Mohammed Bin Rashid University of Medicine and Health Sciences (MBRU), the first medical university in Dubai Healthcare City, has launched a pioneering Design Lab, which is aimed at being a global hub for innovation in healthcare.

The MBRU Design Lab, launched in line with UAE Innovation Month, will be a center for nurturing and fostering innovative healthcare solutions, to improve the delivery of care, ultimately benefiting patients and society.

“The establishment of the Design Lab is aligned with the university’s vision of being a global hub for innovative and integrated healthcare education and research,” explained Professor Homero Rivas, Professor of Surgery, and Associate Dean of Innovation and the Future at MBRU.

“The timing of the launch, during the UAE’s innovation month, is perfect. Innovation is crucial to healthier societies and our MBRU Design Lab is open to innovators who want to experiment and pursue ideas and bring them to reality,” added Professor Rivas.

“It is a space for people from different disciplines to discuss healthcare challenges with the patient at the centre stage. With tools in place, the Lab will serve as an incubating environment where the brightest minds can empathize with patients, care providers and all stakeholders, defining common needs and challenges in healthcare, and then create solutions outside the use of normal scientific methods and following principles of design.”

It is the latest advancement at MBRU where ‘Design Thinking’ is an integral part of the student-centric medical curriculum, with Professor Rivas teaching a course in innovation in healthcare.

“The lab will also serve as a focal point for creative thinkers from multiple disciplines to address healthcare challenges. It will also provide an opportunity for our students to develop the mindset and skills required for future leaders in healthcare” said Professor Alawi Alsheikh-Ali, Dean – College of Medicine at MBRU.

The MBRU Design Lab will be an evolving space where the students will be empowered to move around and create their own solutions to emerging issues. The lab will provide an environment that will encourage more of a shared leadership and promote better connectivity between faculty, students, patients and others.

Inspired by MBRU’s innovation-at-the-point-of-care agenda, the Design Lab will host lectures and events to pursue and encourage innovation, including health design bootcamps, healthcare innovation seminars and workshops, and will undertake both faculty and student research projects while building communities of practice.

MBRU anticipates the Design Lab will incentivise and inspire innovative ideas across disciplines aimed at improving the patient experience, patient outcomes, lifestyle behaviours, efficiencies of care and more.

As it strives to further the innovation agenda and advance health in the UAE, MBRU has appointed computer science expert Dr. Thomas Boillat as Assistant Professor – Healthcare Innovation and Technologies, at the College of Medicine. This appointment is the first of its kind in the University and Dr. Boillat will pursue healthcare innovation and technologies to further drive MBRU’s vision for innovation.

“We will be pursuing new ideas and techniques that we can leverage with our extensive network of major institutions involved in progressing education and research,” added Professor Rivas.

MBRU’s co-operation network includes the Dubai Institute of Design and Innovation, Mediclinic Middle East, Dubai Healthcare City, among other reputable organizations regionally and around the world.