RIYADH-Med Times is the official annual magazine publication of the College of Medicine (CoM) at Alfaisal University in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. It is a simple story of excellence; exemplifying how a medical journey can go beyond just textbooks.
Med Times was founded at Alfaisal as a creative outlet for the CoM back in 2009. Ever since, it has grown to become an all-inclusive magazine covering a broad range of topics from interviews to personal and professional guidance, whilst showcasing Alfaisal students, alumni, and faculty in a fresh new light each year.
In recent times, the Med Times 2021-2022 team was headed by a Sri Lankan medical intern, Dr. Zainab Ifthikar (Director) alongside a Saudi 5th year medical student, Raghad Hijazi (Vice-Director).
This year, their yearbook theme caught the eyes: “Faces of Alfaisal” with its major highlight being a special exclusive interview featuring Prince Bandar Bin Saud Bin Khalid, the esteemed secretary general of the King Faisal Foundation (KFF).
This was the first ever interview of Med Times with Prince Khalid, which shed light on the beginnings of Alfaisal University as well as the philanthropic legacy of the KFF. It goes in depth about the beauty of the lives that the KFF has transformed through its 3 pillars: faith, knowledge, and performance. The cover page shares the KFF’s motto with us: “setting trends, touching lives.”
Together with their team (comprising nearly 50 medical students!) Med Times successfully published two consecutive magazines this year. The first publication focused on diversity at their college whilst recognizing and valuing culturally diverse communities. Sinhala and Tamil, amongst 12 other languages, were also introduced to these pages for the first time. Their widely celebrated MedTimes yearbook (2022) is a 326-page publication, with special sections highlighting their acclaimed Alfaisal alumni match across the globe, the graduating class of 2022 and more.
Dr. Zainab mentions her gratitude for the immense support and guidance they received from their faculty mentor and Medical Student Association supervisor, Dr. Akef Obeidat. She also thanked their Dean of CoM, Prof. Khaled Al-Kattan for his encouragement towards the growth of the student body.
In her ending note, she passionately shared the stories of hard work and enthusiasm that were put forth by their team. On the 13th of October, Zainab and Raghad presented the magazine to HH Prince Bandar at the KFF.
