DOHA: Over 400 students will be graduated today at the sixth convocation to be held by Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development at Qatar National Convention Centre.
The class of 2013 signifies the highest number of graduates in Qatar Foundation’s history, with 437 students from over 60 countries participating in this year’s convocation. The number of graduates this year is considerably higher compared to 2012 when 373 students were awarded degrees. The gender gap has also shifted in favour of females this year, with 229 women and 208 men making up the class of 2013. The last year batch was consist of 188 women and 185 men.
Convocation 2013 will be held under the patronage of H H Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, Chairperson of Qatar Foundation, who will lead the charge to the graduates. The welcome speech will be delivered by Dr Abdulla bin Ali Al Thani, President of Hamad bin Khalifa University and Vice President of Education at Qatar Foundation. He will also present the graduates with commemorative convocation rings.
During the past five years there has been a year-on-year increase in the number of graduates, from 122 in 2008 to 191 in 2009, 200 in 2010, 245 in 2011, and 373 last year. And over the past decade, a total of 1,273 graduates have received degrees in various disciplines from universities based in Qatar Foundation. This year, 35 doctors will graduate from WCMC-Q and 115 engineers from Tamuq, alongside 44 Masters of Business Administration from HEC Paris in Qatar.
In addition, 33 students looking forward to careers in the media will graduate from Northwestern University in Qatar (NU-Q), alongside 81 from Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar (CMU-Q), 43 from Georgetown University — School of Foreign Service in Qatar (SFS-Qatar), 42 from the Qatar Faculty of Islamic Studies (QFIS), and 44 from Virginia Commonwealth University in Qatar (VCU Qatar). The convocation ceremony will be broadcast live on Qatar TV from 7pm. The public can also listen to live Arabic coverage of the event on QF Radio’s 93.7 FM. Although each university holds its graduation ceremony, Convocation 2013 brings together undergraduate and postgraduate students from several universities across Qatar Foundation.
The Peninsula
