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 The University of Doha for Science and Technology (UDST) will host the third edition of the Gulf Universities Championship from October 29 to 31. The event will feature approximately 350 students representing 24 university teams from across the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) countries, held under the auspices of the International University Sports Federation (FISU).  During a press conference held yesterday, the university announced details regarding the championship, participating institutions, and organisational preparations for the competitions, which will include men’s futsal, basketball, and volleyball, as well as women’s volleyball.  President of UDST Dr Salem bin Nasser Al-Naemi stated that hosting the championship reflects the institution’s commitment to supporting Qatar’s national sports policy and strengthening ties among GCC youth. He highlighted the importance of university sports in fostering team spirit, discipline, and perseverance among students.  Director of Sports and Wellness Department Hamad al-Kuwari explained that the championship serves as an opportunity to showcase university-level athletic talent, facilitate communication, and encourage the exchange of experiences among participants. He emphasised the university’s dedication to providing an exceptional competitive environment.  Hosting this championship aligns with the university’s efforts to promote university sports and cultivate a culture of physical activity, in line with the goals of its 2025-2027 Health Strategy, which aims to enhance the health and well-being of the university community.  UDST teams secured three gold medals, two silver medals, and one bronze medal during their participation in the World University Championship held in Barcelona in 2025.  

Digital transformation is becoming a strategic necessity for Arab university business schools as they seek to prepare graduates for rapidly evolving markets, according to Prof Dr Mohammed Abdulwahab al-Azzawi, an international expert in Total Quality Management and former adviser to Qatar’s Ministry of Administrative Development (which later split into separate ministries, the Ministry of Labour and Ministry of Social Development and Family), and the Institute of Public Administration. In his assessment of the future of management education, Dr al-Azzawi argues that successful digital transformation requires far more than adding a technology course to an outdated study plan. Business schools must fundamentally rethink their academic and administrative systems, building more agile, responsive and future-oriented institutions capable of equipping graduates with the skills to work confidently with data, artificial intelligence and emerging technologies. Dr al-Azzawi, who is also a professor at the University of Baghdad’s College of Administration and Economics and a former dean of the Institute of Accounting and Financial Studies, said the process should begin with an honest assessment of each university’s digital readiness. This, he said, should cover infrastructure, faculty capabilities, curriculum quality and the ability of administrative systems to generate reliable data. Such a diagnosis, Dr al-Azzawi said, should form the basis for measurable goals rather than broad slogans or imported models that may not reflect local needs. According to the expert, the next step is to integrate management knowledge with modern technology across disciplines such as marketing, accounting, human resources and finance. Students need more than the ability to operate digital tools, he said; they must understand how technology influences decision-making, organisational behaviour and risk management. Business programmes should therefore incorporate areas such as Business Analytics, FinTech, Cybersecurity and Artificial Intelligence in Management as clearly defined and interconnected learning pathways. The transformation should also move universities beyond lecture-dominated teaching towards more applied forms of learning, including laboratories, projects and case studies. Dr al-Azzawi said that recognised professional certifications, such as Google Analytics and Microsoft Power BI, could strengthen academic programmes, provided they support defined learning outcomes rather than become objectives in themselves. The priority, he said, should be to help students think critically, interpret data, ask the right questions and connect performance indicators with responsible management decisions. Curriculum reform, however, cannot succeed without sustained investment in people, Dr al-Azzawi stressed. Training faculty members and administrative staff to use artificial intelligence (AI) tools, design digital learning experiences and analyse student outcomes is essential to the long-term sustainability of digital transformation, he said. Resistance to change should also be addressed through institutional dialogue that clearly explains both the benefits and risks of new technologies. Employees should help shape solutions rather than having changes imposed from the top down, according to Dr al-Azzawi. On the technical side, he said universities should focus less on acquiring the newest systems and more on choosing scalable, interoperable cloud solutions. Before introducing automation, universities should simplify existing procedures and eliminate duplication. “Digitising complexity does not solve it; it merely moves the problem to a screen,” Dr al-Azzawi said. He also highlighted the importance of clear data governance, privacy safeguards and defined accountability to ensure that technology becomes a trusted institutional tool rather than an additional source of risk. The expert proposes a five-stage roadmap for the transition towards digitally driven, knowledge-based academic and administrative departments. The first stage is diagnosis and a gap analysis comparing current capabilities with future ambitions. The second stage involves restructuring, including developing new curricula and academic pathways. The third focuses on building human capabilities and empowering teams. The fourth stage involves launching limited pilot projects, such as an analytics-supported course or a decision-making laboratory, and measuring results before wider implementation. The fifth stage centres on continuous evaluation, governance and sustainability. Universities, Dr al-Azzawi added, should regularly assess indicators including learning quality, student satisfaction, operational efficiency and graduates’ links to the labour market. This approach, he said, would allow institutions to learn from experience and adjust their strategies rather than commit substantial resources to sweeping transformation programmes that could later prove difficult to correct. The transformation, Dr al-Azzawi added, also requires adaptive leadership that combines a broad strategic vision with the ability to balance existing resources against future opportunities. He describes this balance as organisational ambidexterity – the ability to improve existing operations and preserve efficiency while simultaneously testing new models of teaching and work. He cautioned that a university that focuses solely on efficiency risks falling behind, while one that pursues every emerging technology without adequate controls may waste resources and lose sight of its core mission. Dr al-Azzawi said modernising business schools is not about replacing human judgement with machines, but about expanding the capacity to understand, innovate and make sound decisions. If vision is matched by phased implementation, technology by training, and innovation by effective governance, Arab universities can build management education that is more relevant to the knowledge economy and better equipped to serve institutions and communities in an era of rapid technological change.

