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GMU marks 24 years of completion

Gulf Medical University (GMU), Ajman, recently celebrated its 24th anniversary, with a special ceremony attended by Dr Thumbay Moideen, founder, president board of Trustees GMU, prof Hossam Hamdy, chancellor of GMU, Akbar Moideen Thumbay, vice-president of the Healthcare Division of Thumbay Group, and deans of the colleges of the University as well as other staff and students. The celebration was an occasion to reflect GMU’s achievements till date, and at the same time reaffirm its commitment to foster continued evolution of GMU as an international powerhouse of health professions education, research and innovation.

Highlighting the evolution and development of the GMU in terms of buildings, staff, students and scientific and educational degrees, Dr Moideen said: “From humble beginnings as the region’s first private medical University, today GMU is a testament of a long and distinguished success story of being the region’s only private academic health system, delivering futuristic medical education. Our progress over the last 24 years has been driven by the dedication of our staff, students and partners, in addition to GMU’s philosophy of constant innovation. We have also received excellent support from the government throughout this journey."

Prof Hamdy said that GMU has developed a unique model in the form of the GMU academic health system, showcasing on a global front that the future of medical education is ‘systems’ linking education, healthcare and research. “The shared philosophies of the six colleges under Gulf Medical University, its teaching hospital and the passion for supporting all-round excellence has helped in making many distinctive contributions to the overall community over the last two decades. In addition, our response to the Covid-19 pandemic has demonstrated the great value of our academic community and the strengths of our basic, convergent and translational science.”

Recently, the academic team at GMU unveiled a long-term strategic growth plan of doubling its capacity in the next three to four years, aligning to future requirements and strategic direction of education policies laid down by the UAE and thereby creating an Emirati healthcare workforce to serve the region

GMU and Thumbay's network of academic hospitals daycare, labs, pharmacies and clinics together train around 20 per cent of the doctors and approximately 60 per cent of the healthcare professionals in the country, creating a significant impact on the healthcare sector of the country and the region. Moreover, students benefit with adequate opportunities to showcase their achievements through student activities, inter professional skills, sporting and cultural events that train them to be multi-disciplinary experts. Other benefits provided to the students include: Clinical training sites of unmatched quality at eight hospitals, 10 clinics, five labs and 48 pharmacies and a total of 700 beds; tie-ups with other local entities as clinical training sites with over 400 qualified faculty, doctors and adjunct faculty who provide one-on-one clinical training to students and quality care to the patients of UAE; access to technological platforms and an outstanding infrastructure for research on imaging, functional genomics, sequencing with NGS facility.

In terms of advancing healthcare in the UAE and globally, GMU has launched the establishment of the first liquid biopsy facility in the region, the zebra fish and a platform for drug discovery and development. This has led to achieving its position as a leader in research in medical education in UAE and the entire region with 70 per cent of all papers published in medical education in the UAE coming from GMU.

Since its inception, around 2,000 students have graduated from GMU, advancing their career and securing successful positions including CEOs, COOs, medical directors and heads of departments in the healthcare and research across the Middle East, Africa, South Asia, Europe, North America and Australia. Moreover, the university’s academic and research tie-ups with over 70 international universities and research institutions has ensured global recognition and employability for GMU graduates. To name a few, GMU’s collaboration with International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) has led to humanitarian learning in healthcare to create a model youth force in the country that will be equipped with all the basic skills and knowledge to fight any emergency crisis as per international standards.

Likewise, the ‘Future Scientist Programme' has been an innovative educational enrichment internship programme for male/ female Emirati talent who are motivated to nurture their interest in biomedical and drug discovery research. The programme helps in preparing them for an exciting career as research scientists. Recently, GMU has also achieved international accreditation by the Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) — the agency responsible for accrediting higher education institutions in the UK utilising European standards and guidelines for quality assurance.

Besides, GMU has won several global recognitions such as Forbes, Dubai Quality Award, QS Awards, QS Reimagine WRC Leaders and Ranking from QS University Rankings, Times Higher Education, placing the university among top health professions education institutions in the region and globally.