QF... building foundations for a knowledge-based economy

Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development (QF) is an exceptional entity, not only because of its outstanding educational and social institutions, but also because it stems from the Qatari leadership’s dream of providing Qataris, and students from around the world, with more educational options and tools that enable them to create and innovate in a way that serves the national agenda of moving toward knowledge-based society. To achieve this goal, His Highness the Father Amir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani and Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser developed a plan for education and development in Qatar. This plan relied on establishing and bringing the world’s best educational institutions to Doha as part of a comprehensive reform vision that responds to the challenges of shifting to a post-oil era and building appropriate foundations for knowledge-based economy by national hands. The actual implementation of this dream began when their Highnesses laid the foundation stone for Qatar Foundation in August 1995. Qatar Foundation’s educational message can not be discussed without focusing on Education City, which hosts several branches of renowned universities, including the six American universities. This initiative began when Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) was opened in 1998, followed by the opening of Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar (WCM-Q) in 2002, Texas A&M University - Qatar (TAMUQ) in 2003, Carnegie Mellon University-Qartar (CMU-Q) and Georgetown University- Qatar (GU-Q) in 2005 and Northwestern University (NU-Q) in 2008. Qatar wanted to have modern, world-class educational institutions that could compete internationally and accomplish Qatar’s local aspirations of achieving economic, social and human development that would place the country among the developed countries by 2030. In addition to the vision of the leadership regarding education, Qatar’s geographic location helped attract American universities, that wanted to connect effectively with the Middle East, and made some of the academic programs offered in Doha unique as they do a better job of meeting the aspirations of Qatar and those of the region in general compared to the programmes offered in universities in the United States. It is important to emphasise the role played by the extraordinary vision of the Qatari leadership in attracting the attention of the American universities and motivating them to open campuses in Education City. The deans of the American universities, in exclusive statements to Qatar News Agency (QNA), placed a special emphasis on the vision of the Qatari leadership and the role it played in the success of the Education City. Dean of Weill Cornell Medicine - Qatar (WCM-Q) Dr Javaid Sheikh praised the vision of the Qatari leadership in education. He said, their Highnesses “had this unique vision, which is truly unprecedented, to allocate resources for Education City and bring in multiple world-class universities.”Dr Sheikh pointed out that Weill Cornell Medicine was hugely encouraged by this vision and the commitment to transform the society when it started to examine the opportunities offered by Qatar Foundation. He added that this vision, which focused on education and development, convinced the university to open a branch here in Qatar.For his part, Dean of Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) Dr Donald Baker believes that the presence of the university in Doha is part of the Qatari leadership’s commitment to arts, adding that Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, Chairperson of Qatar Foundation (QF), HE Sheikha Hind bint Hamad al-Thani, Vice-Chairperson and CEO of QF, and Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad al-Thani, Chairperson of Qatar Museums, have displayed serious leadership in developing the cultural infrastructure and in supporting the artistic community in the country. Dr Baker expressed his appreciation to the Qatari leadership for its efforts in supporting Qatar National Museum, the Museum of Islamic Arts, Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art, Fire Station and other institutions. He added that this support enhances and enriches the university’s curriculum, provides outlets for the students’ artwork and constitutes a wonderful infrastructure for the appreciation and development of art.The Qatari leadership’s vision was not the only factor that encouraged US universities to open campuses in Qatar. Some universities decided to come here out of a desire to connect and have a presence in the Middle East; they did not find a better place than Qatar to do so. This was confirmed by Dean of Northwestern University- Qatar (NU-Q) Dr Everette Dennis, who said: “The invitation for Northwestern to come to Qatar was also in line with the university’s desire to be more global and, especially, to connect with the Middle East.”For his part, Dean of Georgetown University - Qatar (GU-Q) Dr Ahmad Dallal stated that the invitation by Qatar’s leadership to open a campus in Doha provided a compelling and exciting opportunity to expand GU legacy of higher learning to the region and to further the university’s mission of producing global leaders committed to understanding and improving their world.  Although the geography, values and customs of Qatar differ from those in the United States, the deans insist that there are no significant differences between the academic programmes offered at the main campuses at the US and here in Education City. They pointed out that the students in Qatar get the same educational qualifications and degrees as their peers in the United States. Deans of VCU-Q and NU-Q stated that programmes and academic courses here are the same as the ones in main campuses in the US. The only difference is that classrooms tend to be smaller in Qatar, which means that students in Doha receive more personal attention and communicate with faculty more easily.  Dean of Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) Dr Michael Trick said: “We have focused areas of study in Qatar, offering degree programmes in biological sciences, business administration, computational biology, computer science and information systems. Graduates earn degrees that are identical to those awarded in our main campus.”The Dean of GU-Q also stated that “the Doha campus was launched with the guiding principle to maintain the standards and quality of Georgetown University’s academic programs, and as a result, GU-Q students enjoy the same world-class multidisciplinary International Affairs curriculum and support as their Washington, DC peers. They earn the same highly prized Bachelor of Science in Foreign Service (BSFS) degree, recognised by the same international bodies and subject to the same rigorous standards of academic excellence.”While universities of Education City place emphasis on the similarity between the programmes in the US campuses and the ones here, some universities have modified certain academic courses and added new topics and subjects relevant to the situation in the country and the Middle East. The Dean of NU-Q spoke about this point when he said that courses are also relevant to the local scene through relying on local and other examples. As an example, he pointed out to the media law course, which examines the legal systems in the Middle East and the media law and regulations in Qatar. Dr Everette Dennis also, confirmed that academic courses respect local customs and traditions here. In their academic programmes, universities focus on the environment of the region and the circumstances and challenges it faces. Therefore, they try to provide students with all the tools that will enable them to improve their environment, understand its problems and provide appropriate solutions. For example, the Dean of GU-Q said that Doha students enjoy the added experience of their geographic location through course material and academic programming that explores the Middle East region’s economic, social, and political issues, to give them the tools needed to find solutions to complex problems in their communities.Given the ability of Education City’s universities to respond to the needs of the region and meet students’ aspirations, these universities are attracting more and more students from Qatar, the Middle East and the world. Those students are fascinated by this region and want to enrich their knowledge about it. It is clear from the programmes offered by these universities that their selection to be part of Education City was not merely a coincident; it was based on a vision that was clearly reflected in Qatar National Vision 2030, which made human, social, economic and environmental development its priority. It is the vision of the Qatari leadership, to promote higher education, that gives these global educational institutions a strong momentum to be part of this long-term vision. The universities found a foothold in a very important part of the world and the Qatari community found educational institutions that strengthened the higher education sector and produced qualified graduates capable of contributing to the growth and development in the country.