Tribune News Network
Doha
Qatar University (QU) celebrated the eleventh round of The Empower Generations Consortium, which aims to invest in Qatari competencies in life sciences, health sciences and scientific research, in support of Qatar National Vision 2030.
Qatar University is the headquarters of the union, which brings together more than 13 partners in the health and education sector, including the Ministry of Education and Higher Education and the official sponsor of Qatar Genome, Hamad Medical Corporation, the Ministry of Public Health, the Primary Health Care Corporation, Sidra Medical and Research Center, the Qatar Al-Qannas Association, the Qatar Falcon Genome Project, the Veterinary Medicine Center, Qatar Biobank and two international partners namely: Research Center Fractal AI and Africa Key Research Project.
The ceremony was held in the presence of Prof Asma Al Thani, vice-president of Qatar University for Health and Medical Sciences; director of the Biomedical Research Center, a number of vice-presidents of Qatar University, deans of faculties of health and medical sciences, representatives from the Ministry of Education and Higher Education, and Dr Said Ismail, director of Qatar Genome Programme and official sponsor the Federation; Ali bin Khatam Al Mahshadi, president of the Qatari Al-Qannas Association, as well as representatives from the Hamad Hospital, Sidra, the Primary Health Care Corporation, male and female students, professors and Qatari parents.
The eleventh round of the union lasted for two weeks of training courses for boys and girls, separately, through which 35 secondary schools and 170 Qatari male and female students participated.
Prof Asma Al Thani said, "I am very happy to celebrate today and to host such a large number of Qatari students interested in health and scientific disciplines. The union runs in accordance with the sustainable development agenda, Qatar National Vision 2030 and Qatar University’s strategy, which seek to invest in the new Qatari generation, increase the number of Qatari competencies and present them as a model that we are proud of on the international, regional and global level.”
"This union is considered the first of its kind in the Middle East in terms of content and operation mechanism, and one of the few projects in the world that look forward to long-term results and employs statistical results in the form of research papers that we present to the public opinion to reflect the effectiveness of the union. The union helps the new generation to discover a role model for them in various training sites in the fields of research and health, as well as enhance national belonging and a sense of responsibility. It seeks to invest in Qatari youth in order to secure a base of national human resources in the health sector.”
Dr Omar Al Ansari, vice-president of Qatar University for Academic Affairs, said: "We realise the potential of the next generation and we are trying to fulfil our duties in training them to achieve the best for them and to serve their country. Today, we are very happy that we have students who are interested in various health and medical sciences tracks and are able to Keeping up with modern health education.
The union’s website was also launched, which also includes electronic registration of students and teachers to participate in the various levels of the union.
Dr Said Ismail, director of the Qatar Genome Programme said, "Today, we are pleased to guide students to the various scientific disciplines that qualify them to engage in the broad and intertwined system of precision medicine for different sciences, as it combines preventive and therapeutic genetic counselling with computer science and genomics, every student is able to find what suits his inclinations and stimulates his thinking.”
Dr Farouk Omar Al Ajli, director of the Qatar Falcon Genome Project and a research scientist at the Qatar Al-Qannas Society, said: "The annual participation of the Qatar Al-Qannas Society aims to introduce secondary school students to accurate genomics science and ways to employ it to preserve biodiversity in Qatar. Through the union, we aspire to contribute to the establishment of an environmentally conscious generation capable of facing challenges on a solid scientific basis.”