Dubai Medical University · Quality Assurance & Institutional Effectiveness

K. Community Engagement

K.1 — Community Engagement

Document Control Information

Policy Code
K.1
Standard
K. Community Engagement
Status
published
Version
2
Process Owner
Head- Community Engagement Unit
Prepared By
Head- Community Engagement Unit
Reviewed By
QAIE
BOT Approval
approved
First Issue Date
01 Sept 2023
Last Review Date
04 Jun 2024
Relevant To
DMU stakeholders
Used With
—

Modification History

Version    Date    Update Information  Author/ Reviewer 
V 1.0   September 2023  Policy First Implemented Head- Community Engagement Unit/ Director- Student Affairs Dept
V 1.1                             June 2024 Included VC Academic Affairs, Replaced title Director to Dean of Student Affairs as per the revised organization structure.
 
Attachments Updated.		 QA & IE Department

Purpose and Scope

Purpose
Dubai Medical University (DMU) assumes full responsibility towards the local community as well as the UAE community at large. To that end, among the strategies followed by the University in this regard is forming Community Engagement cluster groups, special interest groups which include representatives such as Student affairs, faculty/ and student body. This diversity comes to achieve the Unit’s goals and outcomes of actively interacting and contributing to the community in various fields and at all levels. The DMU’s Community Engagement policy branches into three overlapping directions: Institutional Engagement, Employer Engagement and Community Relations.

Scope
The scope of the policy is aimed at developing shared values and producing capable, critical, and balanced graduates who are aware of their social responsibilities - to make available the universities’ expertise, resources, and facilities where appropriate.

Abbreviations and Definitions

  1. Community: Body of people living in one place, district, or country; fellowship (community of interest); state of being shared or held in common. For the purpose of this policy the term ‘community’ refers to the body of people living within the vicinity of the University.
  2. The term ‘Community Engagement’ is used to incorporate ‘volunteerism, community engagement /service and service learning ‘.
  3. Cluster groups: several people considered together as being related in some way for a common purpose.
  4. CME: Continuing Medical Education
  5. SIG: Special Interest Group
  6. Volunteerism: Volunteerism engages students and faculty in activities whose primary beneficiary is the recipient community, and the primary goal is to provide service.
  7. Community Engagement/Service: In community engagement also, the primary beneficiary is the recipient community, and the primary goal is service. However, it is implemented by a unit, department, or a faculty or as a DMU- wide initiative. They involve more structure and commitment from students which may give recognition in the form of academic credit or research publications.
  8. Service Learning: Where service activities become integrated with academic course work and carry some form of formal recognition such as course credit, research credit which includes internships. In other words, a classroom experience that utilizes community engagement along with regular reflection to meet course goals and community needs.
  9. Co-curricular service—Service projects (one-time or ongoing) that meet community needs and help students learn about direct work with a community agency or on a community issue/challenge. These projects are often conducted by individual students, student union, or other SIG or Cluster groups of students.
  10. Internships— An intensive dual mentorship experience involving an employment mentor who provides ongoing feedback to the student employee and a faculty mentor who provides opportunities for reflection and integration of academic work and employment experience.
  11. Engaged research—Research that directly benefits the community by clarifying the causes of a community challenge, mapping a community’s assets, or contributing to solutions to current challenges and also fits a faculty member’s research agenda.
  12. Institutional engagement - DMU resources intentionally offered without undue barriers to the community; institutional engagement ranges from library cards for the campus library to making campus events accessible to DMU faculty and staff choosing to use local businesses to render services or goods needed to complete their work.

Policy Statement

DMU is committed to fostering meaningful and mutually beneficial community engagement, promoting the university's values, and making a positive impact on the communities we serve.

Procedures & Guidelines

  1. Institutional Engagement
The overall aim is to form a Special Interest Group (SIG) of like-minded people initiating community engagement which would include student representatives, faculty members, research and student affairs lead by a community engagement unit head, thereby, planning its activities according to its specific specialization and interests. Moreover, the annual evaluation of all faculty and administrative professionals will be encouraged to interact with the community. At the beginning of the Fall semester, the Cluster Groups/ Special Interest Group prepares a plan of all activities to be carried out and events in which to participate. Need based approach is kept in view while preparing the plan and helps execute the plan in the best possible manner. Although the plan includes all intended activities, a level of flexibility is maintained to accommodate fresh ideas from DMU’s students, faculty, and staff as well as the wider community. Throughout the semester the plan is monitored to identify the areas of strength and ideas for future improvement.
When selecting events and setting the DMU plan, the SIG considers activities that contribute directly to the community identifying the impending needs of the community and to meet them. DMU focusses on the most common health problems that affect people in UAE, which are non-communicable diseases, such as Obesity, Diabetes Mellitus, Cancer breast in addition to Addiction, Tobacco control and mental health.
  1. Employer Engagement
DMU has regular meetings with an Advisory Board which has members from a variety of fields. (Refer policy A.5). The input of the Advisory Board will be used to create opportunities for students to enhance their knowledge and experience.  The actions taken based on the Advisory Board inputs will be presented in the next meeting. The operational and strategic plan will include suggestions from the Advisory Board.
DMU will regularly monitor and evaluate the curriculum to ensure that it meets the needs of the employers, WFME standards, CAA Standards and Ministry of Education regulations to maximize the contributions to the country and the region.
DMU conducts periodic surveys of students, alumni, clinical faculty and other stakeholders in the curriculum development process. (Refer chapter B2 for periodicity of the stakeholder surveys) Every two years, DMU conducts a situational analysis on national demographics, healthcare scenario, education scenario and medical education trends in the country.
DMU identifies employers in the public and private sectors and creates opportunities for formal and informal engagement with them.  Mechanisms of engagement include participation in the Advisory Board, curriculum review, professional development activities and collaborations.  Collaborations with employers may be pursued for the benefit of enrolled students, alumni, or faculty.  Formal partnership agreements and contractual agreements will be signed with healthcare institutions, universities, and other organizations. The agreements will fulfill CAA standards of contractual agreements.
  1. Community Relations
The university believes in the importance of harmony between DMU’s activities, and the activities organized in the community. The group welcomes all the entities that want to visit and communicate with DMU’s community. When the group receives invitations and requests from public and private organizations, and upon obtaining the necessary approvals, the invitations are forwarded to the concerned departments. The Special Interest Group (SIG) identifies the required preparations, including the participation of faculty members, administrative staff as well as the students (Student Volunteering Registration Form VR-F-05).
Whether it is to contribute to the organization of specific events, participate in activities or presents at conferences and seminars. DMU takes part in all activities that strengthen the DMU’s bond with the local community and the UAE community at large. Maintaining the interaction in such ways contributes to communicating the DMU’s academic vision of rendering services that benefit the local community as well as reinforcing the important values of cooperation, solidarity, responsibility, self-reliance, leadership, and team-spirit among students.  Furthermore, DMU seeks to maintain open channels of communication with organizations in both private and public sectors and probes possibilities of cooperation to help meet and upgrade the standards of learning, research or career development among students and faculty alike.

Responsibilities for Application


Key stakeholders will typically include but not limited to, in three broad areas namely:
  1. Social Sector
  1. Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO)
  1. Healthcare sector
  1. Educational Sector
  1. Environmental Sector

Appendices

BP-T-01 Budget Plan Template
 
EP-T-04 Event Proposal Template
 
EE-T-03 End of Event Report Template
 
VR-F-05 Volunteering Registration Form
 

Attached Documents & References