JEDDAH, 4 July 2006 — The Batterjee Medical College (BMC), which recently signed a deal with Germany’s University of Tubingen for introducing a new system of teaching, has enrolled 100 students for the preliminary year that commences in September.

“Classes will be held in a building adjacent to the Saudi German Hospital in Jeddah from September,” Saudi German Hospitals Group (SGHG) President and CEO Sobhi A. Batterjee told a press conference yesterday.

“Our capacity is for 300 students to begin with and the enrollment is open to even non-Saudi students,” Batterjee said. “We’ll consider the issue of facilitating the issuance of visas for students coming from abroad,” he said in reply to a question.

Those successful in the preliminary year will be enrolled for regular medical and paramedical courses at the BMC that will commence in September 2007 in its new complex, which is under construction at Obhur in north Jeddah.

The BMC is a new private college that will have an innovative problem-based curriculum and the emphasis will be on case studies rather than the traditional system of professors giving lectures.

The SGHG plans to establish 13 colleges with a total capacity of 4,000 seats. The agreement with the University of Tubingen involves both the college curriculum and the visits of German professors and experts.

Referring to the recently opened SGHG hospital in Sanaa, Batterjee said that this was part of the group’s plan to offer health care like it has been doing for over 18 years.

“The group adopts the goal of designing, financing, constructing and operating 30 international hospitals in the Kingdom and across the region, providing 50,000 jobs in the private sector by 2015,” Batterjee said.

The group also aims to establish leadership in the Middle East and Africa region by offering “outstanding” medical care, concentrating on specific specialties and facilities.