Tips plus a national experience for developing a smart university in medical sciences education

The increase in technological developments in recent years and its effects on university systems have compelled countries to rethink higher education structures. Due to these developments, universities of medical sciences are now faced with complex conditions that render the traditional models of higher education ineffective. In this article, the authors present twelve tips based on their experience in creating and developing a smart university (SmU) in the medical sciences. To demonstrate the applicability of these tips, they provide a national example at the end. Shifting from a traditional university to an SmU depends on developing hardware infrastructure, advanced software, and innovative technical applications and platforms. It also requires inter-professional collaboration and the formation of smart learning communities, leadership, and interaction of potential physical, human, financial, intellectual, informational, and technological resources. Additionally, it requires the planning of strategies that guarantee this transformation. Moreover, maintaining such a university requires incorporating social accountability into smart education (SmE) processes and promoting an organizational culture that supports smartization and integrating technology into higher education.