Qatar Museums (QM) chairperson HE Sheikha Mayassa bint Hamad al-Thani recently addressed the Academic Committee (AC), which consists of school principals of government, private, and international schools, and the leadership and area experts from the Ministry of Education and Higher Education.
AC is a platform designed to enable better communication and collaboration between museums, various other institutions that offer informal learning opportunities, the Ministry of Education and Higher Education (MoEHE), and government, private, and community schools in Qatar, a statement said Monday.
Present at the meeting was Maha al-Rowaili, Assistant Undersecretary for Educational Affairs at the MoEHE, who has actively supported the work of the Committee since its inception in 2021. Some 70 school principals are members of the committee that convenes four times a year to share knowledge and expertise in the education field. The membership is open to other interested school principals as well to join and enrich their schools’ curriculum through their association with AC’s initiatives.
Dr Jelena Trkulja, senior advisor for Academic and Cultural Affairs at QM, said: “Academic Committee is a platform established by HE Sheikha Al-Mayassa bint Hamad al-Thani, chairperson of Qatar Museums. Her vision: to extend learning beyond classroom walls, into our museums, exhibition galleries, cultural and natural heritage sites. At the Academic Committee we work together towards this goal. We bring together school principals, academic leaders, and museum experts to revolutionise the way our children learn.
In her opening address, HE Sheikha Al Mayassa thanked the committee for their time, and said: “Museums play a vital role to share stories, history and culture for people of all ages, but especially for those in formal education. That’s why Qatar Museums is committed to supporting schools by providing the resources they need to enhance student’s learning and education across the areas of art, culture, heritage and history, as well as through our special Qatar Creates programming. We look forward to working together to enhance learning opportunities for our communities.”
Members of AC collaborate on a major educational initiative—Curriculum Alignment Project (CAP) – that aims to align museum collections with the school curricula. Additionally, AC serves as a communication platform. Various museums, QM departments and other institutions, such as the Doha Film Institute, announced numerous learning opportunities that will be available to schools during this academic year.
Among the speakers were Nehad Ahmed, an international education consultant with the MoEHE, with more than 25 years of experience in educational leadership. A key member of AC’s Peer Review Committee that is overseeing CAP, she said: “Working together in AC we have created over 120 lesson plans related to Qatar’s history, culture and natural environment. The first year of our work is nearly completed and these learning resources will soon be available on QM’s website. We are now beginning phase 2 of the project: this year we will look at museum resources related to Islamic art, civilisation and history and create a new set of lesson plans.
“AC encourages schools to take advantage of the amazing collections that are at their fingertips. The lesson plans we created are there to bridge classroom instruction and hands-on, object-based learning, and stimulate curiosity and passion for learning.”
Vanessa Whay, principal of the Durham School for Girls, added: “We advocate for interactive and participatory learning approach encouraging all children to actively engage in projects that benefit their community and society. It is essential for schools to acknowledge the tremendous advantages of taking their students to the numerous museums and cultural institutions found in Qatar and the Gulf region.
The collections of the Museum of Islamic Art and Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art offer incredible opportunities for learning about by studying firsthand the masterpieces of Islamic art and civilisation.
Other museums under the QM umbrella: 3-2-1 Qatar Olympic and Sports Museum, Dadu: Children’s Museum of Qatar and the future Lusail Museum, Qatar Auto Museum, and Art Mill Museum, contain similarly impressive collections and organise activities that enrich learning outside classroom.
