DOHA: Qatar University (QU) is due to open the new academic year on Sunday.
The opening of the new academic year 2023-2024 comes amid full preparation and mobilization to proceed with the march of academic, research and institutional milestones as QU is on the verge of launching a new strategy which is consistent with the third National Development Strategy 2023-2030.
The university is poised to receive nearly 30,000 male and female students this year among them over 6,000 new students in a variety of scientific levels, colleges and academic disciplines who have finished the electronic orientation meetings during the two past weeks which included an overall presentation for various college procedures and services.
The university received a new contingent of teaching staff in various disciplines and organized the annual orientation meeting for them in quest of highlighting the university services, various departments and sections, as well as defining its identity, policies, and strategic academic, research and administrative orientations that require the engagement of all in achieving them to ensure advancement in the sphere of global classifications and achieve objectives and purposes related to local development and develop human knowledge.
With the new academic year approaching, QU is pleased to highlight the accomplishments made over the past years at scientific and academic levels, including infrastructure, as well as the partnership relations it has fostered with the local community and higher education institutions in many countries worldwide.
In its endeavours to continue its triumph on this track, QU stands ready to announce the new strategy which is apparently consistent with the third national development strategy that combines a review of the current programs as previously underscored by the university officials and open new colleges, departments and programs that respond to the requirements of the current generation and generations to come, along with the requirements of Qatar National Vision 2030.
The strategy also offers interaction with the digital age and the tremendous technological evolution to be optimally employed to have a crucial impact on Qatar's renaissance and chart its bright future.
The strategy, in question, will determine work tracks for the university to proceed with excellence in performance and new developments locally and globally to build on the milestones it has achieved, and the successes scored in education, scientific research, corporate development, responsibility and societal partnership.
Such milestones did not happen in a vacuum but came in accordance with strategic visions and plans that were meticulously charted over the past years transforming QU from a traditional educational institution into a premium edifice where experiences and expertise react and ideas and knowledge converge to represent a major tributary for business market through supplying it with talents in multi-disciplinary fields to keep up with development plans that are responsive to the global evolution in knowledge fields.
The expansion in academic programs was followed by a tremendous growth in research facilities as QU today embraces 18 research centres and other supporting research facilities which contribute to achieving national priorities in development, modernization, upgradation, and global knowledge which bolster students' capabilities and skills in scientific research, development, and creativity.
All affiliates of this national university are proud of the premium status QU has attained after it has climbed up the QS world rankings 2024, placing 173. The latest achievement follows the announcement by Times Higher Education (THE) that QU placed 28th in the THE Asia rankings 2023, moving up 18 places from 2022 and proudly entering the top 30 universities in Asia, as well as placing 24th worldwide and first in the MENA region on the Young Universities ranking by the same ranking agency.
In addition, QU has a substantial global credit in terms of research, as its researchers have registered their local, regional, and international presence in services, research consultations and conducting joint research with numerous industrial institutions and companies. The university is proud of having research partnerships with scientists and researchers from over 350 institutions worldwide.
Thanks to this research excellence, a modern study from Stanford University (USA) classified scientists and researchers from QU as the most outstanding in the world citing their research papers in a variety of disciplines.
According to the study published last year, 80 percent of researchers in QU were among 2 percent of most prominent scientists worldwide, citing their research production and works which is indicative of QU's tremendous success in education trailblazing and producing high-quality and impactful research.
Such research successes and milestones are not limited to QU-affiliated researchers, teachers, and scientists, but its students have also contributed to this research and achieved tremendous successes, in addition to reaping gold and silver medals during recent years in many scientific and international forums through Qatar University Young Scientists Center (QUYSC).
In light of the research successes, QU has established the Qatar University Holding Company to embrace the creative ideas of faculty members, students and researchers, within the framework of supporting Qatar's orientation toward a knowledge-based economy, opening the door for the emergence of startups that adopt these ideas and research to be transformed into marketable products locally and externally.
There are three startups in QU namely 'Genesis Technologies LLC' which primarily specialises in fintech, Clear Exhaust whose innovation is based on a new technology that significantly reduces CO2 emissions from existing diesel engines which represent a key factor in global warming phenomena and lastly the SpaceVision Digital Solutions LLC which is focused on industrialized drone applications and services related to construction, energy, agriculture, and oil and gas sectors.
The progress in academic and research fields was followed by an evolution in QU's facilities that essentially serve students and all affiliates as the university has witnessed a tremendous renaissance in its infrastructure during the recent years which kept up with change requirements at academic, research and recreational levels.
QU gears up to launch new projects that respond to the current needs and future aspirations.
In implementing its plan to enrol the increasing numbers of students annually, QU has opened several new academic buildings and premises during the past two years such as the College of Education, College of Law, Student Affairs Office and College of Engineering which constituted a paradigm shift at the level of technological equipment, cutting-edge laboratories and study halls fitted with state-of-the-art technologies to offer a world-class environment that spurs students towards excellence and innovation.
At the institutional level, QU has received this year institutional accreditation from the US Senior College and University Commission 'WSCUC' in a new achievement that promotes its status and reputation among world-class educational institutions, such accreditation is a vital and major step to ensure QU's commitment to its students and community in maintaining constant optimization and providing high-quality educational environment whose objectives and procedures are in conformity with the local and international standards.
In opening its doors to receive the new academic year and getting ready for its new strategy, QU has major milestones in a variety of sectors to strengthen planning and maintain perseverance and work with one team based on the visions and ambitions of its board of trustees with clear-eyed plans that enhanced its local impact towards universalism.