Gulf Medical University celebrates 28 years: Born in Thumbay, Built at GMU

Gulf Medical University has celebrated its 28th anniversary, marking nearly three decades of growth in medical education, research, healthcare and innovation since it was founded by Thumbay Group.

Dr Thumbay Moideen, Founder President of Thumbay Group, was chief guest at a celebration that brought together university leadership, faculty, staff, students and alumni. The theme, Born in Thumbay, Built at GMU, told the university’s journey through the stories of students born in Thumbay hospitals, alumni who returned to work within the Group, and their children who are now studying at GMU.

The milestone arrives at a strong moment. GMU ranked first in the world for International Outlook in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings, with a score of 99.4 among 2,297 universities from 118 countries and territories. It also debuted at 125th in the QS World University Rankings: Arab Region, where it ranked first in the region for its international student ratio.

The university holds institutional accreditation from the UK’s Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education, meeting all ten European Standards and Guidelines with no conditions. It now has seven colleges and 45 accredited programmes, with students from more than 117 nationalities and faculty from 56 countries, and more than 5,000 of its graduates work in healthcare systems around the world.

Behind it stands Thumbay Group’s academic health system, a network of seven academic hospitals with more than 3,100 training beds and over 75 international university partnerships.