By Prof. Mohamed Yousif Sukkar

On the Occasion of the Upgrade of Nile College (July 2019)

The idea of Nile College started in 1998 when there were three community colleges, one of which was already established and which is “Ahfad University for Women” and two new ones which are “University of Science and Technology” and the “University of Medical Sciences and Technology”. At the time, Professor Abdulrahman Mohamed Musa told me that the demand for medical colleges and the number of students studying in Sudan and abroad is increasing, and we are qualified to lead such work. At that time, Prof. Abdulrahman Mohamed Musa had gained academic and administrative experience through heading the Department of Internal Medicine at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Khartoum, then Dean of the Faculty of Medicine and Chairman of the Sudan Medical Specialization Board, before assuming the position of President of Sudan Medical Council. So, he is experienced in the field of higher education – especially in the medical field – and at the same time he is a classmate who came from Hantoub Secondary School while I came from Khor Taqaat Secondary School. Our fellowship has developed into a friendship during the study of medicine at the University of Khartoum and joining the faculty staff. Afterwards, we joined graduate studies in the city of Edinburgh in the United Kingdom which includes the University of Edinburgh and the Royal Colleges of Physicians and Surgeons. In this city, I was preparing for my PhD at the University of Edinburgh School Of Medicine, while he was training at the Royal Infirmary, one of the largest hospitals in the UK. A pedestrian route called “Meadows Walk” seperate the two institutions.

The idea of the College kept brewing in my mind at the time I was working at King Abdul-Aziz University in Saudi Arabia. Then, we started correspondence until I returned to my country and resumed activity in the Faculty of Medicine, University of Khartoum in August 2000. Prof. Abdulrahman was then the head of the Sudan Medical Specialization Board, and afterwards, we started the “Nile College Project”.

The first principle that guided us was that Nile College be founded by a group of qualified, experienced and outstanding professors, and hence, the selection process started. There were a lot of distinguished colleagues that we wished to have onboard, but they chose to work in the field of practicing medicine and surgeryover academic work or perhaps for other reasons. I think they remember when we proposed the project to them at a business dinner at Meridien Hotel near the Faculty of Medicine. Among those for example were Prof. Mirghani Sanhoury Al-Rayeh, Prof. Bashir Mohamed Osman Arbab, Prof. Bashir Hamad, Dr. Asim Zaki Mustafa and Dr Abdullahi Hag Musa. Then we presented the idea to other professors on other occasions and this was the first step (selecting the leadership of Nile College). Then, we moved to the practical steps and started to prepare the project’s feasibility study and determining its ownership via establishing a private shareholding limited liability company that we called “Nile Group for Higher Education Company”. The company was registered in the names and signatures of the group of the twelve founders FOUNDERS Page

The capital of the company was modest but then began to increase with the increasing commitments to the subsequent steps at a steady pace, during which the land was registered and the initial approval was obtained from the Department of Private and Foreign Education at the Ministry of Higher Education. After ascertaining the seriousness of the project, the final approval was granted in 2007 and we started admission of the first batch which was the result of nine years of planning and dedication.  

The group developed its vision and objectives along with the implementation strategy in two directions: the first is the College’s spatial presence and the second is scientific planning. In the first direction, it was agreed that the College will not be located in temporary or rented buildings in compliance with the vision and mission that we have committed to. 

 

Nile College Vision  

We seek to establish a leading university committed to quality in education, services and community development through good management, provision of resources, commitment to values and respect for cultural diversity. 

Nile College Mission 

• Improving the administration in the provision of educational programs and services.
• Contribute to the development of society through the principles of social responsibility.
• Providing world-class educational programs.
• Providing educational experiences aimed at personal and professional development.
• Preserving the values of society and cultural diversity.

