College of the North Atlantic - Qatar (CNA-Q) has partnered with Oryx GTL in honouring the highest achieving graduates of the Class of 2015 during a gala celebration.
A total of 30 students, who received the highest marks in their individual programmes, were presented with the President’s Medal of Excellence by Dr Ken MacLeod, president of CNA-Q;  Sami al-Shammari, acting chief administrative officer at Oryx GTL; and Shawna Garrett, registrar.
This is the third year that CNA-Q has presented the President’s Medal of Excellence to graduates and the second year that Oryx GTL has partnered in the event.
The sponsorship forms part the company’s corporate social responsibility programme, which aims to promote and celebrate excellence in education. Corporate partnerships have been a mainstay at CNA-Q since 2002, with more than 60% of students sponsored by local organisations and ministries.  
“We have a track record of working with partners in Qatar to foster what we call a ‘culture of collaboration’ where industries and academic institutions exchange knowledge and engage minds in a stimulating, technical and intellectual environment,” al-Shammari said.
“We share a common commitment to Qatar National Vision 2030 and national efforts to establish the country as a hub for knowledge and scientific research. The awarded students have clearly demonstrated that Qatar has the talent to realise these ambitions.”
The 2015 President’s Medal winners represented nine countries – Qatar, Bangladesh, India, Iran, Jordan, Morocco, Pakistan, the Philippines and Syria – and those sponsored represented Qatar Petroleum, Qatar Vinyl Co, RasGas, Sidra Medical and Research Center and Hamad Medical Corporation.
In addition to the medals, four Distinguished Graduate awards were presented to students who not only exemplified academic excellence but also excelled
in extracurricular activities.
The 30 President’s Medal recipients will join 450 of their fellow students on June 15 for the 11th CNA-Q Graduation Ceremony. The 480 graduates will join 143 technician preparatory students who received their certificates in March, as the CNA-Q Class of 2015.