Education City drives knowledge growth

With the 5th annual convocation of the students of the Education City under the banner of Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Qatar, has become a global hub for education.

With 373 graduates from eight international universities passing through the ‘Door to the Future’, the farsighted vision and the prudence of the Emir His Highness Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al Thani and Her Highness Sheikha Moza have started bearing fruits in a big way.

The fifth convocation ceremony was an occasion to understand the vibrancy and diversity of the streams of higher learning offered by the universities. It sent out a clear message to the outside world that the country was focused on its vision. It was sounded in the words of HH Sheikha Moza during the convocation ceremony: “I see in you the blossoming of new futures, which I have worked so long to establish through the providing of quality education. And as we have helped create new futures for you, it is now your responsibility to create new futures for the coming generations who follow in your pioneering footsteps.” This is also a great testimony of the country’s efforts to move towards a knowledge based economy.

Education City is a classic example of how multicultural students are able to share and accept the views and traditions of each other and relish the multicultural element of their educational experience.

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In the words of President of Northwestern University, Morton Schapiro, Education City is the only one such place in the world where students of so many universities can interact in the same campus.

Scharpio said during the commencement of Northwestern University graduates: “This is a wonderful opportunity for the students of Hamad Bin Khalifa University as the students from different universities can interact and engage in different programmes or research activities while continuing their studies in another university and all these happen in the same campus. Nowhere in the world does such a facility exist.”

With the University College of London starting its programmes from next academic year, the horizon of higher education is getting broadened. Some of the existing universities have already announced more graduate and undergraduate programmes.

As the diversity of education spreads from medicine to engineering, business studies, computer science, designing, media studies, international studies and museum studies, it is pretty clear that the international focus is surely turning to this tiny peninsula.

Above all, as Qatar Foundation has embarked on an ambitious research strategy with various research institutes, the coming days will prove to be exciting. With the government setting apart 2.9 percent of the GDP for research, the country will be going through an exciting phase of progress and global attention. With its immense resources and ambitious vision, the country has started treading a path that is sure to transform the face of the nation and the region in the years to come.

source: Qatar Tribune