Doha, Qatar - May 8, 2008 - Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar today welcomes its inaugural class of students into the global medical community, as it becomes the first American medical college to graduate doctors outside of the United States.
The 15 medical students, nine women and six men, representing seven different nationalities, are joined at the graduation ceremony by a host of dignitaries from the region and internationally, along with representatives from the healthcare community in Qatar.
Keynote speaker Dr. David Skorton, President of Cornell University, was the first to pay tribute to the achievement of the college. "Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar, as an example of a university using its resources to broaden the global reach of medical care, is one of our proudest achievements at Cornell University. We look forward to the bright futures of these young physicians and to the growth and success of WCMC-Q and the other pioneering institutions of Education City", he said.
The graduation marks a milestone in the Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development's mission to invest in education and ensure the country's prosperity well into the future. With this milestone reached, WCMC-Q continues its drive to build capacity in Qatar in the three areas of education, research and patient care.
Dr. Mohammed Fathy Saoud, President of the Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development, reflected on the watershed moment being shared by the graduating class and Qatar as a whole.
"Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar is playing a crucial role in creating a centre of research and quality education in Qatar. As the first WCMC-Q alumni to step forth from Education City, the members of the Class of 2008 now become Qatar Foundation's ambassadors to the world, and we shall always look forward to seeing our graduates looking back to this campus, and even returning to us with ideas to make us better", said Dr. Saoud.
Jehan Al Rayahi, WCMC-Q graduate and Student Commencement Speaker, and one of four Qataris in the Class of 2008, commented on what her medical education means to her. "I am very glad and proud to be among the inaugural class. We succeeded and made it through because we were taught by outstanding faculty. Now it is our turn to make a contribution with everything we have learned here, and I will do my utmost to contribute to the development of my country", she said.
This sense of pride and achievement is reflected at every level in the Medical College. Highlighting what he said was the beginning of a new era in medical training in the region, Dr. Daniel Alonso, Dean of Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar, acknowledged the partnerships that helped Qatar turn its vision into reality.
"We are extraordinarily grateful to Her Highness Sheikha Mozah and the Qatar Foundation for their leadership, vision and commitment to the historic establishment of a world-class medical college in Qatar, which today has produced graduates of the highest calibre. In addition, we proudly recognise our partnership with Hamad Medical Corporation as pivotal to the world-class medical education we have been able to provide," he said.
The internationally-accredited Hamad Medical Corporation, with whom WCMC-Q has an affiliation agreement, provided the students with access to patient care from the earliest stage of their medical education and ensured thousands of experiences in the hospitals and clinics of HMC.
With the first phase of WCMC-Qs triple mission of education, research and patient care well underway - there are now seven classes in situ - and bio-medical research and participation in the Sidra Medical and Research Center set for 2011, the graduation of Qatar's first home- grown doctors is a key step in Qatar's journey.
Notes to the editor
1. About Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar
Established by Cornell University in partnership with Qatar Foundation, WCMC-Q is part of Weill Cornell Medical College and opened in 2002. A member of the Ivy League, Cornell is the first American university to offer its M.D. degree overseas. WCMC-Q offers a complete and integrated educational program, comprising the two-year Pre-medical Program, followed by the four-year Medical Program, with teaching by Cornell and Weill Cornell faculty. There is a separate admissions process for each Program, guided by the standards of admission in use at Cornell University in Ithaca and its Medical College in New York City. For more information visit qatar-weill.cornell.edu.
Future plans
Qatar Foundation plans to construct a 382-bed Sidra Medical and Research Center (SMRC) close to the Medical College in Education City. Set to open in 2011, the Center will have state-of-the-art clinical programs focused on women's and children's conditions, and academic research programs in which WCMC-Q faculty and students will participate. Together, the SMRC and WCMC-Q will constitute a major American-style academic medical center in the region together on one site in Education City. For more information on Sidra, visit www.sidra.org.qa.
2. About Weill Cornell Medical College
Weill Cornell Medical College - Cornell University's Medical School located in New York City - is committed to excellence in research, teaching, patient care and the advancement of the art and science of medicine, locally, nationally and globally. Weill Cornell, which is a principal academic affiliate of NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, offers an innovative curriculum that integrates the teaching of basic and clinical sciences, problem-based learning, office-based preceptorships, and primary care and doctoring courses. Physicians and scientists of Weill Cornell Medical College are engaged in cutting-edge research in such areas as stem cells, genetics and gene therapy, geriatrics, neuroscience, structural biology, cardiovascular medicine, AIDS, obesity, cancer, psychiatry and public health - and continue to delve ever deeper into the molecular basis of disease in an effort to unlock the mysteries behind the human body and the malfunctions that result in serious medical disorders. The Medical College - in its commitment to global health and education - has a strong presence in such places as Qatar, Tanzania, Haiti, Brazil, Austria, and Turkey. With the historic Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar, the Medical School is the first in the U.S. to offer its M.D. degree overseas. Weill Cornell is the birthplace of many medical advances-from the development of the Pap test for cervical cancer to the synthesis of penicillin, the first successful embryo-biopsy pregnancy and birth in the U.S., the world’s first clinical trial for gene therapy for Parkinson’s disease, and, most recently, the first indication of bone marrow's critical role in tumor growth. For more information, visit www.med.cornell.edu.
3. About Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development
Founded in 1995 by His Highness Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani, Emir of Qatar, and
chaired by Her Highness Sheikha Mozah bint Nasser Al-Missned, Qatar Foundation is a
private, non-profit organization committed to the principle that a nation's greatest natural
resource is its people. The headquarters of Qatar Foundation are located within its flagship
project, Education City, a fourteen million square-meter campus that hosts numerous
progressive learning institutions and centers of research, including branch campuses of five
of the world's leading universities, plus a cutting-edge research and development center.
Qatar Foundation also works to enhance the quality of life in Qatar by investing in
community health and development. For more information, please visit:
http://www.qf.org.qa.
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