British website trains medical students from Syria

A British website is helping Syrian medical students to become doctors by providing the necessary training and information online. The online healthcare training platform works by connecting students to tutors and academics who are based in the UK.

SyriaScholar was founded in 2015 by two British medical students, brothers Kinan and Louwai Muhammed, both of whom were born to Syrian parents in the UK.

Digital learning

The digital platform provides tutoring from academics for medical students based in Syria. The brothers said they believe that Britain has one of the best healthcare and education systems in the world. As a way of giving back to the community, they decided to open an online platform that allows them and others to share their knowledge.  

SyriaScholar is based on the Oxbridge tutorial system, and allows small groups of students to have one-to-one interaction with tutors. The website was created on open-source software and offers video conferencing, which lets the site conduct two-way tutorials and upload PowerPoint presentations that medical students can refer to during the tutorials. All online programmes are recorded for students, who can access their lessons at any time.

Growth

The site enrolled its first student member through friends and relatives. Today, it is working with two medical universities in Syria; one is located in the city of Qadmus and the other in Latakia.

The brothers said that in the near future they hope SyriaScholar’s online tutorial system will be available for medical students studying in Damascus University.