JEDDAH, 16 August 2004 — Ibn Sina Medical College in Jeddah will start functioning this academic year following the go-ahead from Higher Education Minister Dr. Khaled Al-Anqari.
Shali Al-Jedaani, general maanager of the Al-Jedaani Group of Hospitals and chairman of the college, said: “We have already started admission for medicine and pharmacology departments.”
Jeddah Governor Prince Mishaal ibn Majed laid the foundation stone for the college on April 21. Located in Ghulail district close to King Abdul Aziz Hospital, the college, which will admit both Saudi and expatriate students, is affiliated to King Saud University in Riyadh.
“This is the first private medical college in Jeddah,” the chairman said. Construction of the college’s building is in progress and is estimated to cost SR130 million.
The ministry has approved admission to 50 students each in medicine and pharmacology departments for the first semester. Secondary school graduates who have scored at least 85 percent marks can apply. They have to pass a written exam and a personal interview.
First semester classes will be held on the third floor of the New Al-Jedaani Hospital. “The college will move to the new building by the beginning of the second semester,” the chairman said. The college will follow an advanced organ-based curriculum.
“We have plans to provide studies in other medical specializations in future,” he said. Prince Abdullah Research and Consulting Institute (PARCI), which is the consulting arm of KSU, has designed the curriculum for medicine, pharmacy and dentistry.
Dr. Rashad Habibullah, professor of surgery, King Abdul Aziz University, said the college will teach medicine and pharmacy and later dentistry based on the most modern principles of teaching. “We have chosen an organ-based integrated curriculum. This will produce graduates who are more clinically rather than theoretically oriented,” he explained.
Dr. Iqbal Musani, one of the executive council members, said the college offers MBBS and Pharma D, a bachelor’s degree in pharmacy. The council will decide on admission policies and fees in consultation with the Ministry of Higher Education. Staff will initially be from Saudi Arabia, Egypt and India.