Regarding the first direction, Allah has dedicated to us a young man nominated by Prof. Abdulrahman Eltayeb. He was accepted being a descendant of a noble family and who is specialized in dentistry. That young man’s name is Dr. Emad Mahmoud Al Imeiri. Through Dr. Emad’s efforts, it was agreed with the Medical Services Development Fund to utilize the building of Omdurman Academy of Medical Sciences under an agreement that was hoped to end in partnership. But the Fund demanded retrieval of the building and it was evacuated by Nile College after nearly two and a half years. The group had already started construction of a building on the land that had been registered in East Nile locality.

As to the second direction, the group identified the programs that we had presented to the Ministry of Higher Education from among about thirty potential programs. Four programs were selected “three bachelor degrees and one university diploma”. At that time, diplomas were among the priorities of the Ministry of Higher Education policy. I remember that the Ministry’s committee that we met and discussed the project with recommended the inclusion of some diplomas in our programs. We envisioned that the diploma of Medical Information Systems, would fill a gap that the medical field in both its practical and academic parts needed, especially in the various departments that apply information technology in the management of health and educational.

This stage was followed by the development of educational plans in the proposed programs. I remember that the meetings were held at the home of Professor Ahmed Mohamed Alhassan, who is considered by this group to be an example in knowledge and ethics.

For the medical curriculum, the group adopted the principle of integration and overlapped teaching of courses and scientific disciplines at the basic science stage. The committee was convinced that the application of the principles of curriculum building meets the needs of the outcome-based curriculum while guaranteeing at the same time the validity of the results of the examinations at all stages. To ensure that, part of the clinical sciences were included at the basic medical sciences stage, other detailed parts were left for the clinical stage, for students to learn during their clinical training. On the other hand, definitive tests were to be carried out separately during the stages of clinical training.

A fellow collegue from faculty of Science U of K heard about our project and seemed enthusiastic about it. He offered me in several meetings in my home where I was preparing the project’s initial documents, to acquire a suitable plot of land near the international exhibition – and to obtain funding from one of the companies that he has a good relationship with its owners – and I asked him during these visits to outline the course that he believes the university should follow and to undertake the steps regarding obtaining financing and the plot of land. None of that happened despite the continuing visits and discussion. Finally, a meeting was held in my office at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Khartoum with colleagues in the natural sciences gathered by my friend. But, the meeting did not result in anything as some of them were reserved about the establishment of private universities and about other things related to funding and obstacles to such a project. As such, it was clear to me that this group cannot be relied upon in the establishment of the future university. So, I made a suggestion to them that was actually a test of their seriousness, which was that each of them has to envision the faculty that they wanted the university to include, each in their own specialization, as well as the formation of the team that would complete the planning of the faculty. I promised the group that I would assemble a team for the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences and develop its curriculum– That was the last thing I heard from this group. they did not present the prospective projects for the faculties]. This part is necessary – however not important – in order that no one will claim to be among the founders of the university.

The medical group began to work diligently to attract faculty and administration members and to complete the requirements of laboratories, lecture halls and offices in the aforementioned building which is designed for educational purposes. By that time, the College buildings project had begun and its first stages were about to be completed.

When the College buildings were settled, the strategy of horizontal and vertical expansion was developed and we started the project of programs expansion. The group started the first programs of horizontal expansion, which is the planning of pharmacy and dentistry programs and the business management and accounting program. That was in the second year, after study had started in the programs submitted to and approved by the Department of Private and Foreign Education. But Allah’s will happen, as it occurred in this period that establishing a medical college at the University of Karari was thought of. And after a visit from some senior officials (headed by Mamoun Mohamed, Ali Humaida representing the Ministry of Higher Education and Abdulrahim Mohamed Hussein representing the Medical Services Development Fund in 2010), it was decided that the buildings of the Academy of Medical Sciences of the National Medical Services Development Fund will not be able to accommodate the new college with the presence of Nile College. We were ordered to evacuate the building within three months – and to consider the past period as a rent randomly estimated without negotiation with the Fund’s officials above. This development posed a major challenge to the Nile Group. And, the efforts exerted by all concerned were well appreciated, till Allah blessed us with the ability to repay these unexpected debts. The most important challenge was how to behave regarding these young students – two batches in four programs and with only a few months left before the final tests? That also coincided with the reception of new batches at the beginning of the academic year.

