Harvard Medical School is made up of over 8,500 faculty representing almost every country in the world. All initiatives within DHCC will have access to these experts, and to their global network of faculty from academic institutions around the world. Relationships with 18 Harvard-affiliated hospitals and HMI's associated centers around the world offer opportunities for training and education to augment DHCC-based initiatives. In addition, Harvard can serve as a catalyst for building expert teams within DHCC.

In order to ensure that the health care providers who locate to DHCC provide quality healthcare, DHCC sought to establish quality assurance infrastructure to guide continuous improvement in healthcare delivery. The Center for Healthcare Planning & Quality (CPQ) is a joint DHCC-HMI initiative designed to provide quality management training and tools to help tenants within and outside of DHCC adapt global best practices.

HMI/HMS will develop a quality management system to ensure continuous improvement throughout DHCC. This includes setting standards for quality of care, training people within DHCC in quality management, and supporting mechanisms for monitoring these standards. HMI/HMS will establish the Harvard Medical School Dubai Center Institute for Postgraduate Education and Research.

The Harvard Medical School Dubai Center (HMSDC) Institute for Postgraduate Education and Research was established to foster the professional development of physicians, nurses, research scientists, allied health professionals, and medical educators in the Gulf region. Launched in 2004 through a joint effort by HMI and DHCC, HMSDC is part of the Government of Dubai's mission to develop DHCC into a center of excellence for health care delivery, medical education, and research.

HMSDC is currently constructing a building which will provide the DHCC community with access to:

• A 340 Seat Auditorium
• Classroom/Education Space
• The Al Maktoum Harvard Medical Library
• A state-of-the-art Medical Simulation Center

HMSDC's professional development and education programs fall into two broad categories: Continuing Professional Development (CPD), including Continuing Medical Education (CME), and postgraduate training.

HMSDC offers a wide range of CPD/CME programs open to physicians, nurses, and allied health professionals in the Gulf region. Each program is led by a multidisciplinary faculty drawn from preeminent academic medical centers around the world and local institutions. HMSDC works to ensure that each program maintains academic independence, and that course content is consistent with the principles of evidence-based medicine.

The HMSDC postgraduate training program provides selected health care professionals with opportunities to advance their knowledge and skills under the tutelage of recognized leaders in academic medicine. All trainees participate in a rigorous curriculum that has a specific focus, educational goals, and requirements. The programs are designed to provide the most comprehensive educational experience by developing the trainee's clinical skills and expertise in a specific area of clinical investigation. These programs currently take place in affiliated institutions of Harvard Medical School, with future programs to be hosted at the University Hospital (UH) and other institutions within DHCC.

HMSDC, through the Office for Research Administration (ORA), will provide DHCC with the expertise needed to establish the governance and regulatory infrastructure for conducting research involving human subjects within (DHCC. This structure will be based on international guidelines and allow DHCC to become a leading regional center for healthcare research. The DHCC Research Council and the Research Ethics Review Board (RERB) will be responsible for regulating and monitoring the conduct of clinical research studies on DHCC premises. The Office for Research Administration (ORA) will also act as a reference center for all those wishing to engage in research activities to better understand Good Clinical Practices, research bioethics and human subject protection and safety. HMSDC also plans to offer research training and certification for the Middle East region.

HMSDC is focused on providing Postgraduate Medical Education and Continuing Professional Development programs. There are no plans currently to develop a medical school to provide undergraduate medical education.

DHCC is unique because it will be an integrated community of healthcare professionals serving diverse therapeutic approaches, from acute care all the way to preventative medicine. Not only is it going to provide specialist medical services, medical education, life science, and technologically-advanced healthcare services, but also wellness services that are aimed at improving and maintaining one's health and well-being.

Any company, medical institution, or individual meeting the licensing requirements and necessary quality standards set forth by the Center for Healthcare Planning & Quality, and has interests in the healthcare field and can play a contributory role in DHCC.

DHCC will consist of several facilities comprising an academic medical center consisting of a postgraduate medical school, teaching hospital, life science research center, specialty hospitals, day clinics, out patient centers, wellness center, hotel, and shopping centers.

DHCC is different from any other projects announced in Dubai . The main focus of the project is supplying patients within the region with quality healthcare services to equal any international services to establish and maintain permanent presence  of healthcare professionals and perform research in diseases areas relevant to the region.

Business opportunities with access to real estate benefits are an added bonus of this project.

The aim is to complement the existing facilities and to provide better quality healthcare services where necessary. DHCC will be part of the U.A.E. nation-wide network of healthcare institutions. DHCC will play a major role in improving the entire healthcare system in the region. The presence of a world-class healthcare city will force other healthcare providers to raise the standards of their services.

The first phase of DHCC comprises of approximately 4.1 million square feet of land, dedicated to the Academic Medical Center and the Medical Cluster. Phase 2 of DHCC is approximately 19 million square feet in size, and will be home to the Wellness Cluster.

A nutrition center, medical spas, beauty enhancement services, sports medicine, fitness programs, and any other services that will focus on the person's well-being and the enhancement of his/her life.

Yes, as long as certain criteria are met in order to maintain high quality healthcare provision. All criteria set by the CPQ will have to be met for any organization or healthcare professional to practice at DHCC.

The medical school is the Harvard Medical School Dubai Center, which is more than an affiliation with HMS. For the first time in the history of HMS, an institution focusing on postgraduate medical education has been established outside of the United States.

DHCC is not a federal entity, however it is a government of Dubai supported project, and the region's first healthcare freezone.

