*More than 3,220 students, comprising 2,468 female and 752 male, graduate this year, from the 42nd batch of QU
*The female students' graduation ceremony will begin today and continue until October 16
*The total number of graduates crosses 50,000
* 'QU courses help realise country's development plans'
His Highness the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani attended Qatar University’s (QU) annual graduation ceremony for male students of Class of 2019 on Monday.
At the ceremony held at the Sports & Events Complex of QU, the Amir honoured the graduates by handing them their diplomas, symbolising the beginning of the next phase of their lives.
More than 3,220 students, comprising 2,468 female and 752 male, are graduating this year, from the 42nd batch of QU. The graduates are from a full academic year that comprises Fall 2018, Winter 2019, Spring 2019 and Summer 2019. The graduation ceremony of the female students will begin today and continue until October 16.
Speaking on the occasion, QU president, Dr Hassan bin Rashid al-Derham, praised the achievements of Qatar under the wise leadership of His Highness the Amir and noted that the total number of graduates of the university has crossed 50,000.
“As we celebrate the 42nd batch of graduates from QU, our beloved nation is witnessing a renaissance that has been manifested in all fields. No doubt, this renaissance would not have been achieved without the efforts of the sons of our nation and their unflinching support for our leadership since the time of its founding until present day. QU has the great honour of contributing to this renaissance through successive generations of graduates who now exceed 50,000,” stated Dr al-Derham.
“During the past few years, the university has achieved, through the continuous support of our Board of Regents, an advanced role in international university rankings. The university has been placed 276 in QS Quacquarelli Symonds Global Rankings and 408 in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings,” highlighted the QU president.
The official noted that the first role of the university was to provide academic programmes that follow high international standards for the undergraduate and postgraduate level, to realise Qatar's development plans. “The University provides academic programmes that follow high international standards at the undergraduate and postgraduate level. QU offers 45 bachelor programmes and around 40 graduate programmes in various academic disciplines, which compete with the best universities globally.This year also marks the establishment of the College of Dental Medicine, which received its very first class of students this academic term, and now makes up the 10th college at QU,” he explained.
According to Dr al-Derham, the second role of the university is the production of knowledge and international research that distinguishes itself through its impact on ground and touches on the central needs of the Qatari community. He referred to the efforts of the Qatar Mobility Innovations Centre in building integrated systems and solutions for technology development that has resulted in a number of technology platforms. He also pointed out that QU recently founded QU Press to lead in the dissemination of knowledge in the region with highest standards.
In its third role, QU considers itself as a house of expertise that provides various state institutions with academic advice that contributes to public policy. In this context, Dr al-Derham referred to the efforts of the Social and Economic Survey Research Institute at QU in supporting government and non-government entities with sound and reliable data based on high quality field research. The institute's research agenda spans a wide range of substantive areas of importance to Qatar, such as education and health, family structure, national identity, the financial and business environment and other annual and semi-annual comprehensive surveys.
Abdulaziz al-Obaidly, student speaker and a graduate from the Class of 2019, described the benefits of receiving an education from QU. He said: “We stand before you today as lawyers, engineers, judges , diplomats, researchers and scholars of our Arab authenticity, Islamic culture and national identity.”
Graduate AbdulKarim al-Ruwaili, was the anchor of the ceremony and delivered a powerful speech. “One stage has finished, but the journey is not over. We are not the first to arrive and we will not be the last,” he added.
