Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar (WCMC-Q), together with three leading players from Qatar’s healthcare industry, is for the first time participating in the world’s largest medical event in Germany.

Medica 2012, the international conference, exhibition and trade fair, opened yesterday (November 14) in Dusseldorf and will run until November 17.

The event is held each year and allows institutions and companies the chance to present their services and products to a global market. It also offers unparalleled networking opportunities among healthcare professionals.

WCMC-Q, Sidra Medical and Research Center, Aspetar – Qatar Orthopaedic and Sports Medicine Hospital; and the Anti-Doping Lab Qatar (ADLQ) have been representing Qatar at Medica 2012.

Dr Javaid Sheikh, dean of WCMC-Q, said the event offered the chance to present the college to the wider medical community.

“Medica 2012 is allowing the college to promote itself further on the world stage, not just among healthcare practitioners but also other professionals who work in the same sphere,” he said.

“The college always wants to recruit the very best faculty and staff members and events like this offer another window of opportunity – both for potential employees and ourselves.”

Approximately 4,500 exhibitors are at Medica representing about 60 countries. These exhibitors, including WCMC-Q and its partners, are being seen by around 130,000 visitors from more than 100 countries, providing unprecedented exposure.

Yesterday, the first day of the conference, saw huge interest in the Qatar pavilion, with many people interested to discover what the country is doing in terms of medical research, education and clinical care.

Dr Joachim Dudenhausen, Medical Advisor and Head of Medical Staff Services at Sidra Medical and Research Center, and a Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar, said the Medica conference is allowing Sidra and its partners to highlight the tremendous work being done to advance health care in Qatar.

He added: “Sidra’s mission is to set new standards in health care for women and children regionally and globally through clinical care, research, and medical education. One important way we will achieve this is through our state-of-the-art, all-digital facility, where sophisticated laboratories and cutting-edge medical equipment will enable true innovation and clinical advancement.”

Dr Mohammed Alsayrafi, general manager of ADLQ, said that the organization’s status as the first anti-doping laboratory in the Middle East and western Asia, makes its participation in Medica “priceless”.

The event is arranged according to halls, including ones assigned for electromedical equipment/medical technology, laboratory technology/diagnostics, medical furniture, and information and communications technology among many others.

Ibrahim Al Darwish, chief operating officer of Aspetar, said Medica 2012 is giving the organization a global platform.

He said: “Our objective is to showcase who we are, our expertise and what we have to offer to the international community.

“The Medica trade fair is an important venue and partner that allows us to deliver our message and to learn from others. Our participation is an opportunity to understand what similar and very different organizations are doing in healthcare, and to understand supply and equipment options and the latest technologies that will support our drive to be a leader in sports medicine by 2015." – TradeArabia News Service