Administrative Community

Qatar University, ITS Department was honored in the sixth annual CNME ICT achievement award night held in Dubai on Sunday,18thOctober,2015.

CNME (Computer News Middle East) is the Middle East’s leading IT publication. It has been the number one link between regional IT players and their key target markets for over two decades. Qatar University witnessed the highest number of nominations and peaked among the final 5 nominees for the ‘ITS team of the year’, ‘Educational project of the year’ and ‘CIO of the year’ award categories. Mr. Trevor Moore, CIO,ITS bagged the prestigious ‘CIO of the Year’ award in the end-user category.

CNME's ICT Achievement Awards Committee recognizes individuals and organizations who have delivered momentous business value through their innovative application of technologies. QU is proud to speak loud about the continuous efforts and achievements of ITS.

The Recruitment Section of the Human Resources Department hosted a comprehensive orientation for the new Admin employees on October,15th, 2015 in the new library building auditorium.

The orientation featured informative presentations by which new employees were introduced to life at QU. The presentations elaborated on QU’s mission & vision, introduced the following HR services: Health Insurance, Immigration, Employee Self Services, HR Helpdesk, Employee Training and Development, Employee Benefits, Importance of credentials,Housing and how to apply for QU Housing, IT Security, Employee Safety and Security, Institutional Planning and Development  and explaining the one stop online administrative services portal “Talabati”-an efficient portal for employees to access information (forms, policies, and standard practice guidelines) and other online administrative services.

At the end of the orientation, campus tour was arranged in cooperation with the External Relations Department. Overall, ‘Ya Hala’ orientation for new Admin employees provided an inviting and informative introduction to Qatar University. 

QU held ISO training program for Procurement department in the conference room of the Administration building on October 15th, 2015 that witnessed around 20 people from Procurement department including Mr. Mohammed Al-Saadi, Procurement Director . This training was conducted by experts from British Standards Institution (BSI) Group on Awareness about Quality Management systems and ISO 9001.The Administrative Services Department, who oversees the implementation of ISO 9001:2008, coordinated this training.

The trainer Mr. Jalal Mardana explained in detail about Quality Management systems: its benefits and its applicability in Qatar University environment. Mr. Jalal highlighted the benefits of implementing ISO 9001 using the PLAN-DO-CHECK-ACT approach  leading to improvement in purchasing process, easier tracking of contracts, continual improvement in process, mutually beneficial supplier relationship and increased customer satisfaction.

The training outcome was very interactive with group exercises and helped better understand what a quality management system is, how to implement it, and how to audit a system.

QU held its Annual Convocation on October, 11, 2015  during which QU President,  Dr. Hassan Al-Derham highlighted the organization’s achievements over the last academic year, the ongoing university projects, and the future strategic plan to reach best outcome to achieve QU’s vision and mission. The event was attended by QU leadership, Deans, Heads of Departments, Directors, Faculty members, Employees , and Alumni. Dr. Hassan Al-Derham honored Mr. Mohammed Saleh Al-Saadi , Procurement Director during the event  for his outstanding achievements and accomplishments during the year.

 The Administration Unit is proud to congratulate  Mr. Mohammed Saleh Al-Saadi  on receiving the Employee of the Year Award,2015. 

Faculty orientation is an event that occurs prior to the start of every academic year. This year’s orientation was hosted in the QU library from August 16th – 27th welcoming around 126 new faculty from around the globe. The event was esteemed by the presence of   Dr. Homaid Al-Midfaa, Vice President for Administration & Chief Financial Officer as he welcomed the new faculty.

The orientation was divided into two sessions; first, the faculty attended a short presentation on the university’s organizational structure, applicable rules and regulations, and administrative processes. Orientation presenter Dr. Hatim Sadik, AVP Consultant for Administrative Office, noted that “The orientation is a brief about the whole University in one day”. Secondly, the faculty were guided to a hall featuring booths from various administrative departments to serve them with necessary services to start as new faculty member, such as forms for recruitment papers, health insurance, Information Technology Services (ITS), visa application, and also to learn more about services such as “Talabati”—QU’s one-stop customer service portal, providing assistance with any administrative work. In addition, external services such as registration for telecommunications, banking, and schooling were offered.

As recruitment specialist Usman Al Minhas  explained, “It’s a one-stop for new faculty”. Overall, the new faculty orientation of 2015 was well-organized, and structured to meet the needs of the new faculty.

