Thumbay Group has broken ground on what it describes as the UAE’s first private veterinary teaching hospital and college, with a ceremony held at Thumbay Medicity in Ajman on 19 May 2026. Sheikh Ammar bin Humaid Al Nuaimi, Crown Prince of the Emirate of Ajman and Chairman of the Ajman Executive Council attended as chief guest alongside Thumbay Group Founder & President Dr. Thumbay Moideen.
The development brings together Thumbay Veterinary Hospital and Thumbay College of Veterinary Medicine on a single campus. The hospital will cover small animal care – dogs, cats, and exotic pets – as well as large animals including horses, camels, and livestock, with dedicated wings for surgery, diagnostic imaging, intensive care, laboratory, and isolation. A teaching farm with stables, livestock pens, and field facilities is planned as a subsequent phase.
The college sits under Gulf Medical University (GMU), Thumbay Group’s academic arm. Its flagship programme is a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) degree, with a curriculum designed around clinical exposure from the first year and research calibrated to regional species and conditions. Graduates are intended to enter companion animal practice, equine and large animal medicine, food-producing livestock, wildlife, and public health roles. Additional short-term and specialist programmes are planned.
“When we started Thumbay nearly three decades ago, the goal was simple – bring world-class healthcare and education to the UAE so families would not have to look elsewhere. Today we extend that promise to the animals who share our homes, our farms, and our heritage. Thumbay Veterinary Hospital will deliver the same standard of care our human hospitals are known for. The college will give our students a UAE- based pathway into a profession the region urgently needs. The farm will follow soon, completing a true teaching environment from clinic to field,” Dr. Thumbay Moideen, Founder President of Thumbay Group said in a statement.
“A veterinary education is only as strong as the cases students learn from. By co- locating the hospital, the college, and a working farm, we are giving every student a learning environment that few institutions globally can match. Our curriculum is built around clinical exposure from year one, evidence-based practice, and research that responds to the realities of this region – desert species, working animals, food- producing livestock and companion animals so beloved by UAE families,” Prof. Manda Venkataramana, Chancellor of Gulf Medical University added.
The college has established a network of clinical and academic partners to provide student rotations. These include the Royal Veterinary College in London, Sharjah Equine Hospital, Sharjah Falcon Hospital, UAQ Camel Breeding Centre, Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Veterinary Education and Research, Don State University in Russia, and City Vet Hospital Groups, among others.
Until now, the UAE’s advanced veterinary care and formal veterinary education have largely depended on public institutions or overseas study. The Thumbay development, if it delivers as planned, would give the country a private, clinically integrated pathway for training vets domestically.
