Qatar University has launched a health cluster during an annual retreat that brought together around 80 faculty and staff to discuss the future structure and operations of the cluster following the reorganization and restructuring process at QU. 
The QU Health Cluster comprises the colleges of Health Sciences (CHS), Medicine (CMED) and Pharmacy (CPH), and the Health Clinic. It was launched in January to provide closer alignment between the three health colleges. The cluster will foster a service-oriented, inter-professional and interdisciplinary culture, will provide administrative and operational support for the colleges, and will deliver tangible benefits to both faculty and students. This will lead to strategic synergies as well as efficiency gains. 
"Through close integration of research, teaching activities and clinical care, innovative capacity and productivity of the cluster will flourish and will be more aligned with the future needs of Qatar," Dr. Egon Toft, QU vice president for medical and health sciences and CMED dean, said. "The collaborative operations will also include the key external stakeholders and partners which will result in further extending the scope and fields of collaborations." In turn, Dr. Asmaa Al-Thani, CHS Dean and QU Biomedical Research Center (BRC) Director, said the cluster will grow into a "dynamic and diverse family of inspired and highly qualified individuals from a broad variety of backgrounds, united by a shared vision to build a successful holistic health entity right here at Qatar University." CPH Dean Dr. Mohamad Diab said: "Joint forces and efforts in various areas will surely maximize our impact on medical and health education and research; therefore serving our vision to become a catalyst for the development of health care in Qatar and be the institution of choice for students and scholars..

Source: QNA