Organized by the Center of Excellence in Teaching and Learning at Qatar University
The Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning at Qatar University (QU) organized an induction meeting for new faculty members “Ya-Hala”, in the presence of the President of the University, Dr. Hassan bin Rashid Al-Derham, the Vice Presidents and officials on Friday.
The meeting included speeches by the President of the University and a number of Vice Presidents and officials concerned with the academic, research and student sectors at Qatar University.
The event was attended by Dr. Omar Al-Ansari, Vice President for Academic Affairs, Dr. Maryam Al-Maadeed, Vice President for Scientific Research and Graduate Studies, Dr. Eiman Mustafawi, Vice President for Student Affairs at Qatar University, Dr. Tamer Khattab, Acting Director of the Center for Excellence, Teaching and Learning at the University, and a number of other faculty members.
In his speech on the occasion, Dr. Hassan Al-Derham, President of the University, welcomed the new faculty members and said: “I am pleased to welcome all of you with the most special and warm welcome to our new colleagues. Here at Qatar University we offer excellence. While academic labor at different Arab and worldwide universities has many things in common, it also varies slightly from university to university depending on their individual systems, regulations, aims, visions, and missions. Therefore, it was only fair that we inform you about the academic and student aspects, opportunities, research grants, graduate studies, and other topics that make it easier for you to get to know the university, its culture, systems, and programs that are assigned to you. This will help you quickly integrate and interact with the various programs that you need to use to complete your tasks, as well as deal with them easily and smoothly.”
During his welcome speech Dr. Hassan said that, as the first point of entry for new faculty members into the academic community, the “Ya-Hala” introductory meeting, which Qatar University used to organize at the start of every year, has grown to be a highly significant academic tradition. In this case, the university’s efforts deserve praise. The Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning regularly hosts this event, and the distinguished present colleagues will give the required clarification as well as they will respond to your questions.
In his remarks on the occasion, Dr. Omar Al-Ansari, Vice President for Academic Affairs, restated Qatar University’s welcome to the new faculty members, highlighting the importance of the teaching staff’s quality, excellence, and integrity as well as other requirements that faculty members must be keen to uphold while working at QU.
He said that the university currently includes 11 colleges and has 1,391 faculty members in the various disciplines offered by the university, and includes 50 scientific programs at the undergraduate level and 46 programs at the postgraduate level.
Dr. Al-Ansari also spoke about a set of core values of the university, such as excellence, as Qatar University focuses on excellence in everything it does, and that it be at the highest levels of quality and professionalism.
In her speech on the occasion, Dr. Eiman Mustafawi, Vice President for Student Affairs at Qatar University spoke about the Student Affairs sector and provided important information about student ratios and their distribution to university majors and colleges, in addition to the services provided by the Student Affairs Sector that positively affect university life and keep students as much time as possible on campus.
Dr. Eiman said that the university currently has 28,500 students, including 26,000 at the undergraduate level and more than 2,000 students at the postgraduate level, of whom 68% are Qataris and the rest are of different nationalities, and this number is 71% of females. Colleges, where the College of Arts and Sciences is the largest college at the university level, with 7,500 students, followed by the College of Engineering with 5,000 students, and then the College of Management and Economics.
Dr. Eiman also stated that the Student Affairs Sector employs 390 employees who provide services to students, as well as about 53 departments and specialized sections. These employees provide about 100 services and programs and deal with 88 student organizations.
This confirms the importance that Qatar University attaches to student affairs, and Dr. Eiman indicated that the new headquarters of the Student Affairs Building will be opened soon and includes many important university facilities.
She talked about university centers to help students, which are five main centers; Student Counseling Center, Student Support Center, Professional Development Center, Student Counseling Center, and Integration Center for Students with Student Needs.
She also talked about student life and the activities and events provided by this umbrella throughout the academic year.
Dr. Nasser bin Abdullah Al-Nuaimi, Assistant Vice President for Research and Graduate Studies, spoke about the research sector, the research opportunities provided by the university, and the importance of the research sector at the university. He dealt in detail with the research centers of Qatar University, which are 17 centers, some of which are inside the university campus and others outside the campus.
He stressed that the university has witnessed an increase and diversification in the number of scientific research centers, units and programs, a rise in the number of patents, and local and global partnerships, as well as its ambitious plans to develop national cadres and promote and advance research policies.
After that, they talked about the research sectors and the security of those responsible for them, as they provided full explanations about their sectors, stressing their readiness to cooperate with faculty members to serve the university’s strategy and ambitious goals that are consistent with Qatar Vision 2030.
Source: QATAR UNIVERSITY
