“Alumni are the reflection of our past, representation of our present and link to our future,” says Chancellor
17 cohorts, 16 convocations and 1800 alumni all over the world in various top positions
Ajman: Gulf Medical University (GMU), Ajman recognized the most outstanding accomplishments of its alumni at the ‘GMU Global Alumni Summit 2020’ organized by the GMU Students Affairs Department, held at Thumbay Medicity on 29th February 2020.
The event brought together GMU alumni from around the world, joined by the academic leadership of GMU, faculty, staff and students, in a celebration of the significant contributions of the alumni community to their communities and professions. The event recognized their most outstanding achievements. The awards in honor of the GMU Achievers were presented by Dr. Thumbay Moideen, Founder, President Board of Trustees, GMU who also officially released the Alumni E-newsletter and the Alumni Portal.
In his welcome address, Prof. Manda Venkatramana, Vice Chancellor – Academics mentioned that GMU’s alumni now has 1803 graduates, with 70% females and 30% male graduates, spread across the world, with UAE nationals constituting 10% of the alumni, GCC nationals 7%, other Arabs 14%, Asians 44%, Africans 16% and other nationals 10%.
Addressing the alumni, Prof. Hossam Hamdy, the Chancellor of GMU outlined the significant achievements of the University in recent times. The Chancellor also announced several benefits for the alumni, including scholarships for post-graduate programs, adjunct faculty positions at GMU, employment opportunities and full access to GMU’s e-library learning resources. “You are our best ambassadors offering invaluable advocacies across your personal and professional networks. You are the reflection of GMU’s past, representation of its present and the link to its future,” he said to the alumni.
Awards were presented to the following alumni achievers:
Healthcare: Government Service UAE - Dr. Noha Yaseen, Consultant Cardiologist, Al Qasimi Hospital, Sharjah; Dr. Asma Abdillahi Ali, CCAD, Semi-Government by Mubdhala, Abu Dhabi government; Ms. Ayesha Mohammed Abdulla Kajoor Al Nuaimi.
Healthcare: Research - Dr. Ahmad Ashraf Fakhri Ghazal.
Healthcare Delivery System: Entrepreneurship – Dr. Ismail Sayeed, Founder & CEO, ViOS; Ms. Jameela Arif Hussain; Dr. Sheetal Bambhani.
Healthcare Delivery System: Private Sector / Leadership - Dr. Shihad Khader, Chief Operating Officer, Thumbay Hospital Fujairah; Dr. Meera Obaid AlSalami.
Healthcare Delivery System: NGO / Humanitarian Service - Dr. Faraj Khalid Faraj Mohamed Almehairbi.
Arts: Dr. Marwa Abdulwahid Alalwani, Dentist, Munich Dental Clinic.
The awardees recounted their experiences as GMU students, and explained how those experiences continue to enrich their professional lives even today. They thanked Dr. Thumbay Moideen for creating such a wonderful university which shaped their lives and career achievements. Current GMU students entertained their alumni with various talent performances.
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New Delhi: A bill to set up a 13-member body to regulate institutions of higher education was introduced in the Lok Sabha on Monday.
Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan introduced the Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan Bill, which seeks to establish an overarching higher education commission along with three councils for regulation, accreditation, and ensuring academic standards for universities and higher education institutions in India.
Meanwhile, the move drew strong opposition, with members warning that it could weaken institutional autonomy and result in excessive centralisation of higher education in India.
The Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan Bill, 2025, earlier known as the Higher Education Council of India (HECI) Bill, has been introduced in line with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.
The proposed legislation seeks to merge three existing regulatory bodies, the University Grants Commission (UGC), the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), and the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE), into a single unified body called the Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan.
At present, the UGC regulates non-technical higher education institutions, the AICTE oversees technical education, and the NCTE governs teacher education in India.
Under the proposed framework, the new commission will function through three separate councils responsible for regulation, accreditation, and the maintenance of academic standards across universities and higher education institutions in the country.
According to the Bill, the present challenges faced by higher educational institutions due to the multiplicity of regulators having non-harmonised regulatory approval protocols will be done away with.
The higher education commission, which will be headed by a chairperson appointed by the President of India, will cover all central universities and colleges under it, institutes of national importance functioning under the administrative purview of the Ministry of Education, including IITs, NITs, IISc, IISERs, IIMs, and IIITs.
At present, IITs and IIMs are not regulated by the University Grants Commission (UGC).
Government to refer bill to JPC; Oppn slams it
The government has expressed its willingness to refer it to a joint committee after several members of the Lok Sabha expressed strong opposition to the Bill, stating that they were not given time to study its provisions.
Responding to the opposition, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said the government intends to refer the Bill to a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) for detailed examination.
Congress Lok Sabha MP Manish Tewari warned that the Bill could result in “excessive centralisation” of higher education. He argued that the proposed law violates the constitutional division of legislative powers between the Union and the states.
According to him, the Bill goes beyond setting academic standards and intrudes into areas such as administration, affiliation, and the establishment and closure of university campuses. These matters, he said, fall under Entry 25 of the Concurrent List and Entry 32 of the State List, which cover the incorporation and regulation of state universities.
Tewari further stated that the Bill suffers from “excessive delegation of legislative power” to the proposed commission. He pointed out that crucial aspects such as accreditation frameworks, degree-granting powers, penalties, institutional autonomy, and even the supersession of institutions are left to be decided through rules, regulations, and executive directions. He argued that this amounts to a violation of established constitutional principles governing delegated legislation.
Under the Bill, the regulatory council will have the power to impose heavy penalties on higher education institutions for violating provisions of the Act or related rules. Penalties range from ₹10 lakh to ₹75 lakh for repeated violations, while establishing an institution without approval from the commission or the state government could attract a fine of up to ₹2 crore.
Concerns were also raised by members from southern states over the Hindi nomenclature of the Bill. N.K. Premachandran, an MP from the Revolutionary Socialist Party representing Kollam in Kerala, said even the name of the Bill was difficult to pronounce.
He pointed out that under Article 348 of the Constitution, the text of any Bill introduced in Parliament must be in English unless Parliament decides otherwise.
DMK MP T.M. Selvaganapathy also criticised the government for naming laws and schemes only in Hindi. He said the Constitution clearly mandates that the nomenclature of a Bill should be in English so that citizens across the country can understand its intent.
Congress MP S. Jothimani from Tamil Nadu’s Karur constituency described the Bill as another attempt to impose Hindi and termed it “an attack on federalism.”
