Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU) has hosted the Doha Counsellors Day 2012, in partnership with universities at Education City and the Academic Bridge Programme.
Dr al-Khanji addresses counsellors at the event
The annual event attracted over 80 counsellors from independent and private schools across Qatar. The programme is designed to equip high school counsellors with critical information regarding universities, admission procedures and college counselling.
In his welcome address, Dr Khalid al-Khanji, vice president of student affairs at HBKU, who has a PhD in Counselling Psychology from Temple University in Philadelphia, stressed the importance of school counselling and the responsibility of the counsellors in directing youth to making the right career choices.
A presentation about HBKU and the universities followed. Representatives from the universities held an admissions panel, addressing the overall admission procedures and policies and their approach to evaluation, giving the counsellors important insights.
“As a university, such an event is an ideal opportunity to interact with high school counsellors from prominent private and independent schools in Doha, facilitating a productive collaboration”, said Noha Saleh, director of student recruitment at Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar.
Counsellors attending the event
The counsellors also had a chance to conduct a panel discussion on college counselling best practices before an open forum discussion about communication.
Rula Salman Wadi, a returning school counsellor said: “For us counsellors, this is the most important event of the year, as it offers us the information we need to properly direct and assist our students in their critical career decision. We also get to meet and discuss best practices.”
Wadi is one of the two counsellors who attended the Summer Institute for International Admission in Washington DC in June this year, through a sponsorship from HBKU.
She also gave a presentation sharing her experience, and what she learned at the training in terms of best practices and the latest counselling sources and tools.
HBKU will also organise two Counselllors Workshops in November and December this year, covering topics related to best practices in the field.
The Doha Counselors Day 2012 was held in advance of the Discover Education City (DEC) event, where high school students, parents and school administrators will be able to gain further insight into higher education opportunities that are available in Education City.
This year’s DEC event will take place on October 2 and 3 from 5pm to 8pm at the HBKU Student Centre.
More information about DEC can be found on www.myeducationcity.com website, the Twitter page HBKUOutreach, the Facebook page HBKU Outreach and Testing, or through e-mail to [email protected]