The Vice Chancellor receiving the donation from Mr Michael Beckley of the Saad Group, accompanied by Professor Carol Curran and Mrs Jackie Simpson of the University

The University of Ulster’s plans to introduce a pharmacy degree course at its Coleraine campus have been boosted by a donation from the Saad Group of Saudi Arabia.

The gift will fund the creation of a state-of-the-art centre for pharmacy at the campus including specialised pharmacy laboratories.

It will also support the further development of Ulster’s internationally renowned diabetes research team who will share the facility.

The new venture builds on the existing successful partnership between the University and Saad, through which an Ulster degree programme in nursing is offered in Al-Khobar, Saudi Arabia. The course is taught in a recently established nursing college attached to the Saad Specialist Hospital, and provides opportunities for Saudi women to qualify as nursing professionals and subsequently to gain employment in the hospital.

The first part of the donation was presented to Ulster’s Vice Chancellor, Professor Richard Barnett, on his recent visit to Saudi Arabia when he was able to meet with the staff and students in the nursing college. Professor Barnett commented:

“Saad Specialist Hospital is a leader in the field of healthcare provision in the Gulf States and it is a mark of Ulster’s international standing in nursing and biomedical sciences that such a highly regarded institution has chosen to partner with us and to support us financially. The donation will allow us to provide first class pharmacy and diabetes laboratories and we are grateful to Saad for its generosity.”

Michael Beckley, Chief Executive Officer of Saad Specialist Hospital said:

“Saad’s support for the University of Ulster’s Pharmacy and Diabetes programs is another positive step in an already successful collaboration. The University of Ulster has been uniquely instrumental in assisting Saad in accomplishing its mission of raising the standard of medical care in the Gulf Region by applying its academic expertise and tailoring its high quality programmes to suit our local requirements. Together we have been able to provide exceptional learning opportunities and medical career development.”

Notes for Editors

• The Saad Specialist Hospital provides quality medical services from its state-of-the art facility in Al-Khobar, in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia.

• Diabetes research is part of Ulster University’s biomedical sciences research group which has been awarded the highest rating 5* in the two most recent UK-wide Research Assessment Exercises. Last month the University announced that Nobel Laureate Professor Bert Sakmann has taken up a professorship in biomedical sciences within the institute.

For further information, please contact:

David Young
Telephone: 028 90366074
Email: David Young