Gulf Medical University Launches the Region’s Largest Network of Clinical Skills and Simulation Centres

• Specialised facilities, one connected ecosystem. GMU sets a new benchmark for hands-on healthcare education in the Middle East.

Gulf Medical University (GMU), part of Thumbay Group, today inaugurated the largest integrated network of clinical skills and simulation centres in the region. The launch brings six dedicated training facilities together under one roof at GMU’s Ajman campus, giving students across medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, physiotherapy, and allied sciences a single place to practice, in an error-forgiving environment, and master the skills that real patients depend on. The network spans:

• Thumbay Institute of Clinical Simulation
• Thumbay Institute of Surgical Skills
• Thumbay Dental Simulation
• Thumbay Pharmacy Practice Lab (Simulation)
• Thumbay Physiotherapy Skills Training Lab
• Thumbay Veterinary Clinical Skills Lab (Coming soon)
• Thumbay Simulation Centre Dubai (Coming Soon)

Together, these centres cover the full arc of healthcare training, from a student’s first suture to OSCE-grade clinical assessments and team-based emergency drills. The inauguration was led by chief Guest Dr. Ashwin Fernandes, Chair of QS India and Vice President of Strategic and International Engagement at QS Quacquarelli Symonds. Earlier in the day, In the Presence of Dr. Thumbay Moideen, Founder President of Thumbay Group, along with other deans and dignitaries Dr. Fernandes also conducted an exclusive workshop on QS World University Rankings, walking GMU faculty and senior leadership through what global benchmarks now reward, where UAE institutions are gaining ground, and the practical levers universities can pull to strengthen their international standing. Speaking at the event, Dr. Ashwin Fernandes said: “What Gulf Medical University has built here is genuinely rare in simulation education. GMU has put together a connected ecosystem of six centres, and that scale changes the calibre of clinicians who graduate from this campus. This is the direction global health education is moving, and the region now has a flagship to point to.” — Dr. Ashwin Fernandes, Chair, QS India and Vice President, Strategic and International Engagement, QS Prof. Manda Venkatramana, Chancellor, Gulf Medical University, said: “The ultimate goal is patient safety. Students work in an safe simulated environment before working on real patients. That improves patient outcomes.” — Prof. Manda Venkatramana, Chancellor, Gulf Medical University Beyond serving GMU’s own students, the network is being positioned as an open reference point for other simulation centres across the GCC. Universities, hospitals, and training institutions planning to build or expand their own facilities are invited to study the GMU model, tour the centres, and explore knowledge-sharing partnerships. Detailed information on the network, programmes, faculty, and visit requests is available at gmu.ac.ae. Established in 1998 and part of Thumbay Group, Gulf Medical University is among the leading private medical and health sciences universities in the UAE. GMU offers graduate and postgraduate programmes across medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, health sciences, and nursing, and is now home to the largest network of clinical skills and simulation centres in the region.