 Academic collaborations, student mobility, and cross-cultural ties between Qatar and the US are to be strengthened through three new study-abroad agreements between Qatar Foundation ( QF) and three American universities.At the NAFSA 2026 Annual Conference & Expo in Florida – one of the world’s premier events for educators to connect, network, and share perspectives – a trio of partnerships were sealed to pave the way for students from Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) in the US to experience QF's globally unique ecosystem of learning, Education City.The agreements with Hampton University in Virginia, Xavier University of Louisiana, and Prairie View A&M University in Texas – supported by the Embassy of Qatar in Washington, DC are designed to deepen cross-cultural exchange and understanding between US and Qatar-based students. HCBUs are US universities established before the country’s 1964 Civil Rights Act with the principal mission of educating African American students, with 107 of these institutions now educating students regardless of race.“These agreements reflect Qatar Foundation’s commitment to building globally connected learning environments and advancing partnerships that promote inclusion, cultural exchange, and academic excellence,” said Francisco Marmolejo, president of Higher Education and Education Advisor, QF, who, during NAFSA 2026, addressed delegates on the topic ‘Beyond Borders: How US Policies are Shaping Global Student Mobility’.“Hosting students from US Historically Black Colleges and Universities for a semester at universities based in Education City will enrich the academic experience for all involved, energising classroom discussions and deepening global understanding, while fostering a dynamic and reciprocal learning environment that benefits both visiting and local students culturally, socially, and academically. We are grateful to the Embassy of Qatar in Washington, DC for their invaluable support toward advancing this important initiative.”The partnerships are focused on “creating meaningful, student-centred experiences beyond the classroom”, explained Dr Abdulnassir al-Tamimi, executive director, Student Services within QF’s Higher Education division, who delivered a presentation at the conference titled ‘Inclusive by Design: Scaling Scholarship Programmes for Underserved Students’, in collaboration with the Education Above All Foundation.“By welcoming HBCU students and faculty to Qatar, we are offering them an opportunity to engage with our culture, traditions, institutions, and diverse community firsthand,” he said. “At the same time, our students and the broader QF community benefit immensely from the perspectives, histories, and lived experiences that HBCU students bring.”Speaking about his university’s partnership with QF, Robert Pompey, senior vice president, Business Operations and Finance at Hampton University, said it “reflects a shared commitment to global education, cultural understanding and academic excellence. The agreement enriches and empowers Hampton University students through study abroad and other international opportunities while advancing Qatar Foundation’s mission to expand and strengthen the educational experiences of HBCU students.”Marguerite S Giguette, provost and senior vice president, Academic Affairs at Xavier University of Louisiana, said: “We are honoured to work with Qatar Foundation's Higher Education division in advancing opportunities that broaden our students’ academic and cultural horizons.“Xavier welcomes collaborations that encourage cross-cultural understanding and intellectual exchange. We look forward to planning and eventually implementing meaningful learning experiences and lasting relationships this agreement will soon create for our students, faculty, and academic communities.”And Dr Godlove Fonjweng, assistant vice provost, Global Engagement and Partnerships at Prairie View A&M University, said the partnership between QF and the Texan institution will create “transformative global learning opportunities for our students”, adding: “This collaboration reflects the university’s longstanding commitment to academic excellence, cultural exchange, and preparing students to lead and thrive in an interconnected global society.” 

The Gulf Organisation for Industrial Consulting (Goic), in co-operation with the Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MoCI), is currently implementing a project that aims to develop a mechanism to connect factories with research and development centres and universities in Qatar.In this regard, the Qatar Chamber’s (QC) industry committee recently held a meeting with Goic and reviewed the progress of the system, which could go a long way in enhancing the competitiveness and productivity of Qatar’s manufacturing sector.Describing the project as one of the key initiatives of the National Strategy for Manufacturing Industries 2023–30; Abdul Kareem al-Rashid, Strategic Planning Advisor at Goic, said the linkage targets six priority industrial sectors in Qatar: plastics, petrochemicals, pharmaceuticals, food, basic metal, and building materials. "The mechanism will be piloted in one of the factories operating within these sectors, in collaboration with a research centre, to jointly address a specific challenge," he said, adding one of the most significant expected outcomes of the project is the establishment of a practical and proven mechanism for sustainable co-operation between industry and research centres in Qatar.He also said the project seeks to raise awareness among factories about the importance of collaborating with research and development centres, while strengthening the overall innovation ecosystem that supports industrial development in the country.Abdulrahman bin Abdullah al-Ansari, QC board member, who chaired the meeting, stressed the importance of the project for Qatari factories operating in several vital sectors. Despite Qatar’s remarkable progress in scientific research, development, and innovation, he said "there is still no clear mechanism to connect factories with research and development centres or universities." He affirmed the QC's preparedness to cooperate with Goic and all relevant entities in matters related to coordinating with Qatari factories, whether through direct communication with them or by identifying the obstacles they encounter.He further emphasised the chamber’s commitment to supporting Goic during the pilot testing phase of the proposed mechanism.