Dr. Deborah White, Dean and CEO of University of Calgary in Qatar. Pic: Abdul Basit/the peninsula
University of Calgary in Qatar (UCQ), the only Canadian university in Qatar, has been contributing in a big way to Qatar’s education and health sector offering Bachelor and Master of Nursing programmes to Qataris and residents.
Launched in 2007 as the first and only overseas branch campus of one of Canada’s top universities - University of Calgary in Alberta, UCQ has been at the forefront in providing high quality education to new generation of nurses ready to take on the challenge as the country forges on towards achieving its National Vision.
To date, UCQ has already graduated more than 600 nurses raising the level of local nursing talent. Currently, around 16 percent of its total student population are Qataris and about 42 percent of those enrolled in its Master of Nursing course are Qatari nationals.
“Our programme and the many things that we do here are very much aligned with Qatar National Vision 2030. The programme is about health and education, so we look at everything from disease prevention to health promotion, thus covering across the entire lifespan,” said Deborah White, Dean & CEO at UCQ while commenting on UCQ’s contribution to Qatar’s development as it focuses on education and health as two of its main thrusts.
She said the programme UCQ offers is encompassing, spanning the whole area of health promotion fundamental to nursing and which all of their students have the opportunity to engage in no matter what programme they are in. UCQ programme delves into every aspect of health; from primary healthcare and maternal and child health to medicine, surgery and mental health among others, she added.
An all-Canadian faculty delivers UCQ’s well-tailored curriculum which provides its nursing students the knowledge and expertise that allow them to become fully integrated leaders in Qatar’s health care sector.
“We are in the process of revising our curriculum so that it fits the need of the country as well as looking at other areas where we can expand our Masters programme,” said White.
While underling the important role that Qatari nurses could play in the country as “very strong clinical leaders and directors who can lead national programmes” as they avail of UCQ’s offerings, she also revealed plans to have Qataris get involved in UCQ education as teachers as part of their long-term goal.
Speaking on the sidelines of UCQ’s Open House for prospective students on Saturday, White announced that they are aligning their tuition fee structure with that of University of Calgary in Alberta, thus providing more opportunities for students to avail of high quality UCQ education.
