Qatar University’s (QU) Gulf Studies Centre (GSC), which aims to advance in-depth knowledge of issues related to the Gulf region, has progressed rapidly in just a few years, according to a statement on Tuesday.
The GSC works on fostering thoughtful dialogue among students, scholars, and practitioners of Gulf affairs and facilitate free flow of ideas and knowledge thus promoting scholarly interest in the region. It aims to achieve this by offering multidisciplinary postgraduate academic programmes and innovative research.
In the past three years, the expansion of GSC included much needed positions and in return, the centre improved its overall performance. The GSC boasts a diversity of students and faculty members of more than 30 nationalities, which help in the diversification of the centre and its activities.
The GSC director and associate professor Dr Mahjoob Zweiri, said: “We engage in outreach activities with a wide range of local, regional, and international partners. The centre is keen on recruiting faculty who are experts in the field as well as staff with experiences that will help enrich the vision and mission of the centre.”
“Most importantly, our research centre and our graduate programme work as a unity. The centre is committed to offer the faculty and students a rare opportunity to be exposed to academic research from the field, closely linking both the centre and the programme together. This healthy relationship has proven its effectiveness and its ability to increase research productivity.”
The greatest pride of the centre is the book series with the international and world-renowned publisher Springer, who released the first comprehensive book on the 2017 Gulf Crisis.
As part of the Gulf Studies series, Springer launched a new volume titled ‘The 2017 Gulf Crisis: An Interdisciplinary Approach,’ edited by Mahjoob Zweiri, Mizanur Rahman and Arwa Kamal. The book brings together 23 top-level social scientists, including six Qatari scholars.
This impressive volume features 19 chapters that examines the crisis from its beginnings to its profound long-term consequences from an interdisciplinary academic perspective. Illustrating the implications of the crisis on nation building and reconfiguration of the security landscape and political and economic allegiances across the region, it offers readers a thorough scholarly analysis of the dynamics, contours and repercussions of one of the most important events in contemporary Gulf history.
Currently, the GSC has about three to five main books in the pipeline including ‘Contemporary Qatar: An Examination of State and Society’ edited by Dr. Mahjoob Zweiri and Farah al-Qawasmi in addition to more books in this field.
All the centre's events are open for attendance to all members and students of the QU community. An annual conference called the Student Symposium is completely tailored for the students and by the students. Members of the QU student community are responsible for the administrative logistics as well as the academic side of the conference. Organisers invite and encourage students from around the world to participate.
The GSC hosted 13 virtual events in 2020 with local and international participants. In addition, the centre’s faculty members continued to participate in external events regionally and internationally.
The Gulf Studies Programme was launched in 2011 and takes a fundamental approach where classes are delivered in small groups with maximised interaction and engagement between the student and the instructor.
