Mohammed Bin Rashid University of Medicine and Health Sciences (MBRU) has announced the formation of a Values Council, which will drive the values agenda of the University and ensure the MBRU family – students and faculty, live and act the MBRU values daily, and work with a heart for service.

The Council, a first for any institute in the UAE, will draw members from its population, students, academics, and administrative representatives from across the University. The first order of business for the newly established unit is to put in place a framework for its set of values that can be defined into observable, tangible, and measurable parameters that ensure that the signature culture of MBRU is consistently maintained.

Those values will also be closely linked to the UAE’s values and the Eight Principles of Dubai and transcend all initiatives and projects across the University.

Aside from Council members, the Council will have ‘Guests’ as invitees from the University’s family, community, friends, or from external organizations who are invited to give insights and advice to the Council as required. It will also have ‘Catalysts,’ who are employees, students or alumni of MBRU selected by the Council to be ambassadors of values lived and acted in the University, and even more a ‘Guardian’ rather than a secretary of the Council running all administrative affairs of the Council with even voting rights.

The MBRU Values Council is the brainchild of Nujood AlKhloofi and Rasha Abbas, Director of Communications and External Relations and Director of Human Resources and Administrative Affairs respectively at MBRU and is designed to instill a culture where employees and partners (students) are passionate about the work that they do. It is the result of the project they both worked on as they underwent a series of workshops and lectures in the ‘Public Sector Innovation Diploma,’ offered by the Mohammed Bin Rashid Centre for Government Innovation in collaboration with Cambridge University. The likes of Mayo Clinic and Disney who are top notch in the field of health and happiness respectively, were some benchmarks that they both looked into.

“MBRU is committed to becoming a global hub for innovative and integrated healthcare education and research, and the Values Council will play an important role in the development of MBRU’s constitution and drive towards our mission,” said Nujood Al Khloofi, MBRU Values Council Chairperson.“ Our vision for the Council is to serve as an incubator and facilitator for a culture of high workplace motivation, loyalty, productivity, and positivity. We envisage this Values Council as being effective and becoming a benchmark for other universities.”

“At MBRU, respect, giving, excellence, integrity, and connectivity are in everything we do; and now through this Values Council we’re creating a system that will ensure that every member of this entity lives out these values. We’re very thankful to the Mohammed Bin Rashid Centre for Government Innovation for offering the Public Sector Innovation Diploma and making it a reality.  We’re very proud of this project, and we very much look forward to it coming to life.” Rasha Abbas MBRU’s Values Council Vice Chairperson.

Dr. Amer Sharif, Vice Chancellor MBRU, said that the creation of the MBRU values council was very much in line with the value-oriented ethos of the University and proof of MBRU’s distinctive role in the health education ecosystem in the UAE. “The Eight Principles of

Dubai have served as a guiding light in the creation of the Values Council and MBRU has always stayed true to its set of values and ideals. We are very proud that MBRU is one of the first universities in the UAE to institute a values council and I am sure it can serve as something of an inspiration for other universities in our country,” he said.

Her Excellency Huda Al Hashimi, Assistant Director General for Strategy and Innovation at the Prime Minister’s Office – Ministry of Cabinet Affairs and The Future, expressed that the UAE government is keen on equipping the people of the UAE with the tools and skills to transform their innovative ideas into progressive projects that will aid the nation’s development.

“The launch of the Values Council at the Mohammed Bin Rashid University of Medicine and Health Sciences aligns with the goal of the Government Innovation Diploma program in spreading a culture of innovation and applying the skills they have acquired in their journey.” said Al Hashimi.

“Supporting the projects of the graduates from the Government Innovation Diploma is key to shaping the next generation of innovators and change makers. Supporting the innovators and creating incubators to apply their innovations and convert them into concrete projects and services are essential factors in the innovation journey of our country and realizing the Leadership’s vision for the UAE to be at the forefront of global innovation.  Moreover, this will enable us to have a future based on knowledge, diversified sources of economy and energy, and a motivational environment for leadership businessmen,” added Al Hashimi.

The inaugural Values Council in MBRU will include the following members: Nujood Al Khloofi is the Chairperson of the Council and Rasha Abbas is the Vice Chairperson. The remaining 9 are Dr. Khawla Belhoul Assistant Dean for Student-Alumni Happiness and

Wellbeing at the Hamdan Bin Mohammed College of Dental Medicine (HBMCDM), Dr. Laila Al Suwaidi Assistant Dean of Student Happiness and Wellbeing at the College of Medicine, Tamara Muir Director of Academic Support, Rania Abdel Raouf Senior Manager Vice Chancellor Office, Dr. Hanan Al Suwaidi Assistant Professor of Family Medicine at MBRU, Dr. Anas Ali  Al Salami MBRU Alumni and Lecturer and Specialist in Pediatric Dentistry at Hamdan Bin Mohammed College of Dental Medicine, Maryam Al Hamed Senior Executive Student Services and Registration, Maryam Alabidli President of the Student Council, and Mari-Lynn Sanggalang Executive Communications and External Relations, as the Guardian of the Council.

The Values Council is also expected to initiate and advise on University projects and assign them priority status, and reward and recognize employees and students upholding the values.