QU held the Arab HEUG Conference on the 4th and 5th of May 2015, in cooperation with many regional and international universities and institutions: ADU,CNA–Q,TouchNet, ITS Company, Oracle,Changers .The conference served as a venue for the exchange of experiences in the use of Oracle applications in higher education, as well as its range of potential implementations, through the participation of experts and scholars from many Arab and international universities.

The first day featured welcome statements by Dr. Homaid Al-Madfa, QU VPA & CFO ; Steven Hann, HEUG Ex-President and Mrs. Sara Al-Marri, QU AVPA. Mr. Essa Al-Mannai ,President of the Arab HEUG.Reach Out to Asia, “ROTA “ Director, gave his opening statement .Mr. Al-Mannai also declared the launch of ROTA 3.

The first day of the conference was divided into many sessions including: “Updating HEUG Status”,  a session by Oracle global VP Cole Clark, entitled “Supporting Higher Education through Innovation and Partnership: a View of Oracle Strategy in Education and Research”.Ms. Amani Othman, Head of Communication and Marketing Section at QU’s Administrative Services Department, emphasized the success of the conference. The second day included: workshops in the application of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) program, workshops in finance, and how to set up a plan for conversing financing functions for certain strategies, sessions by Mr. Clark that tackled analysis of massive data sets, and private data in students’ board.Ms. Reem Al Ansari, IT Executive Manager at QU, shared her opinion about her participation in the conference.

In the concluding session, Dr. Ken MacLeod, President of CNA–Q, talked about the exerted efforts and skills by those who work in the field of applications and systems and who constitute the core of this Arab HEUG conference in a way that adds more to the quality of CNA–Q’s programs.  

The QU Health Clinic organized an essential eight-hour course that teaches how to respond to someone suffering from cardiac arrest and other life-threatening illnesses or injuries. Having the knowledge of how to deal with these situations may lead to saving a person’s life.

This course is one of QU’s public training programs, which aim to educate participants about cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and first aid for other critical situations, like bleeding, fractures, burns, chock, drowning, etc, in addition to the principles of first responder and disaster management. A qualified team from Hamad Emergency Sector and Hamad International Centre will be providing training and support at the University campus. The class also covered automated external defibrillation for adults and children, foreign-body airway obstruction (conscious and unconscious), special resuscitation situations, and other cardiopulmonary events. The course is certified and BLS licenses have been given for those who passed the course successfully after the practical assessment through the skill stations and the written MCQ exam, according to the standards set by European Resuscitation Council.

Qatar University’s Training Unit at the Human Resources Department organized the following courses:  

Meeting Management & Minutes Taking Skills

The Training Unit, in collaboration with the Spearhead Training Company, conducted a two-day training course on Meeting Management and Minutes

Taking Skills for QU Staff, including executive assistants, administrative assistants, coordinators and secretaries. The event was held at the Grand Heritage hotel on February 18th and 19th, 2015. The course attracted 15 attendees, and focused on how to understand the techniques required for running effective meetings and how to examine communication techniques in face-to-face communications. The session highlighted the importance of using proper agendas and developing fast note-taking skills, in addition to writing clear and accurate minutes.

Customer Service

The Training Unit, in collaboration with the Spearhead Training Company, conducted a two-day training course on Customer Service for the Finance Department. The event was held at the Grand Heritage hotel on March 3rd and 4th, 2015 and attracted 9 attendees. This course clearly defined the customer service barriers within a sample organization and the various types of customers we serve. The aim of this course was to state the important elements of communication and how we can use them to provide exceptional customer service in addition to understanding why customers complain and how to deal professionally with complaints so as to ensure service recovery.

Strategic Planning

The Training Unit, in collaboration with Broadlands Company, organized a two-day course on Strategic Planning at the Grand Heritage Hotel on the 25th and 26th of March 2015, attracting 13 attendees. The main objective of this session was to explore the relationship between the roles of senior, middle, and first line management, also to understand the concepts: strategic, tactical, and operational roles and how managers can align and implement strategy. The major highlights were using the SWOT analysis as a tool for analyzing the internal strengths and weaknesses of an organization, and the external opportunities and threats. Furthermore to assess risk associated with Strategic Plans and to analysis how closed loop systems can be used.