Digital infrastructure for 1,800 medical students established

Rawalpindi: Rawalpindi Medical University has become the first medical university out of seven medical universities in Punjab to establish a digital infrastructure including Digital Library, Smart Classrooms, Learning Management System (LMS), E-log System, and Research Dashboard for 1,800 medical students, 400 faculty members, and 300 postgraduate residents.

Also, RMU is the first medical university in Pakistan out of about 20 medical universities to establish Research Dashboard for postgraduate students doing research for their research thesis and research papers. Research Dashboard reflects real-time entries of research including patients.

The Research Dashboard would help abandon the fake research. The research department of RMU has evolved a system to verify the research patient database through telephonic confirmation. In addition to confirmation of patients included in research by trainees, the postgraduate trainees are also facilitated at every step and later asked to submit real patients’ records in the research department.

Like other first-world countries and their system, the dashboard has abolished the trend of inclusion of fake patients in the research. As many as 5000 patients are part of research at the time including data from RMU allied hospitals.

Vice Chancellor RMU Professor Dr. Muhammad Umar (S.I) while appreciating the efforts of faculty and IT department to launch the most modern system in RMU, expressed to ‘The News’ that this is a rare example where a medical university has real-time data of research patients and that is being centrally monitored by supervisors and the research department of the university. This will increase the credibility of Pakistan internationally and RMU research data can be used for international referencing and publications. RMU system has also proposed the practical and sustainable solution to combat plagiarism, he said.

He added another achievement of RMU digitalization project is to establish the first Smart Classroom in any medical university of Punjab. This classroom is unique for distant learning and is a solution to the deficiency of faculty in the medical institution. This will also provide opportunity to faculty and students to use modern method of digital learning and feel at par with international standards, he said.

He added soon a second Smart Classroom will be established in New Teaching Block of RMU in Holy Family Hospital. This will further facilitate inter-departmental teaching. RMU also had digital library for referencing in research and to use it for updated learning and teaching.

RMU’s main campus and students’ hostel has also been provided with high-speed internet bandwidth and university is connected through Pakistan Education and Research Network (PERN). This added the facility of Off Campus and Online Learning for students, said Professor Umar.

He added that Learning Management System (LMS) of RMU is a paradigm shift for teaching and assessment of students. The RMU has become the first medial university to launch non-formal online summer school for teaching and assessment of students during summer vacations.

He said the RMU’s digital programme will place RMU on the world map to start its modern digital and innovative programme which saves time and is cost-effective in the difficult time of economic and energy crisis. This will save time and energy and will be cost-effective, decreasing the travel and physical presence. The programme will help develop national and international networking and linkages, said the vice chancellor.