Mohammed Bin Rashid University of Medicine and Health Sciences (MBRU), has taken strides to engage healthcare professionals of the future by playing a leading role in the UAE Ministry of Education’s (MoE) Estedad program, a one-of-a-kind program that helps students transition from high school to university.

The Estedad program aims to provide high school students from both public and private schools with the essential skills in research, entrepreneurial leadership, and diplomacy; as well as soft skills and provide them with a set of academic tools that will positively impact their university applications. This year the Program was implemented virtually for 4 weeks during the summer vacation in cooperation with the top research-active universities in the UAE.

MBRU faculty hosted a series of sessions titled ‘MBRU Academic Health System Program’ in line with its commitment to the development of high-quality teaching and learning experiences and Estedad’s objective to empower high school students with enriching experiences, promote innovation, and foster community engagement.

The Estedad program is composed of 4 modules developed by participating universities: Tamkeen Research, Tamkeen Enrichment, Tamkeen Entrepreneurship, and Tamkeen Diplomacy. MBRU Academic Health System Program focused on the first two modules; Tamkeen Research and Tamkeen Enrichment to give students an experiential insight into scientific research and other scientific topics.

The Program that took place over two weeks targeted 20 passionate and self-driven high school students, with 80% participation from Emirati students and 20% from non-Emirati students, who are excelling in their schools.

The Program provided the students with an overview of the basics of scientific research methodology, innovation, transplantation, genetic engineering as well as a virtual tour of MBRU’s facilities including Al Maktoum Medical Library and Khalaf Ahmad Al Habtoor Medical Simulation Center.

Dr. Laila Al Suwaidi, Assistant Dean of Student Happiness and Wellbeing, Assistant Professor of Molecular Hematology, MBRU; and Dr. Aida Azar, Associate Professor of Epidemiology, along with other members of MBRU, guided students through the program, giving them exposure to opportunities at MBRU and the university’s main pillars – education, research, and clinical practice.

Dr. Al Suwaidi, said MBRU was honored to serve as an important partner in the Estedad program, allowing the University to showcase its innovative and integrated healthcare education to the UAE’s student community.

“Our mission is to advance health in the UAE and the region through an academic system that fosters excellence and allows bright young minds to realize their potential to ultimately benefit society. Over the two weeks, we took students through the many benefits of pursuing an education journey in medicine and health sciences and what a rewarding journey that is. We explained the various educational avenues that MBRU offers, helped them clarify their future goals, and provided tips that would broaden their networking capabilities to aid their overall development,” said Dr. Al Suwaidi.

Dr. Al Suwaidi added that scientific research is a cornerstone of MBRU’s activities and through Estedad the team wanted to spark interest from students to pursue research and explore options to help develop scientific research capabilities amongst the student community.

“Our goal is to instill in students the importance of research, the ability to analyze and evaluate findings soundly, and through research help students make effective use of data and information in their academic careers,” she added

The MBRU Academic Health System Program received overwhelmingly positive feedback from participating students in terms of the variety of covered topics, the lively discussions, and the inspirational guests.