Aiming to encourage science and technology education in the country, the Pre-University Education (PUE) at Qatar Foundation (QF) has launched a new Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) school, Qatar Academy for Science and Technology (QAST). 

The new school will start operations from August this year for the academic year 2018 -19. Applications to QAST are open until May 30 and applications can be submitted online at qast.openapply.com 
The core content of the school will be built around the grand challenges identified in the Qatar National Research Strategy, and enrolment within QAST will allow students to work towards such contributions in novel ways.
“Registration for admission to the new school is already open. The school will have classes from grade 9 to grade 12. We will have 40 slots to start with for Grade 9 boys and girls. The number of seats will be increased to 60 at a later stage and we aim to have 240 students once we are fully operational,’ said Dr Gregory J Moncada, director, QAST, at a press conference on Monday.
Buthaina al- Nuaimi, president, PUE, said “As Qatar Foundation’s newest school under the PUE umbrella, QAST aims to nurture and develop talented students to become pioneers, innovators, and future leaders in the area of STEM. This new school demonstrates QF’s continuous commitment towards the advancement of Qatar in becoming a sustainable and diversified economy through education and science.”
“QAST will offer a programme focused on STEM learning, hands-on science skills, and innovative thinking, which will allow students to apply their knowledge to real-world challenges using both traditional and modern methods. By offering a specialised environment, led by highly-qualified STEM experts, students will be taught in science and technology fields which they can then pursue in the future,” she added.
“To begin with, the classes will be conducted at the LAS building in the Education City. The new school building will be ready in a short term. The school will prepare the students for admission to the universities in Qatar, the US and UK. The accreditation process within the country is underway. We also have plans to get external accreditations from the Council of European Schools as well as specialised STEM certification,” continued Moncada.
“The programme offers three years of English, four years of Mathematics , four years of science and four years of social science. This is a diploma programme and offers four science subjects. As against two science topics in International Baccalaureate programme. The other component of the programme is leadership development,” explained Mondoca. 
“This is a one-of-a-kind specialised STEM school in Qatar. Being part of Qatar Foundation allows us to provide our students not only with world-class education, but with educators and facilities that no other academic institution within the country can provide. Our teachers are hand-picked STEM experts and educators, our facilities are state-of-the-art, and our curriculum is tailored to fit each and every student’s needs,” noted the official.
The student-to-teacher ratio at the school will be 20:1. Selected students must have reached the criteria listed in the application and demonstrated interest in science.

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