addition to joint appointments that are being explored with prestigious healthcare institutions to recruit pronounced clinical faculty.
To ensure innovative didactic teaching of students, the College of Medicine has also launched the ‘Enhancing Teaching and Learning Series’ as part of its faculty development program aimed at empowering faculty and affiliates with innovative and evidence based teaching skills. Several international faculty also contributed to the students’ learning experience in their first year including Professor Homero Rivas, Assistant Professor of Surgery and Director of Innovative Surgery at Stanford University USA and Professor David Davis from Canada, renowned in the field of medical education, who has now joined the University as a Senior Director of Medical Education, to name a few.
The College of Medicine also announced the appointment of Dr. Laila Al Suwaidi, Assistant Professor of Molecular Hematology, as the Assistant Dean of Student Happiness and Wellbeing, the 1st position of its kind at the University and in the UAE.
To enable early exposure to the health system, the College of Medicine provided students with opportunities to experience the health system from year one through collaborations with regional and international academic centers including Mediclinic City Hospital, Al Jalila Children’s Specialty Hospital, the Primary Healthcare Sector of Dubai Health Authority.
At the University, research is a strategic focus thus vast amounts of investments have been made to ensure that the foundation for a culture of scholarship and discovery is set. MBRU has built cutting-edge research facilities and multi-disciplinary labs, spanning over 5000 Sq.ft. The University also launched an Internal Research Grant Program and an increasing number of external funding opportunities are being sought and realized by the faculty.
The College of Medicine also reported 50 peer reviewed publications in leading scientific journals such as Nature Neuroscience, in its first year of operation, with increasing numbers of publications reflecting the caliber of faculty and adding to the many strengths MBRU collectively has in education and service.
A major accolade in the University’s history is the MBRU Organ Transplant Program. The MBRU team including surgeons from the College of Medicine, broke barriers to make organ transplant a reality in Dubai, conducting the first ever kidney transplant in the Emirate in collaboration with the Saudi Center for Organ Transplantation and Mediclinic City Hospital, with the support of several governmental authorities, a clear testimony to how MBRU can have immediate impact on health.
Another milestone this year is Teddy Bear Hospital, a first of its kind program launched in May 2017, that creates a unique educational opportunity for children across the UAE by tackling all preconceived fears the children may have when visiting doctors.
Under the theme: “Health Professions Education in an Interconnected World” MBRU’s team and students organized its 1st UAE International Medical Education Conference in Dubai MedEdDXB at its campus earlier this year which witnessed a large number of participation from regional and international healthcare professionals. MedEdDXB stems from a series of successful medical simulation conferences previously held.
Amongst a set of values, MBRU holds connectivity very highly. The team at MBRU constantly works on developing relationships with leading national, regional and international institutions. Over the summer of 2017, MBRU secured a number of regional and international Summer Studentship Placement Programs for its medical students at academic and research institutes as well as hospitals. During the summer program 24 medical students were exposed to 1st hand on the job training, research, and patient-physician relationships.
MBRU’s dental college, Hamdan Bin Mohammed College of Dental Medicine (HBMCDM) held its first graduation ceremony in March of this year graduating a total of 33 specialists, in which 25 are UAE nationals. Up to date, HBMCDM has 39 Alumni out of which 67% are UAE Nationals. The graduates are officially recognized as specialists by the UAE health authorities upon graduation.
Notably, a number of HBMCDM graduates have published their research findings in the top 10% of dentistry journals based on Scopus.
HBMCDM has made significant progress over its years of operation; earlier this year the College was approved and recognized as a training facility for the Royal College of Surgeons of Ireland (RCSI).
MBRU continues its commitment to develop healthcare professionals for the UAE to compliment the Dubai Plan 2021 and UAE 2021 vision. Through MBRU’s rigorous programs, its restless efforts to provide students with the latest technologies in the medical field, the university aims to produce a high-caliber of globally connected and nationally responsive physicians who will serve the people, society, enhance their experience, make Dubai and the UAE a destination of choice and contribute positively to the development of the health system.
