.PNG)
Office of the President
Published
27 Sep 2025
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Key Takeaways to remember:
The meeting secured a pivotal institutional endorsement for CARDIG-Jerusalem, as Professor Suhair Ereqat affirmed her full support and willingness to act as a supervisory authority from within the Medical Research Club. This backing provides CARDIG with the academic legitimacy required to transition from a student initiative into a formally recognized university body. In parallel, CARDIG formally requested an endorsement letter from the Medical Research Club to accompany its existing support from the Dean of Scientific Research, completing the final documentation needed for recognition by the Deanship of Student Affairs.
A mutual commitment to cooperation rather than competition was clearly established. CARDIG emphasized that it seeks to strengthen—not duplicate—existing research structures by sharing international ACC resources and aligning programmatic efforts with the Medical Research Club. Both parties agreed on the necessity of structured governance, ethical oversight, and coordination mechanisms to prevent overlap and ensure transparent authorship and project accountability.
With supervisory approval secured and a framework for collaboration agreed upon, CARDIG-Jerusalem now moves toward formalizing the partnership through documentation, activity mapping, and submission for university recognition.
Meeting Overview and Purpose
Jerusalem, 27 September 2025 — CARDIG-Jerusalem’s Team convened with Professor Suhair Ereqat at Al-Quds University for a strategic meeting that sought to secure academic supervision, formal endorsement, and operational alignment with the Medical Research Club. The meeting, presided over by Internal President ZainEdeen Zyadah, served multiple interlocking purposes: to introduce CARDIG’s mission and recent work to MRC leadership; to request official support needed to complete CARDIG’s recognition process at the university level; and to negotiate a structured, complementary relationship that would maximize student research opportunities while eliminating duplication of effort across student organizations.
Delegation and Institutional Representation
The meeting was attended by the core executive leadership of CARDIG-Jerusalem: Internal President ZainEdeen Zyadah, External President Salem Qupp, Cardiology Skills Officer Joyce Morcos, Cardiology Research Officer Elie Malki, and Cardiology Journal Club Officer Yaman Ayasa, together with Professor Suhair Ereqat in her capacity as supervisor of the Medical Research Club. This composition reflected a deliberate mix of governance, research, clinical skills, and external relations expertise intended to address both strategic and operational dimensions of collaboration.
Presentation of CARDIG-Jerusalem Mission
The session opened with a comprehensive presentation of CARDIG-Jerusalem’s founding mission, strategic objectives, and portfolio of activities. Internal President Zyadah provided a detailed account of the group’s educational programming, research initiatives, capacity-building workshops, and outreach efforts, situating CARDIG as a student-led platform dedicated to the promotion of cardiovascular education and research within Palestine. CARDIG’s leadership emphasized its international linkages and the tangible value these bring to campus scholarship, citing prospective exchanges and resource access with the American College of Cardiology and a global cardiology network that can provide mentorship and learning opportunities for students.
External President Salem Qupp articulated the meeting’s primary rationale: CARDIG does not seek unilateral recognition in isolation from existing student research structures, but rather seeks a supervised, complementary affiliation that strengthens institutional oversight and broadens opportunities for student researchers. CARDIG formally requested that Professor Ereqat and the Medical Research Club provide an endorsement letter to accompany CARDIG’s application for recognition by the Deanship of Student Affairs (AQU). Leadership framed this request within a broader strategy of resource sharing, offering access to international ACC research resources and networks while maintaining CARDIG’s discrete programmatic identity and emphasized that prior endorsement from Dr. Elham Alkhatib, Dean of Scientific Research, already affirms the initiative’s academic merits.
Cardiology Research Officer Elie Malki delivered a focused briefing on governance and compliance. He emphasized that any collaborative arrangement must include clear governance structures, IRB and ethical approval pathways for research activities, transparent authorship and intellectual contribution policies, and a mechanism to map and prevent overlap in student programming and journal clubs. Malki’s remarks underscored CARDIG’s commitment to institutional accountability and to adhering to the highest standards of research integrity as the partnership develops.
