Over 1,500 Qatari students are currently studying in universities across 40 different locations in the US, a top official of the US embassy said on Tuesday.

“We want to expand that number and offer more opportunities for more students to study and participate in our education system,” stated chargé d’affaires, Ryan Gliha (ad interim).

He was speaking on the sidelines of the award ceremony for the winners of the fourth annual ‘Young Writers Competition,’ organised by the US embassy, in partnership with the Ministry of Education and Higher Education.

“We have been having the programme for the last four years in partnership with the Ministry of Education and Higher Education. This year, we had 135 schools participating and we aim to increase the number of schools in the coming years,” continued Gliha.

“It is an important way in which we support the English language education as well as strengthening thinking skills and giving kids an incentive to improve their writing skills.We also have several other partnerships such as helping Qatari students prepare to study in the universities in the US. We have our Education in US Advising Centre for students who plan their studies in the US,” he pointed out.

This year’s contest, under the theme ' Transforming Obstacles into Opportunites, ' was the largest of its kind. The programme has substantial support from Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts in Qatar.

The winning entries will be featured in the Fourth Volume of the “Young Writers Journal” which will be published by the US embassy in July this year.

VCUarts Qatar executive dean Donald N Baker, who was also present on the occasion, congratulated the winners. In total 15 winners – five each from grades, 5, 8 and 10 - were honoured.

The Young Writers Competition is part of the larger Young Writers Programme, designed to encourage Qatar’s youth to read, write and think critically about important topics in their society. Since the programme’s inception in 2014, students from more than 135 Ministry schools in Qatar have participated in the programme through writing workshops and the annual writing competition.

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