By TBY | Qatar | Jun 15, 2014
Its higher education residents consider it their “multiversity." But Qatar considers education in its entirety the bedrock of national progress.
YOUNG BLOOD
Guiding youth toward making the right choice of study and subsequent work are institutions such as K-12 school, which offers International Baccalaureate programs that open up the possibilities of study abroad. Meanwhile, The Academic Bridge Program’s (ABP) post-secondary school curriculum, delivered in a co-educational environment, eases students’ passage from high school to lecture hall.
PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT
For raw knowledge to flourish in the proverbial “real world” , of course, academia must make provision for practical application. Since 2004, the Doha Debates have done just this through the medium of TV, in a monthly political debate. Shown on BBC World and staged at the Qatar Foundation headquarters, 350 people from 30 high schools and universities grill visiting speakers on key regional issues, giving their motions the thumbs-up, or not, by electronic voting. Also based in Education City—and remaining with the small screen—is Qatar’s Al Jazeera network. Since 2005, it has broadcast the Arabic language Al Jazeera Children’s Channel (JCC), which, to use the industry vernacular, provides “edutainment.”
Meanwhile, a diversity of conventions and exhibitions are staged at the resident Qatar National Convention Centre (QNCC), a vast facility on 200,000 sqm.
MEET THE NEIGHBORS
The roll call of institutions is a veritable who’s who of pedigree. In the arts, Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) School of the Arts is turning out future designers and creative executives. Packing a century of achievement is Carnegie Mellon, for which, “The strategy was to come here and establish a medical school for the first time beyond the US, and offer US degrees,” TBY was informed. The other universities include the R&D-rich Texas A&M University, Northwestern University, populating the industries of communications and journalism, and Georgetown University School of Foreign Service. Located on the 2nd floor of the Georgetown University Building is University College London Qatar, which has a strong focus on regional archaeology and heritage. Its degree and diploma courses are honing the researchers and curators of tomorrow. And finally catering to professional advancement since 2011 is HEC Paris, where graduate executive education programs target mid-career and senior executives.
RESEARCH
Several research-oriented entities are based in the city. Championing research into key areas of local import, the Qatar National Research Fund (QNRF) leverages the respective strengths of the private, public and academic spheres. The Qatar Science and Technology Park (QSTP) provides leading edge laboratory facilities for the use of international entities and local boffins alike to advance Qatar’s technology matrix.
