The College of Medicine and Medical Education, University of Dundee, Scotland, is exploring a “long-term” mutually beneficial relationship with the Sri Balaji Vidyapeeth (deemed-to-be university) in areas of medical curriculum benchmarking, improving patient care, training and research.
A team from the Scottish University, which visited the Vidyapeeth-run Mahatma Gandhi Medical College and Research Institute, decided to collaborate with the university after reviewing the infrastructure and level of healthcare delivery here.
“Our institutions pursue a shared vision around improving healthcare, education, training and research,” said Prof. Gary Mires, Dean of Medical Education at Dundee University.
Some of the areas that have been identified include joint programmes for skill upgrade in medical and surgical specialities, staff and student exchange visits, collaborative research that could leverage Indo-UK funding, curriculum benchmarking at the undergraduate, degree and higher levels, and jointly hosted continuing professional development programmes.
According to Dr. Mires, the divergence in disease patterns in India and the West, especially the endemic manifestation of tropical diseases, opened up opportunities for the Scottish institution to engage in development of drugs that benefit this region.
“Whatever the variance in disease patterns, the philosophy in delivering healthcare that is of high quality and accessible is similar and a shared goal for both institutions,” said Prof. Mairi Scott, Director of Professional Development Academy.
One of the fundamental principles is to shift the balance of care to the primary care providers (General Practitioners), something the Dundee team has successfully implemented in Kuwait and Malawi.
Reciprocal visit
The University of Dundee is expecting a reciprocal visit from the faculty of the Sri Balaji Vidyapeeth shortly to take the proposal for collaboration forward. The two institutions are looking at firming up a Memorandum of Understanding soon thereafter.
K.R. Sethuraman, Vice-Chancellor, said the interuniversity pact held potential for mutual benefit and enhancing quality of patient services in this region.
