By Fazeena Saleem
DOHA: Qatar Foundation (QF) yesterday celebrated Convocation 2015 with the highest number of graduates in Foundation’s history in a range of diversified subjects at a ceremony graced by the the Father Emir H H Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani and H H Sheikha Moza bint Nasser.
A record number of students 672 — up 22 percent from last year, graduated this year from Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU) member of QF’s partner universities and graduate colleges in subjects in a range of diversified subjects including computer science, design, Islamic studies, engineering, international relations and medicine at the Qatar National Convention Centre (QNCC).
The students received rings from Dr Ahmad Hasnah, HBKU President before they did the traditional walk through the ‘Door to the Future,’ symbolising their passage from HBKU partner universities to the next stage of their lives.
The father Emir in his keynote speech said: “Qatar has attached the highest importance to education and allocated a lot of resources to it even during the times of crises and difficult economic conditions that we passed through, because of our firm belief that education is the main tributary to knowledge, that elevates and develops nations, and through which we could overcome all social challenges facing Arab societies.”
“Poverty has its roots in ignorance, and ignorance begets fanaticism that turns societies from active humanitarian communities to scattered secluded group. As for us, our message has always been the renunciation of intolerance, and securing opportunities for all individuals and groups, so Qatar was and will always remain as a Makkah for the oppressed, besides it is today a beacon of education and science,” he further said.
He appreciated Sheikha Moza and presented a key shaped momentum to honouring her contribution for the development and achievements of the QF in the past 20 years.
“Sheikha Moza has not found it enough to be at the helm of this institution only, but also joined its academic track to gain knowledge from one of the colleges associated with it. She is today graduating within the 2015 batch, a seeker of knowledge with a firm conviction that education has a beginning but no end, hence she became an example for the present and future generations,” said father Emir.
Dignitaries presented at the Convocation 2015 included Abdelilah Benkirane, the Moroccan Prime Minister and H E Sheikha Mayassa bint Hamad Al Thani.
The under graduates and post graduates at QF Convocation 2015 includes 43 from Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar, 101 from Texas A&M University at Qatar, 106 from Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar, 57 students are graduating from Georgetown 38 students from Northwestern University in Qatar, 68 from Virginia Commonwealth University Qatar, 94 from HEC Paris in Qatar, 43 from University College London in Qatar (UCL Qatar).
A total of 122 graduates from Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU), at the QF Convocation 2015 represented the largest percentage of graduates from the universities in Education City. They include 80 graduates from Qatar Faculty of Islamic Studies (QFIS), which provides master’s degrees in various fields of Islamic studies, and 14 graduates from the Translation and Interpretation Institute (TII). The convocation also honored the first batch of 28 graduates from the Executive Master’s programme in Energy and Resources at HBKU.
Each university and graduate college has its own graduation ceremony, but QF Convocation 2015’brought together every graduating student from across Education City, including both undergraduate and postgraduate students.
The success of the QF 2015 graduates is a reflection of the comprehensive education cycle that QF has been providing since its establishment 20 years ago.
Through this process, QF has laid the foundations for the development of a generation of young Qataris empowered with the highest levels of education in order to fulfil its vision and mission of unlocking human potential, creating a culture of innovation and creativity, and building an advanced knowledge-based community. The cycle places students on an educational path from an early age, starting from as young as six months old, right up to undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral level.
QF’s Education City is home to Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU), a unique model of interdisciplinary education and research where specialist programmes are offered at the Qatar Faculty of Islamic Studies (QFIS), the Translation and Interpreting Institute (TII), and the College of Science and Engineering.
Believing in the concept of continuous life-long learning, Qatar Foundation (QF) provides academic programmes aimed at high-powered executives working in some of the country’s leading organisations. QF’s master and doctorate degrees are designed to enable these executives to perform at optimum levels and contribute to the transformation of Qatar into a knowledge-based economy.
The convocation ceremony of QF’s graduates in 2015 was attended by a number of top employees and executives from some of the country’s leading companies and establishments, and who have been awarded postgraduate degrees in various majors that have been carefully designed to help tackle the most pressing challenges facing the State of Qatar.
The Peninsula
