campuses run their medical programs in parallel. RCSI-Bahrain, a National University of Ireland, is top ranked of the medical schools located in Bahrain. RCSI-Bahrain has one of two nursing programmes in the country, the other being College of Health Sciences. Institution wide staff-student ratio is 1:19.4. Most of the senior medical teaching faculty members are from Ireland. As of 2015, the student body was estimated at 1,302, the majority of which were in the School of Medicine. Students belonged to more than 39 different nationalities. RCSI-Bahrain medical school shares the same curriculum and examinations with RCSI, Dublin. The Mobility Programme allows them to study in the alternate RCSI facility for a selected period (i.e. the RCSI student in Bahrain can exchange to Dublin and vice versa). RCSI-Bahrain's main teaching hospitals are the BDF Hospital, King Hamad University Hospital, Salmaniya Medical Complex, and a number of healthcare centers. The campus, located next to the newly constructed King Hamad University Hospital, can accommodate up to 2,000 students. The campus is composed of a six-story building and a $700,000-investment, 900m2 sports facility . The total investment in the campus is estimated at $65 US million. RCSI-Bahrain's architecture was designed by UK-based architect Aedas and Bahrain-based consultancy Mohammed Salahuddin. The theme is said to rely heavily on what is widely regarded as Ireland's greatest national monument, Newgrange, one of the finest examples in western Europe of the type of tomb known as a passage grave which can be dated to around 3200BC built by Stone Age farmers. Older than Stonehenge and the Great Pyramids of Giza, this World Heritage Site and this campus have many similarities including symbology and round shape. The atrium meanwhile, fills with light, much like the sun filling the passageways of Newgrange on Winter Solstice – the shortest day of the year. Celtic and Islamic motifs and drawings from the history of the two cultures are incorporated into the design of the building, for example the tented ceiling, which is reminiscent of a Bedouin tent. The obelisk, which can be seen outside the entrance, is an Arabic feature inscribed with ancient Celtic symbols from Newgrange. Obelisks have a special place in Arabic culture and were originally called “tekhenu” by the first builders, the Ancient Egyptians. Sun obelisks were built to represent the light of knowledge. The intention of the design to reflect Ireland's lengthy cultural and innovative history merged with