QU Vice President for Student Affairs to QNA: Smooth Start for 28.8 Students in New Academic Semester

Vice President for Student Affairs at Qatar University (QU) Dr. Mohammad Diab affirmed that the university prepared all its facilities and services early to ensure a smooth and organized start of the academic semester (Fall 2024) that began on Sunday, indicating that 28,800 female and male students are regularly attending classes, distributed across various specializations and academic levels, with Qataris accounting for 66.5 percent of them. In an interview with Qatar News Agency (QNA) on the occasion of the beginning of the new academic semester, Dr. Diab said that QU prepared all its facilities and services early to receive students, and took many measures aimed at ensuring a smooth and organized start to the new semester, adding that these preparations included registering students, providing academic guidance, and organizing activities and events that help new students adapt to the new academic environment and socialize with others. He pointed out that the number and female and male students accepted f or the semester (Fall 2024) reached 6,717 students, including 529 in the postgraduate stage, to join their colleagues to begin a distinguished academic experience in this educational edifice that is witnessing growth at various levels. The student affairs sector has entered a new phase after moving to the new building, which is a source of pride for the university thanks to its distinguished strategic location, multiple floors, and facilities that respond to students' needs, such as service and entertainment facilities and spaces that enable students to practice their various hobbies, he added, explaining that the new building, which is divided into two parts, provides an integrated environment for all students and student affairs staff, and is characterized by views and natural landscapes that contribute to creating an atmosphere of comfort and tranquility for both employees and students. He pointed out that the student affairs sector has a set of ambitious plans that aim to improve the academic and person al experience of students, in light of the university's new strategy that focuses on enhancing academic quality, developing infrastructure, and supporting innovation and scientific research. In this context, Dr. Diab stressed that the sector provides an integrated educational environment that supports students' academic and personal growth, enhances their interaction with the community, and increases their chances of success in their future career paths. He addressed the objectives sought by the sector, most notably enriching the extracurricular student experience in a way that contributes to student retention, continuity and success, and achieving the characteristics of a QU graduate, through developing and implementing an integrated system that encourages students to engage in university life and creating a framework of competencies for support staff according to current and future job needs. One of the objectives that the sector seeks to achieve is developing QU's campus in a way that achieves the unive rsity's mission and vision through digital transformation, to ensure the integration of the digital technologies used and the implemented initiatives, and to enhance the educational and administrative processes of the institution, he added. The goals mentioned by QU's Vice President for Student Affairs include expanding academic advising services, diversifying student activities, organizing various sports, cultural and artistic events to meet the different interests of students, as well as updating and establishing modern sports and recreational facilities that provide students with a suitable environment for practicing sports and physical activities, in addition to promoting volunteer work. Dr. Diab stressed that building partnerships with local and international academic and professional institutions to provide training and student exchange opportunities is among the important goals of the student affairs sector, in addition to expanding student exchange opportunities within academic and cultural exchange programs, providing more scholarships and financial aid to deserving students, and developing digital applications and services that facilitate students' access to academic information and university services with ease and convenience. In regard to international students, Vice President of QU Dr. Mohammad Diab explained that, through the scholarships and international students department, the university achieves one of QU's goals by hosting students from all over the globe at the graduate and undergraduate level, providing financial aid services, and other services that contribute to developing their skills and helping them achieve the aspired academic success and excellence. He stressed QU's keenness to support talents and attract academically outstanding students by providing scholarships and sponsorship programs in the fields of scientific research, technology, innovation, literature, media, acting and sports, in addition to programs dedicated to Qatari students applying for science, technology, engineer ing and mathematics majors. The scholarships allocated to attract and support talents and high achievers include Qatari and non-Qatari students with the aim of enhancing their academic and personal growth and developing their talents, he said, adding that these scholarships include providing exemptions from tuition fees, a monthly salary, and ensuring acceptance into the required academic program. Dr. Diab stressed that QU has succeeded in achieving its vision of being the first choice for students in higher education within the country thanks to a set of key factors, the most important of which are the quality of academic education programs, their competitiveness at the regional and global levels, innovation in education, and the presence of modern and advanced facilities and installations. He also addressed the university's efforts to enhance and activate student life on campus through a variety of initiatives and programs, which encourage students to join student clubs and organizations, in addition to involving students in decision-making through their involvement in the Student Representative Board. The university also provides its students with other services, including academic and psychological counseling services to help students deal with personal and academic challenges, through specialized centers that include experts and specialists in related fields, he added. University support services are not limited to academic and psychological aspects, but extend to preparing and qualifying students and graduates professionally enter the labor market through the Career Development Center, by providing individual and group counseling sessions that help students understand their personality traits and find out their skills and professional inclinations, he said, pointing out the sector's keenness to organize training programs and activities that focus on providing students with work skills and ethics, in addition to providing part-time job opportunities, field training and job experience, to prepare them to compete for the best career opportunities offered by the Qatari labor market. In this context, Dr. Diab emphasized QU's interest in its students with disabilities, by providing a comprehensive and stimulating educational environment that ensures their excellence and academic and personal development, in accordance with the highest local standards and laws, such as providing the necessary assistance such as companions, organizing awareness workshops, in addition to assistive technology and training that suits each student individually, and ensuring accessibility to buildings and facilities and digital access to the website, while maintaining complete confidentiality of student data. He also pointed out that Student Financial Aid service is one of the most important sources of support provided by QU to undergraduate students who face financial challenges in covering their educational expenses, adding that this service includes a monthly aid, emergency financial aid, full or partial reimbursement of transporta tion fees, tuition fees, and university housing fees, in addition to external funding for financial aid programs in cooperation with some partner institutions and charitable associations. He revealed that the university provided various types of student financial aid during the past academic year 2023-2024, from which 3,300 female and male students benefited, while more than 1,668 students currently benefit from scholarships. He also pointed out that the university is continuously studying all options to improve and diversify them and make them more compatible with the needs of students, based on its strategy that is characterized by flexibility and renewal. Dr. Diab concluded his interview with QNA by emphasizing QU's keenness to provide distinguished academic environment and ensure a stimulating student experience for its students to achieve the university and society's goal of graduating highly qualified national cadres who contribute to the development and modernization process witnessed by the country. Source: Qatar News Agency