DOHA: University of Doha for Science and Technology (UDST) has geared up to welcome more than 7,000 students (males and females) at the start of a new academic year, including over 1,700 freshmen.
UDST President Dr Salem bin Nasser Al Nuaimi, said the new students are the largest batch ever received by the university.
In remarks to QNA, Dr Al Naemi said that the university has over 7,300 male and female students, 25 percent whom are Qataris, which tells that the university has become attractive, as it offers qualitative majors that meet the requirements of the local and global labour market as well as the desires of students.
UDST, which was established by Emiri Resolution No. 13 of 2022, is the first national university to offer applied academic, technical and vocational education in the State of Qatar, and provides more than 60 applied programmes that include master's, bachelor's, diploma and certificate qualifications, he said.
Dr Al Naemi said that all the freshmen and old students will enrol in five colleges that offer educational programmes in the fields of business, computing and information technology, engineering and technology, health sciences and general education. These majors were provided according to the capacity of the university, which in turn is reflected in the total number of students and the quality of these majors themselves, he pointed out.
UDST is the only university in the State of Qatar that offers the midwifery major, which is highly sought after by girls, he said explaining that the programme was designed in response to a national need to locally develop this speciality and graduate midwives who contribute to achieving the national health strategy that prioritizes women's health.
Dr Al Naemi noted that the midwifery programme was launched in accordance with the International Federation of Midwives (IFM's) education standards, which develop the skills and knowledge of midwives and prepare them to provide professional care and support for pregnant women, newborn babies and their families.
UDST president reiterated the university's great attention to scientific research, pointing that during the academic year 2022-2023, UDST conducted over 250 research papers that were published in prestigious international journals.
He revealed that UDST will organize during the academic year 2023-2024 a large number of local and international scientific conferences and workshops, in vital and important sectors, within the framework of the university's focus on the research environment, in cooperation with the Qatar National Research Fund of the Qatar Research, Development and Innovation Council. The university has distinguished faculty members who excel in conducting scientific research in all its disciplines, including engineering, food security, informatics and health sciences.
Dr Al Neami told QNA that the university also has important local and international partnerships, including more than 50 local partners in the governmental, private and mixed sectors, universities and professional centres, in addition to more than 20 global partners in a number of countries, including, US, Canada and Ireland to name a few.
On the university's priorities for the new academic year, Dr Al Neami said that they include expanding the infrastructure to accommodate a bigger number of students, as well as providing services that help students diversify their orientations and interests, in a way that helps them go beyond the local scope.
UDST priorities also include keeping up with and simulating the requirements of the local labour market, offering and providing not only academic programs, but specialized ones that meet the needs of various sectors in the country, and expanding research on local and international problems.
Dean of the College of Engineering Technology Dr Awni El Otoom told QNA that all college programmes enjoy a remarkable turnout from students, such as marine engineering, mechanical engineering, and smart manufacturing engineering.
They are all new programmes that use the latest technology, including artificial intelligence, smart manufacturing, and the Internet of Things, he noted.
For her part, Dean of the College of Health Sciences Dr JoAnne MacDonald talked about the college's programmes and their importance to society in Qatar and abroad, including the midwifery programme.
She indicated that UDST offers two types of certificates in this specialization, one of which is a post-diploma bachelor's degree for professionals who practise different health professions and wish to complete their studies in this speciality to obtain a bachelor's degree, in addition to another programme, which is a bachelor's degree in midwifery for those who enrol in the college after secondary school.
She stated that this programme was selected and developed in response to a national need, adding that it graduates midwives who contribute to achieving the National Health Strategy in the State of Qatar.
