The department of chemical engineering at Qatar University (QU), in collaboration with Qatar Shell, invited chemical engineering students to discuss the significant contribution of women to the development and progress of industry and to foster the spirit of loyalty among the faculty, current and former students.
The Al Majlis event provided an opportunity for the department to engage its students and former students and to gain valuable feedback on the current status of the department and ways in which the programme could be improved.
More than 60 attendees including Dr Rashid al-Ammari, dean of the college, were present at the panel discussion. The focus of the discussion was on QU’s chemical engineering programme as well as how the course can be improved to prepare women for successful careers in the industry.
Maryam al-Mesaifri, senior chemical engineer, the Ministry of Environment; Aysha al-Mohannadi, project engineer, RasGas; and Aida Rafat, research engineer, Global Water Sustainability Centre, ConocoPhillips; shared their experiences of women working in the industry.
Welcoming remarks were made by department head Professor Ramazan Kahraman and Nisrine Al-Kadi, subsurface team leader at Qatar Shell and president of Qatar Shell Women’s Association
Network (QSWAN).
Sharing her insights as a woman engineer at Shell, al-Kadi said, “The support of international oil companies, like Qatar Shell, has been at the forefront of ensuring women have the guidance and mentorship they require to succeed in this competitive industry.”
Through networks and initiatives such as QSWAN, Qatar Shell aims to facilitate dialogue between senior leadership and female employees on the concepts of gender equality and diversity, helping in the development of a more gender diverse and inclusive workplace. The network creates a solid foundation and builds a community where women can develop, grow, feel supported and achieve their goals.
Qatar Shell has a significant number of female employees including a large number of young Qatari graduates and adopts different strategies and programmes to keep women engaged on topics that help in their training and development. These include the Women Career Development Programme which enables women to take the lead in planning a successful career path by consulting with other high-achieving Shell women; and the Senior Women Connect Programme, which focuses on building executive presence and helping female employees become skilled networkers both inside and outside of Qatar Shell.
The participants of the Al Majlis programme.
