Al Resala students with school partners and job-shadow hosts
Al Resala Independent Secondary School for Girls honoured its business partners, job shadow hosts, and participating students at an awards ceremony, which was the culmination of a pilot project developed and conducted by Halimah Ali al-Qadi at the school during the last term of the 2010-11 school year.
This pilot project contributes to the achievement of both the school’s vision/mission and Qatar’s National Vision 2030 (QNV 2030).  The school’s vision is to be a model educational institution based on the respect for diversity and the nurturing of the individual in service to the wider community.  The main goal of the pilot project was to facilitate the development of self-motivated, secondary school graduates with problem-solving skills and practical business experience. The actualisation of a one-day job shadow programme laid the groundwork for development of a variety of work-based learning programmes and customised educational partnerships between the school and its various business partners.
Al Resala School established long-term, mutually-beneficial partnerships with 13 local businesses/organisations, including Al Jaber Electro-Mechanical Company, Al Jaber Trading and Contracting Company, Al Jazeera Children’s Channel, Al Sulaiti Law Firm, Arab Engineering Bureau, CICO Consulting Engineers & Architects, Doha Zoo, Hamad Medical Corporation, Msheireb Properties, RasGas, Stars of Science, Turner International Middle East-Qatar, and the United Nations Human Rights Training and Documentation Centre. Twelve of these Partners in Education hosted 35 job shadow students for a one-day, work-based learning experience.
Students at Al Resala School expressed interest in a wide spectrum of careers ranging from media, business, law, and politics to medicine, various types of engineering, and architecture and design.  Student interests were matched with professionals working in the various fields who acted as hosts during the one-day job shadow experience.  The job shadow programme was a learning experience for both students and hosts. 
Feedback from hosts included many statements like that provided by Amna al-Mannai of Msheireb Properties who said: “What impressed me the most was the student’s passion for interior design, especially lighting.” Students also discovered new things about themselves. 
Results of analysis from student handbooks and both student and host evaluations indicate that, through job shadowing, students made connections between their school curriculum and the knowledge and skills necessary for successful employment.  Furthermore, they gained insight into prospective careers which, in turn, stimulated student self-motivation and goal setting — leading to active student engagement with and ownership of their education.