The Best of Both Worlds: Experiences of Co-developing Innovative Undergraduate Health Care Programmes in Egypt

Abstract

As medical education has become increasingly globalised, universities across the world have sought to raise standards by partnering with well-established institutions and a number of different partnership models have emerged. This article describes an academic collaboration between University College London (UCL), UK, and Newgiza University (NGU), Egypt, to establish modern and innovative undergraduate medicine, dentistry, and pharmacy programmes delivered in Egypt. Academics from UCL and NGU co-developed programmes using established materials, assessments, and processes from the equivalent programmes at UCL. Dedicated project managers, regular steering group meetings, strong working relationships between project teams, and iterative curriculum and assessment development processes were important features of the success of this work. A multidisciplinary first semester included students across all 3 health care programmes. This promoted collaboration between academics at both institutions. Although UCL resources were the basis of this project, the different sociocultural, ethical, professional, and regulatory frameworks in Egypt have meant that a number of adaptations have been necessary, in both curricula and teaching content. Perhaps the most important factor underpinning the success of this project has been the mutual respect and sensitivity of academics and clinicians from both institutions.