WCM-Q Virtual Summer Program reaches out to global talent

Talented high school students in eight countries were welcomed to the new Virtual Summer Program (VSP) of Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar (WCM-Q), a week-long online initiative that offers a glimpse of life as a medical student at an elite university.

A total of 76 high school students in Qatar, Morocco, Kuwait, Canada, Jordan, Lebanon, Oman and UAE logged in for the five-day program, which featured online learning classes in biology, chemistry, anatomy and disease investigation led by WCM-Q’s world-class teaching faculty.

The VSP, which was offered by WCM-Q’s  Office of Student Outreach & Educational Development, also included sessions delivering information on careers in medicine, advice on how to write a personal statement for college applications, a meeting with admissions professionals and an introduction to the WCM-Q Student Research Association. There were also free-form live chat sessions at the end of each day to allow the students to get to know one another and ask questions.

The event began with an online welcome and introduction by Ms. Noha Saleh, Director of Premedical Administration, Student Outreach, and Educational Development. Speaking after the event, Ms. Saleh said: “Our newly launched VSP, which is part of our Enrichment Program series,  gives us an extremely effective tool for reaching out to the very brightest minds from schools all over Qatar, the MENA region and beyond to show them just how exciting and rewarding studying and pursuing careers in medicine through WCM-Q can be. The students and faculty engaged with great enthusiasm and energy and created a real buzz online, which made the inaugural VSP a remarkable success - we are looking forward to receiving many high-quality applications to study at WCM-Q as a result.”

WCM-Q offers a unique fully integrated Six-Year Medical Program, which comprises a two-year pre-medical curriculum and a four-year medical curriculum. Students who successfully complete the program receive the same Cornell University MD degree awarded to graduates of Weill Cornell Medicine in New York.

Student Lujin Al Mesri of the Swiss International School in Qatar said that the VSP provided useful advice about the application process and pursuing a career in medicine, and had also been very inspiring. “The professors were amazing and they kept giving us advice which made me feel that if I were to join WCM-Q I would be in very good hands,” she said. “What I liked most about this program was the enthusiasm of the professors and the patient case we worked on, which was like a big puzzle in which you had to use your critical thinking and problem solving skills to solve the patient’s case – for a second I really felt like a doctor.” 

She added: “This program will turn anyone’s slight interest in medicine into complete love and passion for the profession – I highly advise anyone to join it.”

Dr. Rachid Bendriss, Assistant Dean for Student Recruitment, Outreach and Foundation Programs, said: “It is very pleasing to see how we at WCM-Q were able to leverage technology to offer prospective students a Virtual Summer Program that excites them and helps promote their interest in science and medicine in an engaging and stimulating manner. I am tremendously impressed with the creativity of our faculty and staff in creating such a highly successful program and turning the challenges of the current situation into opportunities. I wish all of the students who participated in this exciting new version of our Summer Enrichment Program great success as they seek to realize their potential by pursuing careers in medicine and science.”