Hamad bin Khalifa University organizes Doha Counselors Day 2012

Hamad bin Khalifa University (HBKU), hosted the annual Doha Counselors Day, in partnership with the universities at Education City and the Academic Bridge Program.

Held at the Hamad bin Khalifa University Student Center, Doha Counselors Day 2012 attracted over 80 counselors from independent and private schools across Qatar. The program is designed to equip high school counselors with critical information regarding the universities, admissions procedures and college counseling.

The program opened with a welcome note from Dr. Khalid Al Khanji, Vice President of Student Affairs at Hamad bin Khalifa University. In his address, Dr. Al Khanji, who earned an M.A. in Counseling and Human Resource Development from the University of Colorado at Denver and a Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology from Temple University in Philadelphia, stressed the importance of school counseling and the responsibility of the counselors in directing youth to making the right career choices.

The welcome note was followed by a presentation about Hamad bin Khalifa University and the universities, beginning with Hamad bin Khalifa University’s mission and goals before introducing the universities, the programs offered, and the various testing services offered at the Hamad bin Khalifa University Testing Center.

Representatives from the universities held an admissions panel, addressing the overall admissions procedures and policies and their approach to evaluation, giving the counselors important insight. 

“We are very happy to be part of this successful event, which had a very good turnout. As a university, such an event is an ideal opportunity to interact with high school counselors from prominent private and independent schools in Doha, facilitating a productive collaboration”, said Noha Saleh, Director of Student Recruitment at Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar.

The counselors also had a chance to have a panel discussing latest college counseling best practices before engaging in an open forum discussion about communication.

Rula Salman Wadi, a returning school counselor said “for us counselors, this is the most important event of the year, as it offers us the information we need to properly direct and assist our students in their critical career decision. We also get to meet and discuss best practices; we never stop learning new things, there’s always space for improvement.”

Ms. Wadi is one of two counselors that attended the Summer Institute for International Admission in Washington DC earlier in June of this year, through a sponsorship from Hamad bin Khalifa University. Ms. Wadi also took to the stage with a presentation sharing her experience, and what she learned at the training in terms of best practices and the latest counseling sources and tools.

In addition to Doha Counselors Day, Hamad bin Khalifa University will organize two Counselors Workshops in November and December of this year, covering topics related to best practices in the field.

As part of the annual admissions recruiting campaign, Doha Counselors Day 2012 was held in advance of the Discover Education City (DEC) event, where high school students, parents and school administrators will be able to gain further insight into higher education opportunities that are available in Education City. This year’s DEC event will take place on the 2^nd and the 3^rd of October 2012 from 5pm to 8pm at the Hamad bin Khalifa University Student Center. 

More information about the Discover Education City event can be found on www.myeducationcity.com website, the Twitter page HBKUOutreach, the Facebook page HBKU Outreach and Testing, or through email to outreach@qf.org.qa.

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