Under the patronage of His Excellency Sheikh Khalid bin Khalifa bin Abdulaziz Al Thani, Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, the Community College of Qatar (CCQ) celebrated the graduation of its 9th batch of associate’s and bachelor’s degree holders on Thursday.
The graduation ceremony of 725 promising specialized national cadres in multiple fields was exceptional this year as CCQ’s first-ever virtual graduation ceremony, due to the precautionary measures taken to prevent the spread of the Coronavirus (COVID-19).
Addressing the Class of 2020, Dr. Mohamed Al-Naemi, CCQ President, extended his congratulations to the graduates and expressed his pride in joining them on that remarkable day to celebrate their outstanding achievement of earning an associate’s or a bachelor’s degree from the Community College of Qatar.
Dr. Al-Naemi also highlighted the unprecedented challenges that the College faced during the last academic year, and how it managed to overcome them through the joint efforts of all CCQ members, i.e. students, faculty and staff, and the support of CCQ’s partners:
“CCQ has successfully managed to get over the many unprecedented challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, taking multiple proactive actions and offering state-of-the-art technologies and learning tools that ensured the continuity of the educational process online, while maintaining the quality of the offered courses and overall students’ academic achievement. Those challenges have also led us to think out of the box and harness the power of technology efficiently to provide more educational opportunities and services aiming to serve a larger group of CCQ’s members while maximizing our resources in a way that enhances the leadership of the Community College as a national higher education institution capable of coping with international developments.”
Speaking on behalf of the Class of 2020, graduate of the Bachelor of Arts in Public Administration Aysha Al-Yarboei shed light on the extraordinary experience of the 9th graduating batch in overcoming all difficulties and obstacles which were imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic to continue their academic journey:
“We had to gather our strength to face a different reality, and to overcome the new challenges that came along. These circumstances made us stronger and more determined to continue our academic journey, which led us to stand here today with you to celebrate our accomplishments, which were achievable by the grace of Allah, the support of our wise leadership, the collaboration of the various medical and educational institutions in Qatar, and of course the relentless efforts of the academic and administrative bodies at CCQ, especially Dr. Mohamed Al-Naemi who led the College through these hard times.”
“Today’s ceremony is not like any other: we neither gathered in a celebration hall nor invited our families and friends; and we neither received our graduation certificates personally, nor got the chance of having His Excellency the Prime Minister and the College’s higher administration to honor us! Nevertheless, our main comfort is knowing that it is a celebration of success, persistence, determination to overcome obstacles .. a celebration of victory over a pandemic that posed challenges and made us stronger in the face of adversity .. and a celebration of the achievements of students, teachers/professors, doctors, and administrative and technical staff in the various institutions,” she added.
Al-Yarboei also urged her fellow graduates to continue their learning journey, saying “We have shared such an exciting journey together, but the journey is not over yet. It is time to celebrate moving into broader worlds where we can continue our journey, climb the ladder of knowledge and keep serving our precious country.”
The ceremony included honoring the outstanding graduates by the College President Dr. Mohamed Al-Naemi and the Vice-President Dr. Khalid Al-Abdulqader, namely: Ashwaq Saif Alghafri, BA in Public Administration; Zenab Hussain Ahmad, BS in Cyber and Network Security; Abdulla Jaber Almohannadi, AA in Public Administration; Aisha Ebrahim Al-Sulaiti, AA in Public Administration; and Lolwa Rashid Al-Rubaiei, AA in Business Administration.
Graduates of the Class of 2020 expressed their joy and excitement at having finished this phase of their lives after a journey of persistence, especially under the exceptional circumstances the world is witnessing, and their eagerness to embark on a new journey towards achieving more academic and professional accomplishments.
Reflecting on his journey at CCQ, Abdulla Jaber Al-Mohannadi, AA in Public Administration, said:
“Earning the associate’s degree is the first step towards serving my country and society, and contributing to the QNV 2030, which focuses on education as one of the basic pillars of social progress. It gives me great pride to graduate top of my class and I am determined to keep it up and earn my bachelor’s degree soon”.
“I have chosen to enroll in the Community College as a distinguished educational institution that offers unique academic programs not available at other colleges and universities. This is in addition to the remarkable learning environment that CCQ provides and the valuable guidance and support extended by its faculty members and administrative staff,” Al-Mohannadi added.
Ashwaq Saif Alghafri, BA in Public Administration, praised the active role of the Community College in opening the horizons to the community members to pursue their higher education.
“My passion and ambition led me to pursue my bachelor’s degree in the field of human resources, and here I am graduating with excellence, thanks to Allah and to my professors and all CCQ’s staff. I am looking forward to continuing my studies to earn a master’s degree and working hard to return the favor to our beloved Qatar”, Alghafri said.
For Abdulrahman Abdulla Alshafai, AAS in Customs Management, CCQ has greatly impacted the way he performs his job duties. “Studying at the Community College has enhanced my professional skills necessary to perform my duties at the General Authority of Customs, and I am all set to continue my journey at CCQ through the Bachelor of Border Management”, said Alshafai.
On her part, Aisha Ebrahim Al-Sulaiti, AA in Public Administration, thanked all CCQ’s faculty members for their efforts to enrich students’ knowledge and hone their skills.
“CCQ has given me the chance to fulfill my ambitions and develop myself, being the right place for anyone who is facing challenges with completing their studies due to family and work commitments. Thanks to Allah, then to CCQ, I managed to complete my studies after it seemed impossible, since programs offered by other universities were not suitable for my situation ”, said Al-Sulaiti. “My graduation today is just the beginning, as the sky is the limit for my ambition. That is why I am currently working on completing the Bachelor of Public administration and then earning a master’s degree,” she added.
The ceremony was an opportunity to share some of the other accomplishments achieved by the Community College during the previous academic year, which further strengthened its leadership as a national higher education institution that is capable of keeping up with local and international developments. As part of its active pursuit of introducing more flexible learning paths that offer educational alternatives, CCQ launched the Associate of Business Administration as its first fully hybrid academic program to enable larger segments of the Qatari society to pursue their academic aspirations by tackling the challenges posed by their personal commitments and professional duties.
Among the many other accomplishments that CCQ has achieved this year was the launch of the Bachelor of Science in Logistics and Supply Chain Management program, which provides students holding CCQ’s associate’s degree in the same discipline with the opportunity to pursue a bachelor’s degree. The new program will help supply the labor market with a plethora of national cadres who are extensively trained for management positions in transportation, warehousing, distribution and international logistics, thus effectively contributing to achieving the goals of food security, which is a strategic priority for our nation.
In addition, CCQ’s English Language Center succeeded in obtaining the 5-year accreditation of the Commission on English Language Accreditation (CEA), which represents the advanced educational standards applied at the College and its commitment to follow the globally recognized best practices.
During this year, the College was also keen on expanding its strategic partnerships with national institutions, through establishing bilateral agreements and MoUs to enhance the academic and training collaborations on one hand, and to contribute to human and social development on the other hand.
