Press release

Scottish university deal heralds new era of nursing and health care in the

Middle East

Edinburgh , 22 March 2007: Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh, has today sealed an agreement with the British University of Egypt (BUE) and one of the region’s most highly respected charities, the Al Noor Foundation, to raise the standard of nursing across the whole of the Middle East.

Announcing the partnership, Professor Anthony Cohen, Queen Margaret University’s Principal and Vice Chancellor, said: ‘Today’s agreement marks the start of an important new chapter in Queen Margaret’s international activity - and in nursing and health care education throughout the Middle East region. With our new partners, we look forward to establishing the Maghraby International College of Nursing as a new faculty at BUE’s base on the outskirts of Cairo. This agreement builds on the pioneering work we have begun with partners in Jeddah to develop nursing education in Saudi Arabia, and underlines our status as international leaders in health education.

Queen Margaret University has been working with the British Council, academic and business partners to establish a College of Nursing Studies in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, as part of the Kingdom’s ‘Saudisation’ efforts to accelerate social change. Part of this involves training Saudi women and men to work in sectors previously dominated by people from the Philippines and India. Nursing is one of the professions that is expected to appeal to young Saudi women, particularly if improved training leads, as expected, to changes in working practices, pay and conditions as well as real career opportunities.

One of Queen Margaret University’s business partners in the Jeddah project was closely involved with the BUE negotiations having been impressed by the university’s commitment to Saudi. Dr Akef Maghraby, the visionary consultant ophthalmologist and founder and chairman of El-Maghraby eye and ear hospitals and centres in the Middle East, Africa and Asia, also runs the Al Noor Foundation.

Commenting on the deal, he said: ‘ ‘I am delighted to be working with Queen Margaret University to establish this new nursing faculty at the British University in Egypt. The approach to learning and teaching at Queen Margaret University, which aims to develop students as independent critical learners, will have a significantly positive effect in enhancing the quality of nursing education in Egypt.”

Queen Margaret’s work in developing the partnership in Egypt was led by Professor Alan Gilloran, Vice-Principal of Research development, and Professor Marie Donaghy, Dean of QMU’s School of Health Sciences.

Professor Gilloran said: ‘This is wonderful news for Queen Margaret. We are committed to extending our expertise in nursing and health care to the international community to enhance the quality of life of as many people as possible, wherever they live. With our Saudi Arabian project, we took our first step into the Middle East; now, working with Dr Maghraby and the British University in Egypt, we have the rare opportunity to make a real difference to millions of people’s lives.

‘The Jeddah project revealed a huge demand for first rate education and training in nursing in the Middle East. As well as bringing international standards of education and training in these subject areas to the region through curriculum development and the introduction of Queen Margaret’s acclaimed quality assurance framework, we are also advising on both the construction and spatial planning BUE’s new faculty. This is based on the expertise we have gained through the award-winning design of our own new campus outside Edinburgh.’

Validation of the new nursing college’s courses is due in April, and six members of staff are currently ‘upskilling’ through Queen Margaret’s MSc in Professional Education to learn new ways of learning and teaching.

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For further information contact Maggie Wright on 0131 226 362 or 07801 710360

Notes for editors

Dr Akev Maghraby

Dr Maghraby established the Al Noor Foundation in 1999 to counter blindness in developing countries.  The foundation is a charitable non-governmental organisation registered in Egypt, where nearly three million people are either blind or suffer visual impairment.

British University of Egypt

The university was opened in 2005 by HRH Prince of Wales, the Duchess of Cornwall and Mrs Mubarak, wife of the Egyptian President. To date, much of its portfolio of courses has been validated by Loughborough University. With its imminent expansion into nursing education, an area in which Loughborough is not active, BUE hopes to benefit from Queen Margaret’s expertise in developing and validating new courses.

Jeddah College of Nursing

This new Saudi college will open its doors to its first intake of students in September 2007. It will offer three courses, each validated by QM in November 2006: a BSc in Nursing, a Post-Basic BSc in Nursing for existing diploma holders, and a BSc Nursing Conversion course for those with science degrees.

Queen Margaret University

Queen Margaret’s School of Health Sciences aims to be the leading provider of education and training in nursing and health care across the Middle East.

In 2007, QMU will achieve its twin long term goals. In January 2007 the institution was awarded full university title by Scotland’s Privy Council. In August, it will relocate its 4,000 students and staff to a brand new purpose-built campus at Craighall, on the south east edge of Edinburgh. The award-winning campus design sets new UK standards of excellence in sustainability and space planning, while its layout is designed to encourage the local community to make use of its many facilities.

In 2006, QMU was ranked, for the second year running, as Britain’s top higher education college in what is widely perceived to be the UK’s most influential guide.

Other recent achievements include QMU achieving the highest rated research in Scotland in the allied health professions, and the highest ranking possible from the Quality Assurance Agency for Scotland for the quality of its teaching, learning and assessment.

The Psychosocial Working Group led by QMU draws together expertise from Oxford, Harvard and Columbia universities and Medicines sans Frontieres and the International Rescue Committee among others, and typifies QM’s strong partnership approach to research.