Penn Med, AUD Launch First-of-its-Kind Medical School in UAE

• Penn Med and AUD collaborate to create an American-style medical school in the UAE.
• Partnership aims to advance medical education, research, and healthcare innovation regionally.
• Initiative addresses shortage of qualified doctors, boosting the UAE’s healthcare leadership goals.

Penn Medicine disclosed a collaboration with American University in Dubai to create a medical school in the United Arab Emirates. AUD established its Penn Medicine partnership to provide an MD program that integrates U.S. medical education methods in the United Arab Emirates, emphasizing health care priorities.

The initiative seeks to create a hub in Dubai focused on medical education, research, and innovation, as stated by AUD President Kyle Long.

“Today marks a historic moment with the project launch of the first-of-its-kind American medical school in the UAE,” Long said at a ceremonial partnership signing on Sept. 16. “This alliance supports the nation’s ambition to become a global leader in health care … while creating a lasting impact on communities across the region."

Present at the ceremony were Penn President Larry Jameson; Glen Gaulton, vice dean and director of the Center for Global Health at Penn Med; Elias Saab, AUD’s executive vice president; along with several government officials, industry associates, and leaders from medicine and academia.

Jameson highlighted the advantages of the alliance, stating that creating the medical school would enhance AUD’s worldwide standing and Penn’s prestige and “enrich” the prospects for global health care and education.

In a statement to The National, Gaulton emphasized the necessity of boosting the number of qualified doctors in the United Arab Emirates, due to the country’s growing population and existing dependence on foreign healthcare.

“Hopefully then [students] would stay for the residency [programs] and hopefully stay longer term to build their whole lives and careers here,” Gaulton told The National. “That breeds a continuance of excellence [and will have a] dramatic effect on improving health care.”

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He mentioned that the partnership was merely one of Penn Med’s several international efforts, with more than 60% dedicated to improving medical education to bolster health systems.

In 2018, Penn Med formed a partnership with Vingroup to develop undergraduate and graduate medical education programs in Vietnam, akin to the AUD-Penn Med partnership revealed on Tuesday.

Gaulton characterized the partnership as an extension of this effort, with the goal of creating a medical school that would integrate numerous “distinctive” programs launched at Penn. This encompasses the application of recent advancements in artificial intelligence and virtual reality in healthcare, which he mentioned could swiftly transform medical practices in the United Arab Emirates in just ten years.