President of the Community College of Qatar (CCQ) Dr Ibrahim bin Saleh al-Nuaimi has affirmed the Cabinet’s approval of a draft Emiri decree to reorganise the college to place it at the forefront of higher education institutions in the State with the opening of new disciplines to serve the labour market by granting a bachelor’s degree.
In this context, Dr al-Nuaimi praised Qatar’s great interest - under the wise leadership of His Highness the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani - in education and the sponsorship of the CCQ, which has already made it a college that serves the community and is concerned with the human development, one of the pillars of Qatar National Vision 2030.
Speaking to Qatar News Agency (QNA), Dr al-Nuaimi revealed that the college will put some of the decisions in principle in its new branch in Al Khor, which receives students starting from October 22, and added that it wants Al Khor experience to succeed in excellence, calling at the same time the students from northern area to join this branch as it is near their residential areas.
He explained in this regard that 1,800 students attending the college are from the northern regions of the State.
He said that apart from Al Khor a plot of land was allocated for the establishment of another branch in Al Wakrah, which is in the design stage. The college is also considering the establishment of a third branch at Al Sheehaniya.
Dr al-Nuaimi noted that the college is now in a different situation from what it was in 2010: there are now five buildings serving students separately, more programmes and disciplines and the number of male and female students has increased from 900 to about 4,500 now, besides the allocation of a plot of land at Al Mazruaa area to establish the college’s main management building.
He said that the college’s programmes and disciplines have increased significantly. Besides offering the diploma programme in arts and sciences, it is also offering programmes at the level of bachelor’s degree in engineering, general administration and information systems, as well as joint programmes for these two levels, as in the case of public administration of personnel in different sectors of the State.
The college constantly offers each year a programme or two in new disciplines serving the community at the level of diploma or bachelor, he added.
He noted that the college has many cultural, scientific, vocational, technical and applied programmes and activities.
It aims to prepare specialised technical cadres trained in academic and practical fields that meet the needs of the community and the labour market.
Dr al-Nuaimi said that the college has a programme with an Australian Border Management University that is complementary to a programme launched with the General Customs Authority for high-level outputs in the customs sector.
The college has previously signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the General Customs Authority and the Customs and Tax Studies Centre at Charles Sturt University in Australia, to provide customs-related educational services and technical and research assistance.
In addition, Dr al-Nuaimi noted that the college also has a programme of arts in co-operation with the Ministry of Culture and Sports and another for Health Information Systems, one of the scholarship programmes for the Ministry of Administrative Development, Labour and Social Affairs.
And then the “Teacher Assistance” programme which is held in partnership with the Ministry of Education and Higher Education, and the minimum requirements for admission is to obtain a high school certificate, that besides the diploma programme of logistics and supply management, pointing out that the college is keen that its programmes do not conflict with what already exists at Qatar University to prevent repetition and duplication.
On the possibility of the college granting postgraduate degrees in the master’s or doctorate, Dr al-Nuaimi noted that these programmes are available at the Qatar University, the Education City and the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies, but he saw in this regard the importance of diversification and accumulation of experiences.
On whether it is an academic, vocational or practical college, Dr al-Nuaimi said it is primarily an academic college, but it offers programmes in applied sciences up to 10% at the bachelor’s and diploma level, noting that 50% of the teaching staff are under the sponsorship of the college and the rest are assigned from several quarters in the State with various disciplines and according to specific controls.
Dr al-Nuaimi underlined the importance of continuous training for students at the bachelor’s or diploma level as well as for the teaching staff to serve the labour market in areas of languages, public administration, technical specialities, health information, etc., attending and participating in various seminars and events inside or outside the country, or inviting experts and specialists to come to Qatar to this end, noting the partnership of the college and the private sector and other state institutions in this important vital area.
The CCQ president stressed that the college is inspired by the spirit of the speech delivered by His Highness the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani to the citizens and residents on July 21, as a roadmap for future options and how to deal with them, especially with the challenges imposed by the current circumstances, making imperative for everyone in various educational institutions and others to adhere to diligence, creativity, thinking and self-reliance, for scientific initiatives in all disciplines required by the State, away from laziness and dependency.
He said that the college follows the policy of open admission for every Qatari who holds high school, government, commercial or industrial secondary school certificate at any rate and for any year.
He called on students to make the most of the golden educational opportunities provided by the State to them, in order to serve their country by providing the required competencies and benefiting their society and themselves.
At the same time, he called on government and private institutions to put forward programmes according to their desire to develop their cadres and provide them with the necessary skills in their fields of work, stressing that the college will do everything necessary to implement the strategic plans in this area.
On whether admission is limited to Qataris only or others, Dr al-Nuaimi said that the college regulations do not limit the admission process to Qatari students, explaining that the space capacity the college started with would not allow it to accept more than its potential, but he expressed the hope that in the future, the college will have the opportunity to accept non-Qatari students.
On Qatari students affected by the siege imposed on Qatar, Dr al-Nuaimi said that there was a co-ordination between the college, Qatar University, the Ministry of Education and Higher Education, Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Hamad Medical Corporation and the Committee for Receiving Complaints and Grievances to find suitable solutions for them.
He called on those students, who are about 350 students, not to despair and to feel frustrated as the all concerned parties in the State are keen to solve their problems and provide opportunities for them to continue their education.
Dr al-Nuaimi also highlighted the college’s care for students with special needs, learning difficulties and various types of disabilities.
He said that the college provides them with everything that help them to easily receive the knowledge with assistance of professional supervisors to help them.
The Community College of Qatar, in collaboration with Houston Community College, opened its doors for the first time in September 2010 with an enrolment of 308 full-time students at the West Bay Campus.
Ever since, the college has seen an increase in enrolment every semester.
Today, CCQ is the fastest growing institution in Qatar with an enrolment of 4,300 students at four different campuses.
The college offers a number of associate and bachelor degree programmes that meet the needs of the labour force in Qatar.
Among them are two-year Associate of Arts and Associate of Science degree programmes for students wishing to transfer to four-year universities, high demand 2+2 associate and bachelor’s degree programmes and two-year Associate of Applied Arts and Applied Science degree programmes.
CCQ also offers short-term continuing education and marketable skills certificates for those who wish to upgrade their knowledge and skills to become more marketable in the job market.
In addition, the college has partnered with a number of local and international four-year universities in order to provide students with the opportunity to seamlessly transfer to a university to obtain a bachelor’s degree without losing the validation for any of their coursework.




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