More than 200 former students of College of the North Atlantic – Qatar (CNA-Q) gathered recently at a gala dinner, marking the strong bond with their alma mater and success in their careers.
CNA-Q’s main courtyard was transformed into “a shimmering oasis” as the Canadian educational institution welcomed back its alumni in this annual celebration, which was attended by its former president, Dr Ken MacLeod, college officials, and other speakers and guests.
The event was moderated by Heba al-Raeesi, a CNA-Q alumnus (graduate from the school of Business Marketing Management) and now marketing co-ordinator at CNA-Q.
“You studied together, worried about exams together, and celebrated each other’s cultures and diversity at events like Souk Areej. You cheered for each other at awards night and graduation, and supported each other in times of difficulty,” Dr MacLeod told attendees.
“No matter where your life takes you, I hope you always feel part of the CNA-Q family, and that you continue to attend these family gatherings,” he added. 
Dr MacLeod believes that many, if not most of the students who attend CNA-Q feel a special bond with the college.
To support his view, he cited an article which talked about an annual Gallop survey of 30,000 College graduates in the US and what makes them happy and successful in their jobs, happy and fulfilled in their personal lives, and have a special attachment or bond with their former college.
Dr MacLeod said these graduates identified three main factors leading to have a strong bond with their former College and had a direct impact on success in their careers and happiness in their personal lives.
“First, during their College education, they had an opportunity for extended experiential learning; participate in meaningful co-curricular or extracurricular activities; and had an instructor or teacher who showed that they really cared,” he noted.
Dr MacLeod also congratulated this year’s winners of the Canadian Technology Accreditation Board’s ‘Applied Research Technology Report’ competition at the gathering.
“First place and $1,000 went to three CNA-Q students: Ahmed Saleh al-Baker, Ahmed Ibrahim al-Heidous, and Mohamed Ahmad al-Enazi for their project ‘Natural Gas Liquid Recovery Plant Design, Simulation, and Optimisation,’” he said.
“All three of the winners were sponsored by Qatargas. It is also worth mentioning, since we are bragging about our alumni, that two of the winning students, al-Baker and al-Heidous are completing their degrees in chemical engineering in the UK,” Dr MacLeod stressed.
Other speakers at the Alumni Night include Hussain al-Marri, who graduated from the Human Resource Management programme at CNA-Q in 2014, and currently works as a procedure co-ordinator at Qatargas;  and Qatari celebrity Khalifa Saleh al-Haroon, popularly known as “Mr.Q,” who discussed about the importance of networking.
Four schools at the College – Business Studies, Engineering Technology and Industrial Trades, Health Sciences, and Information Technology – also hosted events before the main gathering.
Since its inception in 2002, CNA-Q grew to offer 30 diploma and certificate programmes, graduating thousands students from full-time programmes who have populated the workforce in Qatar or pursued further education. 
According to CNA-Q, 2018 marks its 17th year of providing high-quality experiential technical education in the country to support the State’s strategic vision “to educate, develop and retain young Qataris.”