These overlaps caused the disruption of the expansion programs above, despite having all the necessary documents, we did not start recruiting faculty members until the College buildings were completed. Finally, the new pharmacy and dental programs were launched in 2011, followed by the Management Sciences program, including the Bachelor of Accounting in 2012.

Termination of the agreement with the Health Services Development Fund came to an end six months before it was possible to move to the new building. At the time, we had two batches of students registered in four programs. In particular, we would like to thank Al Mughtaribeen University, headed by Professor Hassan Abu Aisha, who hosted these two batches from November 2010 to June 2011. In addition, “Brain Power Center” hosted the College Administration during this period through, thanks to the efforts of Dr. Ali Al-Zayat and Dr. Emad Mahmoud Al-Emeiri and Dr. Abd El Moneim Sahal El Mardi.

After this confusion, Nile College started in its new headquarters in June 2012. During the seven years that followed, the College witnessed a steady growth evidenced by the increasing numbers of students, the diverse programs, and the enrollment of considerable number of faculty members, especially because of the quality performance, the refined treatment, and the academic atmosphere that provides them with a conducive work environment. This is manifest in those who remained in the program for long periods of time, performing their work with all sincerity and creativity, besides those who joined later and who appreciate the quality of the academic and administrative atmosphere. We attribute all this to Allah and the efforts of those in charge of the College, irrespective of how important their role is. 

The History for each program

Medicine and Surgery Program

The curriculum was developed by a group of professors headed by Prof. Ahmed Mohamed Alhassan, including Prof. Mohamed Yousif Sukkar, Prof. Abdelrahman Mohamed Musa, Prof. Salah Ahmed Mohamed Ahmed, Prof. Zain El Abdin Karrar, Prof. Abd EL Latif Ashmeeq, Prof. Hassan Sayed Ahmed and Prof. Abd El Raouf Ahmed Sharfi. This Committee conceptualized the Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery curriculum and adopted the principle of horizontal and vertical integration of the curriculum, taking into account the quality of students enrolled in the program and the reality of applicability. Based on this principle, the Spiral Curriculum model was adopted.

A Short Overview of the Design and Implementation of the Main Building

After long sessions with the architects, among whom are brothers Faisal and Kamal Yousif Sukkar, the architectural maps of the main building were agreed upon, and I greatly appreciate their opinion and effort. Professor Salah Ahmed El Faki and myself took those maps to an engineering office (Engineer Mohamed Ali Al-Amin) who completed the civil engineering work and approved the maps. The same office carried out the implementation after obtaining funding from the Sudanese Real Estate Bank (here again Dr Imeiri was highly effective) and the work was completed in about a year and a half. 

We are now in 2019. In October of the last year, we applied for the upgrading of Nile College to the “Nile University” and the evaluation procedures and visits of specialized teams began, the last of which was on 19/12/2018. After some correspondence between the Private Education Department and Nile College, the final report was filed due to the events the country went through after the fall of the former government. This resulted in the absence of a Minister of Higher Education for quite a long time. But finally in July 2019, the undersecretaries were assigned to assume the functions of the minister. Thus, the report of the evaluation committee was presented to the Committee on Private and Foreign Education on 26/06/2019, and thanks Allah, it was approved and Nile College was upgraded to “Nile University”. 

In conclusion of this documentation, we must register the names of all those who prepared the reports and statistics included in the documents required for promotion.

 

Names of those who prepared the reports and statistics for Nile College upgrade to Nile University:

College followed a regular approach in the preparation of reports as stated in the Regulation for the Promotion of Universities – Attachment (1) of the Promotion Preparation Committee and Proceedings of the successful meetings.

A password-protected link is attached. Report of the Nile College pursuant to which the College was upgraded to a university.