Dubai Health has accomplished a key achievement in Progressive Healthcare leadership with the introduction of the Dubai Health Leadership Academy. This strategic endeavor will strive to develop a sustainable pool of leadership talent in the first integrated academic health system in the emirate.

The establishment of the academy is instructed by the vision and direction of the Dubai Healthcare City Authority Board, spearheaded by His Highness Shiek Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, and together with the support of his brother, His Highness Sheikh Mansoor bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Vice Chairman of the Board. Dr. During the signing of the cooperation agreement between the two universities, Amer Sharif, the head of Dubai Health and the President of MBRU, said that the Academy will help to develop long-term healthcare leadership in the face of constantly changing challenges.

The aim of the plan is to foster the abilities that will be needed to confront future issues among the health care professions, as well as to open the opportunities for national talents to become the effective leaders. Such a step is consistent with Dubai’s general concept for the development of the healthcare system and retaining the image of the city as a worldwide trendsetter in medicine.

Even more importantly, Dubai Health has recently chosen Oxford Saïd as its new academic partner in order to start the first program offered by the Academy, known as the Systems Leadership Programme (SLP). Developed in partnership with Oxford Saïd, the SLP is intended to equip the participants with the competencies needed to manage and respond to complexity, generate innovative solutions, and generate a positive safety and excellence culture within Dubai Health.

The partnership was described by Dr. Eleanor Murray, the Academic Director and Senior Fellow in Management practice at Oxford Saïd, who stressed that the goal of the program is to develop a population of leaders capable of improving the delivery of health care for the benefit of patients and helping achieve the goals of the integrated academic health care system.

Professor Alawi Alsheikh-Ali, Deputy CEO and Chief Academic Officer of Dubai Health and Provost of MBRU, emphasized the significance of the Systems Leadership Program in creating greater alignment across Dubai Health’s four missions: Care, Learn, Discover, and Share. He clinched that the program would be instrumental in such rallying that has never been achieved in uniting the organization towards the advancement of health and new paradigms of patient-centred excellence.

The creation of the DHLA comes at a time when the sector is increasingly experiencing centrifugal pressures and advanced technology. Through leadership development, Dubai Health will maintain the health system’s ability to cope with the current and future healthcare needs of its people.

This has tremendous relevance with the UAE’s vision for excellence in the healthcare industry and the nation’s focus on nurturing talent within the country. In terms of outcome, Dubai is ensuring the right kind of skilled professionals and future leaders are developed to ensure it stays ahead in the ever-evolving medical field in the Middle East and further afield.

Oxford Saïd provides the program with cutting-edge knowledge that is relevant to the learning needs of Dubai’s academic health system. This partnership is aimed at developing a global outlook in the local health managers through appreciation of best practices to apply locally as they tackle national health issues.

As the DH LAc embarks on its new mission, it will be the cornerstone in preparing for the leadership of the future health care in Dubai. Through enhancing leadership competencies of the healthcare professionals, Academy enhance the health of the patients, grow medical research, and improve the healthcare system in Dubai.

This launch shows Dubai’s intent to continuing to invest in its human capital as well as the healthcare system. By virtue of offering progressive awareness and furthering its established programmes, the Academy is estimated to leave a long term effect on the service delivery and quality of health care in Dubai, hence patients and the public domain in the broad sense of the term.