Saudi medical college forges links with Dutch school

The Batterji Medical College has signed an agreement for scientific cooperation and academic and research and training with the Dutch Maastricht University. It was signed at the university campus in Maastricht, the Netherlands. The college was represented by Dr. Khalid Batterjee, dean, accompanied by Dr. Hassan Shaibah, vice dean for academic affairs. On the Dutch side, Professor Martin Powell, president of the University of Maastricht and Professor Albert Cherbber, the dean of the Faculty of Medicine and Professor Chris van der Vluitin, director of Medical Education Center and president of the Center for Medical Education Research. The deal falls within the framework of the agreements held by the Batterji Medical College for sciences and technology with international universities. Dr. Khaled Batterjee pointed out that the University of Maastricht in the Netherlands has a global and advanced reputation in the field of medical education for being the headquarters of the World Network of medical education. He said the faculty of Medicine at the University of Maastricht are the pioneers in the implementation of the system of medical education in Europe, representing the latest educational program in the world, at the present time, which BMC aims to achieve. He said there are other developmental programs that will be implemented at the college specializations. Dr. Hassan Shaibah said the agreement provides for curriculum development for the program of medicine and clinical skills in the college. The agreement includes training and exchanging of faculty members, in addition to the exchange and visits to outstanding students in pursuit from the college to raise the quality of educational performance and improve outcomes, and develop the capacity of its staff. It emphasizes that the agreement would contribute to the exchange of experiences between the college and the university in the academic and research fields. Sobhi Batterjee, chairman of the board of trustees, said the agreement comes within the strategic plan for continuous development pursued by the college, pointing out that the educational university process in “our country is blessed with the support of our wise leadership.” He also highlighted the significant role played by the Ministry of Higher Education. Source: ArabNews