An impressive display of triumph and achievement

An impressive display of triumph and achievementQatar is now recognised as a major education centre in the region with a number of premier foreign universities having their branch campuses and the government stepping up its support to research and innovation. It was an impressive display of triumph and achievement when 437 graduates from Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development (QF), came together the other day at Convocation 2013 to celebrate their commitment to lifelong learning. The ceremony, which was held at Qatar National Convention Centre (QNCC) under the patronage of HH Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, chairperson of QF, demonstrates the nation’s innovative approach to developing a knowledge-based economy.  Convocation 2013 reflects Qatar’s belief in its youth as the most sustainable vehicle for its advancement. HH Sheikha Moza, at the convocation ceremony, re-asserted the mission of QF and Hamad bin Khalifa University (HBKU), to provide an environment that nurtures innovation and excellence, one which enables students to excel in multiple fields of study and emerge as confident graduates fully prepared to take an active role in the building of a prosperous knowledge-based society.Sheikha Moza also used the occasion to announce that QF students will soon be able to read majors at one university whilst taking on a minor at another. The first cross-registration will be an undergraduate degree in Journalism and Political Sciences at Northwestern University in Qatar (NU-Q) and Georgetown University - School of Foreign Service in Qatar (SFS-Qatar). In another initiative, three new degrees are being introduced within Hamad bin Khalifa University: an Executive Masters in Energy and Resources, a Masters in Library and Information Studies, and an Academic Research and Methods certificate programme.These new measures will further develop and strengthen Qatar Foundation’s profile as a major education provider in the Middle East.Sheikha Moza urged the fresh graduates to stay abreast of developments across the world and to maintain the spirit of excellence and achievement throughout their careers.Over the past decade, a total of 1,273 graduates have received degrees in various disciplines from universities based in QF. There has been a year-on-year increase in the number of QF graduates, from 122 in 2008 to 191 in 2009, 200 in 2010, 245 in 2011, and 373 last year. This year, 35 doctors graduate from Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar (WCMC-Q) and 115 engineers from Texas A&M University at Qatar (TAMUQ), alongside 44 Masters of Business Administration from HEC Paris in Qatar.In addition, 33 students looking forward to careers in the media are graduating from Northwestern University in Qatar (NU-Q), alongside 81 graduates from Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar (CMU-Q), 43 from Georgetown University – School of Foreign Service in Qatar (SFS-Qatar), 42 from the Qatar Faculty of Islamic Studies (QFIS) and 44 from Virginia Commonwealth University in Qatar (VCU Qatar).