The world of education is witnessing a revolution. To address the need for skilled medical practitioners, upGrad, Asia’s largest integrated learning skilling and workforce development company, has announced the setting up of the upGrad Institute of Medical Sciences (UIMS). This fully-offline campus is located in the Republic of Vanuatu and is expected to invite enrolments from the second half of June this year.
The move follows the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 12-point development agenda for the Pacific Islands Nations, which highlights healthcare, renewable energy, and cyber-security as key focus areas. To further support this, he has allocated a significant budget to build a super-speciality cardiology hospital in Fiji.
Commenting on the announcement, Co-founder & Chairperson, Ronnie Screwvala said: “Vanuatu is at the centre of the educational revolution, which also makes it a business-ready geography for us. Our mission is to make our outcome-focused pedagogy a global phenomenon, and our strategic expansion will enable us to build a highly-equipped learning institute for the world to see.”
To ensure the institute’s success, upGrad has earmarked USD $10 million. To promote access to quality medical education, up to 10 deserving candidates from Vanuatu will be awarded 100% scholarships on tuition fees. The university will also train doctors at the Port Vila Hospital on new developments in medicine and patient care.
The firm has also appointed Debtirtha Banerjee to head operations in the Pacific region and across select geographies. His 13 years of experience in the Education sector, as well as his work in Advertising, Automobile, Publishing, and Healthcare, makes him the ideal candidate to lead upGrad’s initiative in setting up medical universities.
With this move, upGrad aims to strengthen its South Pacific presence and accelerate cross-border synergies between the two countries. This will not only help in the development of Vanuatu, but also put the country on the world map for all the right reasons.
Education technology is a powerful tool that can help bridge the gap between students and skilled medical practitioners. By setting up UIMS, upGrad is taking a giant leap towards achieving the goal of providing quality medical education to students in the Pacific Islands. Teachers can leverage the power of edtech to help students gain access to world-class medical education. With this in place, the next crop of skilled medical practitioners will be well-equipped to tackle the healthcare challenges of the future.
