By Joseph Varghese/Staff Reporter


Texas A&M University at Qatar (TAMUQ) will focus on enrolling more Qatari nationals for its undergraduate and graduate programmes in the coming years, said dean and CEO of the university Dr Mark Weichold.
He also said the university will hereafter focus more on research programmes that are suitable for the country and the region.
Speaking to Gulf Times, Dr Weichold said the university has completed a successful decade in Qatar. “We had two graduates for our first convocation programme, which has increased to more than 400 so far. The undergraduate programmes are running at full capacity and we will not be able to accommodate more than the present strength,” he said, adding that the university had no plans to add any more undergraduate programmes for the time being.
The TAMUQ dean said the university was in the process of renewing the contract with Qatar Foundation. “We initially had a 10-year contract with Qatar Foundation. Now that we have successfully completed the first decade, we anticipate entering into a contract with Qatar Foundation for another 10 years,” he explained.
The university official observed that the second phase of the university was crucial for Qatar. “Our approach hereafter will be more or less the same, with some changes. We will try to admit more Qatari students in our programmes. At present, our intake of Qatari students is about 50%. We want the number to go up and reach about 60% and over in the coming years,” he said.
Dr Weichold further said the university has initiated a number of outreach programmes to attract more Qatari youngsters to the engineering programmes. “Last summer, we had a programme called ‘STEM Future Aggie Engineers Programme’. Around 38 Qatari Grade 11 students from Independent and International schools throughout Qatar participated in the programme. The programme was meant to familiarise prospective students with different engineering disciplines of the university,” he added.
There would be great research activities in the country in the coming years in several relevant fields, according to the TAMUQ dean. “We have undertaken a number of research programmes specifically addressing the needs of the country. We are the second highest recipient of the research grant from Qatar National Research Fund and our research covers diverse areas - from energy to water sustainability to road safety and liberal arts,” he said, adding that this research would address many of the challenges of the country. Some of them address the grand national challenges identified by Qatar National Research Strategy.
Dr Weichold said the collaboration with Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU) is of great significance to the university. “We have already partnered for a Master’s programme with HBKU and there are plans for some other programmes. This does not overlap with our programmes but rather mesh with our goals and objectives,” he added.