DHCC will work very closely with the MOH & DOH in improving the overall healthcare system in the region and facilitating the delivery of healthcare to patients within DHCC.

DHCC is the region's first healthcare free-zone, and therefore all free-zone benefits such as 100% ownership of land and clinic space apply.

No they haven't since DHCC is a government entity. Tenders will be open for contractors and these will be announced at appropriate times.

The project size in terms of Capital Expenditure is expected to be about AED 1.8 billion.

DHCC will only allow activities related to healthcare-related facilities.

A shareholder is only entitled to a residence visa under that business partner's trade license if he is an "employee" of the company. There is no such thing as an "Owner Visa" and all individuals residing in the UAE are sponsored as employees.

The age limitation generally for processing of residence visas at the Immigration Directorate is a maximum of 60 years of age, where a residence visa is required. Shareholders and Directors not resident in the UAE are of course not required to have residence visas.

Companies registered in the free zone do not have to register with the Dubai Economic Department ("DED") or the Dubai Municipality ("DM").

For an FZ-LLC to open a branch in another jurisdiction, this would be an issue determined by the requirements of that other jurisdiction concerning the registration of branches. The Registration & Licensing Directorate at DHCC can issue notarized copies of a FZ-LLC's constituent documentation and certificates indicating that the FZ-LLC is in good standing and fully paid. These documents and letters would be charged for. There is no restriction as such on a FZ-LLLC opening a branch elsewhere.

Upon receipt of all required documentation by the One Stop Shop and the payment of all relevant fees and costs by the registering business partner, it should not take any more than 48 hours to issue the trade license and incorporate a FZ-LLC

The company itself issues the shares to its shareholders on incorporation. Shareholders on incorporation are usually referred to as "Subscribers" and under the Memorandum of Association of a FZ-LLC (effectively the constitution of the FZ-LLC) those named subscribers agree to take a certain amount of shares. Those shares are then known as "Issued" shares and the shareholder must pay the company for those shares. Actual share certificates are attested by the Registrar (and stamped to be authenticated as such) for issued and paid shares only.

There are no financial, legal or tax implications for using a branch office of a foreign company over a FZ-LLC or vice-versa, while operating in the DHCC Zone. All businesses operating in the DHCC Zone benefit from the 50 year tax holiday granted under Law No. 1 of 2003 irrespective of whether they are incorporated as an FZ-LLC or registered as a branch of a foreign company. Please note that a branch of a foreign company incorporated in a high tax jurisdiction may still have to consolidate its profits with its parent and pay tax on its profits in the country of incorporation of the parent.

Copyrights and patents may be registered under the UAE Federal Law. Interested business partners should contact lawyers working in Dubai for further information.

As per UAE Federal Law.

Trademarks and service markets may be registered under the UAE Federal Law. Interested business partners should contact lawyers working in Dubai for further information.

Yes, an FZ-LLC incorporated company in DHCC could open a branch in Dubai, elsewhere in the UAE or in other countries providing it complies with the requirements in those other jurisdictions.

There is a 50 year "tax holiday" for businesses operating in the TECOM Zone provided by the Government of Dubai under Article 15 of Law No. 1 of 2003 of the Emirate of Dubai.

DHCC business partners bringing plant and equipment in from overseas to DHCC Zone for use by them by them in the DHCC Zone may import these goods into the UAE free from customs duty. This allowance is on the basis that the plant and equipment does not leave the DHCC Zone. Where goods brought in by business partners to the DHCC Zone from overseas are subsequently "re-exported" to Dubai, then customs duty is payable on those goods at the time of re-export to Dubai. The business partner shall notify DHCC-One Stop Shop to approve in any import or export activities.

A business partner cannot sell goods on a commercial or retail basis in the free zone except, obviously, for actual retail tenants. A business partner may import plant and equipment for its own use in the free zone, but in the event those goods are sent from the free zone into Dubai generally, then import duty is payable on the value of those goods. To import goods into the UAE proper, the importer must be a duly licensed business in one of the Emirates. Where a business partner wishes to import and "sell" products or equipment to a third party based in Dubai or elsewhere in the UAE, then the third party would have to be the consignee on the shipping documents (Airway Bill / Bill of Lading). For any import or export required, the business partner must contact DHCC-One Stop Shop.

Business partners based in the DHCC Zone can certainly run their marketing and sales operations for the region from here and invoice from here. DHCC-One Stop Shop must be notified for any trade transaction occurring inside or outside the zone.

A trade license in the DHCC Zone is AED 20,000 plus 3,500 incorporation fees for a variety of reasons. It is not directly relevant to compare this to the cost of a trade license issued in Dubai by the DED. For example, foreign nationals cannot generally "own" businesses in Dubai and must have a UAE national partner, sponsor or majority shareholder. Further, the cost of a trade license in Dubai varies considerably and AED 4,000 is about the cheapest and is only available for certain categories. Other categories of trade licenses cost much more than AED 20,000.

The capacity for DHCC businesses to obtain visit visas through the free zone is considerably better than compared with the situation in Dubai generally. There are also additional service charges costs to be taken into account.

Generally speaking, Abu Dhabi only recognizes a DHCC trade license in the same way that it recognizes a trade license from a foreign jurisdiction. To operate physically in Abu Dhabi you would otherwise require compliance with Abu Dhabi Municipality regulations.

There is no current applicable law in the UAE wherein a person can get permanent residence in the UAE because they have lived in the UAE for a number of years. All persons apart from UAE nationals and other GCC nationals require a renewable residence permit to reside and work in the UAE.

No, you can only have a branch office or representative company for such business.

No, DHCC cannot waive any banned issued by other governmental body.