Doha Institute for Graduate Studies (DI) president Dr Abdelwahab El Affendi has said that the DI has completed this year the requirements for official accreditation, pointing to the prestigious position occupied by the DI among global higher education institutions.
In a speech during the graduation of DI's 8th cohort of master's students yesterday, he highlighted the DI's progress in obtaining global accreditation.
He pointed to the rising number of DI graduates pursuing their PhDs in more than 42 Arabic universities and 45 international universities.
Dr El Affendi noted that the celebration of the graduation of a new DI's cohort comes this year amid the tragic events in the Palestinian territories.
He praised Qatar's significant contributions and support to Gaza.
Dr El Affendi paid tribute to the students and faculty at US universities and those who followed their lead in Europe and elsewhere for their courage in support of the just Palestinian cause.
Dean of Student Affairs Dr Ibrahim Freihat opened the graduation ceremony with welcoming remarks in which he praised the efforts of the graduates "who have pursued knowledge in partnership with their teachers to achieve human development where critical thinking is the base”.
The event featured speeches from graduates Dalal al-Mulla from the Social Work Programme, and Salma al-Jamal from the Conflict Management and Humanitarian Action Programme, who reflected on their enriching experience at the DI.
The event witnessed the graduation of 206 students, an 11% increase over last year – 139 from the School of Social Sciences and Humanities, and 67 from the School of Economics, Administration, and Public Policy – of which 95 graduates were supported by the Qatar Fund for Development as part of Qatar's international scholarship programme.
Since its establishment, the DI has graduated 1,220 students, offering 19 internationally accredited master's programmes in two schools and eight PhD programmes, emphasising interdisciplinary approaches and using Arabic as the primary language of instruction and research, with fluency in English as a requirement. – QNA
