Qatar University hosts meet of international student exchange forum for Asia and Pacific

Qatar University (QU) hosted the ninth meeting of the International Association for the Exchange of Students for Technical Experience (IAESTE) Forum for Asia and the Pacific (APIF), which aims to strengthen the exchange between member countries and tackle challenges together.
The forum fosters the core values of Asian and Pacific members’ friendship.
The non-profit IAESTE, is an association of national committees representing academic, industrial and student interests. The association offers employers well-qualified and motivated trainees to promote international understanding, co-operation and trust among students, academic institutions, employers and the wider community.
QU College of Engineering Department head Dr Nasser al-Emadi told the event that QU has been hosting the IAESTE since 2011.
“Our national committee consists of academic and student representatives from Qatar University, College of the North Atlantic-Qatar, Community College of Qatar and industry representatives from Qatar Petrochemical Company, Qatar Fertiliser Company, and Qatar Chemical Company.
In addition, we have been accepted during the general conference in 2019 to be an associate member and we hope to get the full member position in 2021.”
In his speech, Sultan Qaboos University College of Engineering assistant dean for Training and Community Service, and Asia-Pacific IAESTE Forum president Dr Ghazi Ali al-Rawas thanked QU for hosting the event.
Other objectives of this gathering are to overcome the challenges of student exchange in APIF region, promote and increase student exchange between APIF countries, enhance the core values and principles of IAESTE, improve communication among APIF members and discuss strategic plans to develop the future of the APIF.
A group of 17 delegates from Asian countries and the Middle East participated in the forum, including Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Palestine, Turkey, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Philippines, Indonesia, and Thailand, in addition to representatives from IAESTE board.
During the forum, strategic plans for future development were also discussed and to prepare for the next annual conference, which will be held in January 2020 in Tatranska Lomnica, Slovakia.