CREATING: a sustainable plan for biomedical higher education in Saudi Arabia. Phase I.

Biomedical higher education has been acquiring increasing importance worldwide, including the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and effective strategies to improve outcomes and competitiveness are key for academic success. The plan presented here is divided into two major phases. Phase 1 (Communication, Research governance, Education planning, Accreditation) deals mainly with adopting a systematic approach to academic activities according to the current international standards. In other words, the aim is to re-organise what is already in place, taking into account current guidelines and strategies that help improve quality of education and research. It is suggested that this is not necessarily to be achieved by major investments but, rather, by a more imaginative and structured work plan. In Phase 2 (Translational practice, Implementation, Networking, Growth), higher education institutions are expected to invest in new strategic resources, to establish strong reciprocal links with international academic partners and industry, and to shift their attention to the hot topics and current academic challenges, leading the way in translational education models and pioneering cutting-edge research.