WCMC-Q celebrates 10 years of creating doctors

Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar (WCMC-Q) has celebrated its 10-year anniversary. Since it started academic operations in 2002, the college has created 112 new doctors, established a world-class biomedical team and contributed to further Qatar’s goal of becoming a knowledge-based economy.

The college was opened in October 2002,at a ceremony presided over by His Highness the Emir, Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani, and Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, Chairperson of Qatar Foundation.

Welcoming the tenth anniversary milestone, Her Highness said: ““A decade ago, we welcomed Weill Cornell to Qatar, to be part of our vision for an innovative, healthy future for the people of Qatar and the region. Today the college is successfully delivering on its commitment to produce world-class doctors and to become a centre of excellence in education, research and clinical training.”

The college was established with the aim of acting as a beacon of academic excellence in the region. WCMC-Q remains the only college to offer a United States M.D degree outside of that country. It has been able to do this by applying the same rigorous admissions standards and curriculum as its parent campus in New York.

As well as having graduated 112 doctors from a total of 24 nations across the world, the college has entered into partnerships with Hamad Medical Corporation, Sidra Medical and Research Center and Aspetar sports and orthopedic hospital. These relationships ensure that students gain practical experience of treating patients but also encourage them to remain in institutions in Qatar, ensuring the knowledge they have remains in the country. Along with offering its M.D. degree, WCMC-Q now has a strong research program comprising 28 active research laboratories that target multiple areas of biomedical research. This provides significant breadth to tackle complex diseases such as diabetes, obesity and related cardiovascular illnesses. The research division successfully bids for millions of dollars of funding annually and is already producing cutting-edge results with work published extensively in peer-reviewed journals.