The Harvard Medical School Dubai Center (HMSDC) Institute for Postgraduate Education and Research has been established to foster the professional development of physicians, nurses, research scientists, and allied health professionals in the Gulf Region. Launched in 2004 through a joint effort by then-Harvard Medical International (now Partners Harvard Medical International) and Dubai Healthcare City (DHCC), HMSDC is part of the Government of Dubai’s mission to develop DHCC into a center of excellence for health care delivery, medical education, and research.

HMSDC provides an unprecedented link between the Gulf Region and the global medical community, and will help to bring the knowledge and expertise of world-class academic medical centers to bear on the area’s most pressing health care challenges. Through a range of educational programs and specialty training, the HMSDC will address the need for professional development in the region and help create a cadre of leaders in academic medicine who will constitute the professional workforce and intellectual resources of DHCC, and ultimately the region.

HMSDC will eventually have its home in a state-of-the-art facility that is expected to be completed by early 2009. Initially, the building will include teaching space and case study rooms, an auditorium, and the Al Maktoum Harvard Medical Library. When it is finished, this library will be the most advanced collection of clinical and professional development resources in the region, and will include a unique patient and family education center that will provide a close connection between HMSDC and the medical services offered at Dubai Healthcare City.

The creation of HMSDC is a monumental step into the future for the people of Dubai and the surrounding Gulf Region. Whether striving to move discoveries from the laboratory to the bedside, promote active learning in clinical education, or develop the skills and knowledge to provide patient care of an international standard, the people who become part of the HMSDC and its programs will benefit from the expertise and experience of globally recognized faculty, the implementation of leading-edge facilities and technologies, and a commitment to excellence, continuous improvement, and community-building that is a hallmark of the Harvard Medical School mission.