Last Friday, I was forwarded a document by an anonymous reader (whom I have to thank deeply for his contribution), according to which a memorandum of understanding had been signed between the University of Malta and St.George's.
This morning, I was able to verify the authenticity of that document (by being shown an original hard copy), so I can now post it here for the benefit of all the medical students who -like myself- are interested in the course and outcome of this collaboration :
19th February 2008
Dear Colleagues,
Further to my last letter, I write to inform you about the recent visit by delegates from St. George’s, University of London (SGUL).
As a result of this visit the Rector of the University of Malta has signed a Memorandum of Understanding between the University of Malta and St. George’s, University of London. The MOU regulates discussions between the two parties with an eye to signing an Agreement by late Spring in order to launch an international four-year, graduate entry programme in 2009/2010 leading to a registerable medical qualification. It is hoped that this will be the first step in a long term partnership.
During their visit the visitors from St. George's met with various officials in Malta including the Prime Minister , the Minister for Education, Youth and Employment, the Minister of Health , Care of the Elderly and Community Care as well as the Deputy Leader of the Malta Labour Party and the shadow Minister for Education.
In addition they met with HE Mr Nicholas Archer, British High Commissioner, and senior members of the University and National Commission for Higher Education.
A visit to Mater Dei Hospital was arranged for the visitors to see the hospital and medical school as well as meet some senior members of the medical profession who were on duty there.
The visitors discussed a number of areas of possible cooperation including the establishment of a graduate entry medical education programme for international students alongside the existing University of Malta course. St. George’s has been successfully running graduate and undergraduate entry medical education programmes together for over seven years. SGUL was the first medical school in the British Isles to offer a Graduate Entry Programme. Its next intake will be 98 students. SGUL is the only independently-governed medical school in England. It is a premier educational establishment. St. George's gained an excellent score of 23 out of 24 in the Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) inspection of medicine - the highest score of any London Medical School.
Further discussions are taking place and it is hoped that the proposed graduate entry programme would only be the start of a long-term relationship between the University of Malta and SGUL that would include postgraduate education.
SGUL offers a wide range of postgraduate programmes at certificate, diploma, masters and doctoral level that could complement the University of Malta's own postgraduate programmes. SGUL has approximately 5500 students, made up broadly of 1300 undergraduate medicine and bioscience students; 3700 health professions undergraduates in the joint faculty; 300 taught post-graduates, and 200 research students. A number of postgraduate qualifications are offered in conjunction with Kingston University in the Joint Faculty of Health & Social Care Science.
Future collaboration could also include combined research projects with joint applications for international research grants between the University of Malta and St. George's, University of London. SGUL is a major international research centre. SGUL came second in a Guardian (2007) newspaper league table of research papers and their impact, published in November 2007. Figures show that SGUL research papers had twice as much impact as the world average in terms of how often they were cited in peer-reviewed journals. SGUL beat Oxford and Cambridge, Imperial College London and University College London. In the last Research Assessment Exercise (2001) St George's was rated as conducting research of at least national excellence in the majority of its activities (with cardiovascular and respiratory epidemiology receiving flagged status). Work in the area of pre-clinical studies was considered to be of international excellence.
Research is also strong in basic medical sciences, particularly cell biology and molecular genetics. St George's research continues to be influential in the fields of medical epidemiology.
The research base at SGUL is further strengthened through its close proximity and interaction with St George's Healthcare NHS Trust and other hospitals.
These relationships provide unique opportunities for translational research that links basic science to clinical care.
Total research income was about €30 million last year and SGUL has recently been awarded $21 million as part of the Grand Challenges in Global Health Initiative. There are about 150 active researchers in permanent positions, with about 200 research assistants. There are 170 MPhil/PhD students and 120 MD/MS/MD(Res) students studying both in full-time and part-time mode in all divisions. There are a number of companies (including pharmaceutical companies) on site, that work collaboratively with researchers in SGUL. These include Antisoma, Onyvax, Richmond Pharmacology, Helperby Therapeutics and Phytofusion.
Finally, cooperation could extend to George's Healthcare NHS Trust including interchanges between students, postgraduates and hospital staff. SGUL shares its site with St George's Hospital in Tooting, one of the biggest NHS hospitals in the United Kingdom.
St George's Healthcare NHS Trust employs over 5,000 staff with 2,500 nurses and 800 physicians with over 1000 beds and trains over 4,000 healthcare professionals. The annual budget of the Trust is close to €500 million. The Trust provides the services of a district general hospital (secondary care) and specialist (tertiary care) hospital services from three sites.
The Rector has stated that this is a further step in the university's strategy of partnering with prestigious international educational institutions and would help realise the vision of Malta as an international preferred provider of quality higher education, the "Teacher of the Mediterranean". He has said that these partnerships enhance the University of Malta as well as the country as a whole.
I hope that you share my enthusiasm for such a joint venture which would be a true partnership between two. equals where the responsibilities and benefits would be shared. This is unlike the franchises previously proposed by other institutions. I augur that such a partnership would open opportunities to all members of the faculty as well as all the other doctors working at Mater Dei Hospital and beyond. I envisage that this would be a superb way of improving the currently high standards achieved as all programmes both offered locally as well as the one offered as a result of the partnership would run in parallel and not in direct competition.
I am calling an Extraordinary Meeting of the Faculty Board to be held on Tuesday 4th March 2008 at 11 am at the University of Malta Medical School Board Room at Mater Dei Hospital. The subject of the Future of the Medical School will be discussed as the only item on the Agenda. I look forward to seeing Faculty members at that meeting.
I shall keep you informed of progress with regards to the discussions with St. George's.
Yours sincerely,
Professor G LaFerla
I was very happy to read that the co-operation will not just be a money-making venture but will also cater for the improvement of the normal five-year UoM medical course and for the establishment of urgently needed postgraduate medical training programmes.
The only thing I am still wondering about is what measures the faculty is planning to take to avoid an over-crowding of MDH by medical students. I understand that it might be too early for that sort of detail to be publicised, but it would surely make me feel better if MMSA was to raise that issue in the upcoming faculty board meeting...
