The Community College of Qatar (CCQ) recently welcomed 530 incoming students in its fall semester of the new academic year 2019-2020. The new enrollees comprise 374 females and 156 males, and span across the College’s rich range of degree programs. Besides the new students, the College welcomed 38 new faculty members to its campuses.
The academic year commenced with a series of events organized for the newcomers, including students, faculty and staff members, with the aim of equipping them with all necessary information about CCQ.
Part of the events was a two-day orientation program, which was held for new male and female students at CCQ’s Lusail Campus, where academic advisors lectured them on a variety of topics, including CCQ’s policies, admission requirements, programs and their study plans, registration for courses, as well as the requirements for transferring from and to Qatar University.
Welcoming the newly admitted students, CCQ President Dr. Mohamed Al-Naemi wished them a fruitful year filled with promising opportunities towards realizing their academic and professional ambitions.
For his part, CCQ Vice President Dr. Khalid Al-Abdulqader addressed the incoming students, highlighting the pivotal role the College, being the fastest growing educational institution in Qatar, plays in boosting the rates of Qatari nationals with specialized higher education degrees in multiple disciplines that meet the needs of the labor market. In this regard, the College facilitates the educational process for students by providing them with the opportunity to complete their studies while keeping their jobs simultaneously without compromising any of them, he said.
In a similar vein, the College held a Convocation Day to welcome new faculty and staff members, where they were instructed on their rights and duties, as well as the wide variety of services provided by CCQ’s different departments and sections.
CCQ president welcomed the new joining members and urged them to share the College’s vision and effectively contribute to the realization of its goals. He stated:
“There is no doubt that all members belonging to this institution have certain goals they are striving to achieve, which we believe can work in tandem with CCQ strategic goals. In this case, our aims at the College will be a tangible reality with the joint efforts of every member in this institution. Essentially, this could be done, through your collective and valuable participation in the initiatives and activities we, as a higher education entity, embark on.”
Speaking at the event, CCQ vice president shed light on the continuous development evidently witnessed by the College since its inauguration in 2010. He illustrated:
“Certainly, CCQ is witnessing a rapid improvement at all levels, which includes, on the one hand, an increase in the number of its academic offerings to 17 - both in associate and bachelor's degree programs. On the other hand, the College has seen a sudden growth in the number of its members, from students to academics and staff. These are all signs that rendered CCQ the second largest national institution of higher education in Qatar with over 5,000 students at our different campuses, which is indicative of the confidence of the Qatari society in our educational services.”
As well, he discussed the crucial role played by the College in serving the economic vision of Qatar through meeting the local market demand of a highly-skilled national workforce. “CCQ is one of the leading national higher education institutions striving to meet the Qatari market’s growing demand of qualified national competencies. In this regard, the College offers a diversified range of academic programs that address the needs of vital and nascent economic fields and the emerging jobs they create in line with Qatar National Vision 2030. Moreover, we highly prioritize opening distinct academic horizons for our students to explore, therefore, besides offering associate degree programs, CCQ offers a growing variety of bachelor’s degree programs and continues to ink strategic partnerships with state-of-the-art local and international universities in this regard,” he said.
The vice president also indicated that raising the efficiency of institutional performance is an integral part of CCQ’s strategy, which it seeks to achieve through continuously improving the quality of education it provides, employing highly qualified staff, attracting highly experienced faculty members, and utilizing the latest educational technologies, he added.
The Convocation Day featured presentations delivered by a number of CCQ’s sections and departments, where the audience were introduced to the latter’s different roles and services to optimize the institutional communication.
In the same context, CCQ has organized a wide range of professional development workshops in a bid to enhance the institutional performance and hone the skills of its faculty and staff members. These workshops addressed a distinct array of topics, such as self-leadership skills and decision-making skills, whereas faculty members attended training sessions on “Blackboard” and “Digital Measures” systems, which would reflect positively on the academic process for both faculty members and students.