Official Formal Endorsement
Professor Suhair Ereqat responded affirmatively to the presentations and expressed strong support for the proposed cooperative model. She endorsed CARDIG-Jerusalem’s approach and underlined the academic value of working together to build student research capacity rather than creating parallel initiatives that fragment limited resources. Professor Ereqat’s supportive stance included a willingness to provide the institutional backing necessary for the requested endorsement letter, subject to the completion of the formal documentation that will define the scope, responsibilities, and governance protocols of the collaboration.
To whom it may concern,
I am pleased to extend my formal endorsement for the establishment and recognition of the Cardiology Interest Group of Jerusalem (CARDIG-Jerusalem).
CARDIG-Jerusalem is a student-led initiative, supervised by a cardiologist faculty member, dedicated to promoting cardiovascular education, research, and collaboration among students. Its research mission aligns closely with the goals of the Medical Research Club and the broader academic objectives of Al-Quds University.
I wish to emphasize that CARDIG-Jerusalem's research wing is designed to complement existing student research initiatives rather than duplicate them. By fostering specialized academic development, encouraging research participation, and promoting student-lea projects in cardiology, the group will enhance the research culture at the University while upholding the highest standards of professionalism, ethics, and collaboration.
Through its planned activities, including engagement with international networks and resources such as the American College of Cardiology, CARDIG-Jerusalem is well-positioned to enrich student research experience and contribute meaningfully to the University's scientific community.
To carry out their research mission effectively, CARDIG-Jerusalem has met with the MRC to ensure a seamless coordination, and productive collaboration. An MOU has been drafted to formalize this partnership; it is subject to review, modification, and final approval by both Parties.
As Supervisor of the Medical Research Club, I fully support the formal recognition of CARDIG-Jerusalem and look forward to its constructive contributions to research and academic growth at Al-Quds University.
Sincerely,
Prof. Suhair Ereqat
Supervisor, Medical Research Club
Al-Quds University
Agreed Next Steps and Action Items
The parties agreed to proceed immediately with a series of operational actions designed to translate the meeting’s commitments into durable arrangements. CARDIG leadership will draft a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that delineates the terms of cooperation, supervision responsibilities, access to shared resources, authorship expectations, and IRB pathways for student research. The Cardiology Research Officer will coordinate with the Medical Research Club to map existing journal clubs and student projects to prevent duplication and identify joint opportunities for capacity building. External President Salem Qupp will prepare and submit the formal request for the MRC endorsement letter to the Deanship of Student Affairs as part of CARDIG’s final recognition submission. In parallel, CARDIG will continue to engage with Dr. Elham Alkhatib and other university offices to ensure alignment with the university’s regulatory and academic standards.
Institutional Significance and Strategic Implications
With the Deanship’s formal support now secured, CARDIG-Jerusalem will advance its recognition dossier and continue detailed coordination with the Medical Research Club, the Scientific Research Unit and the Deanship of Scientific Research to ensure complementarity, responsible data governance and shared training programmes. The group will prioritise capacity building in statistics and research methods, will expand its journal club activities, and will develop practical pathways for students to engage in ethically supervised research. These steps are intended to translate endorsement into tangible scholarly outcomes and to build a legacy of excellence for future cohorts.
Closing Observations and Acknowledgments
The meeting concluded with expressions of mutual appreciation and a shared commitment to professional, transparent, and well-governed collaboration. CARDIG-Jerusalem expressed gratitude to Professor Ereqat for her time and willingness to provide supervisory support, and reiterated its readiness to formalize the relationship through an MOU and the requested endorsement letter. Both parties recognized that the forthcoming documentation and coordination work will be determinative for the timely completion of CARDIG’s recognition process and for the establishment of a sustainable institutional partnership that advances student-led cardiovascular research across Al-Quds University.
For further information or press enquiries, CARDIG-Jerusalem may be contacted through its Secretariat Office at secretary@cardig.me. This article is published by CARDIG-Jerusalem for the information of students, faculty and partners.
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