The Scene
The countdown for Qatar University's 30th Commencement Ceremonies has already started. Dates for both male and female students' commencements have been set: July 11th and 12th, 2007. As last year, the ceremonies will take place at Sheraton Doha Hotel. The final number of graduates has not been declared yet, but is expected to be around 1300 graduates. The commencement speakers have been decided, but not announced publicly. Dr. Omar Al Ansari, Associate Vice President for Students Affairs, will hold a press conference at the beginning of July to announce the details of the ceremonies. The External Relations Department is working on special publications dedicated to the graduates, the University's heritage, and its contributions to Qatar life and history. Local Arabic newspapers are expected to have special editorial supplements reflecting QU's role, its students' success stories, and its leadership's vision in shaping the future.On a historical note, Qatar University's first commencement was in 1977. The number of graduates that year was 198 (both men and women). With the concept of harvest - as a result of teaching, caring, and gardening of souls and minds, the whole learning process Qatar University over the past 30 years has resulted in about 27,460 thousand graduates, almost 21 thousand of them Qatari nationals. Many of those nationals are currently in leadership positions in the State of Qatar. The most distinguished among the university alumni is Her Highness Sheikha Moza Bint Nasser Al-Misnad. Sheikha Moza completed her higher education in sociology at Qatar University in 1986.There are currently more than 9,000 students at Qatar University; in 1973, when the University was first established, it had only 57 male and 93 female students (150 total). | |
