UDST President to QNA: The University's Mission is to Graduate Student Ready for Labor Market

The University of Doha for Science and Technology (UDST) will on Tuesday celebrate the graduation of a new batch of students for 2022. Some 473 boys and girls will graduate in all specialisations.

UDST President Dr Salem bin Nasser Al Naemi, said in an interview with Qatar News Agency (QNA) that this is the first batch after the university was established by Amiri Resolution No 13 of 2022 issued by His Highness the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani last February.Previously it was known as the College of the North Atlantic.He added: "Our celebration of the graduation of this batch of university students for the first time in the university's history on campus means that we celebrate our 20th year of the university's academic legacy in Qatar, bringing the number of its graduates to more than 7,000."He stressed the UDST is the first applied university in Qatar, and its interest, unlike the academic aspect, is focused on covering the very important professional, and technical aspects of the country.He said being named Doha University shows the national depth in the field of education, especially the vocational field, and its mission is for the students to graduate ready for the labour market.He pointed out that UDST, as a national university, gives priority to Qatari students, especially students of specialised secondary schools, and it has contact with academic supervisors in those schools; with the aim of informing students on the university's scientific and practical components, and that it will therefore welcome them in Fall 2022.Al Naemi pointed out that all practical, scientific and professional specialisations of the university are from the labour market, and stressed that the university's programmes are very important in terms of meeting the needs of the State.Regarding educational opportunities the university provides to students, he noted it has carefully developed programmes and an educational approach to achieve maximum benefit for students. This gives students the opportunity to test an integrated educational experience through an interactive simulation environment and field exercises, to obtain extensive experience, and acquire skills that contribute to help them get appropriate job opportunities upon graduation, he said. Al Naemi added that Qatari students and children of Qatari women are exempt from tuition fees for the diploma and applied bachelor programmes.In a related context, he said admissions for the Fall semester at the university are open until June 9, which is the last date for registration, given the huge number of students wishing to join the university. Students can submit their applications via the website udst.edu.qa.He explained that the university has now included four colleges for business administration, computing and information technology, technological engineering and the College of Health Sciences, in addition to 12 additional new programmes, bringing the number of programmes offered to 58, including 23 applied bachelor's programmes, four applied master's programmes, in addition to 31 diploma and advanced diploma programmes.Al Naemi said that work on the new programmes will start in the Fall semester.He added that the university is unique in offering many specialised programmes, including banking, technology and finance, data science and artificial intelligence, and respiratory therapy, which has proven its feasibility and importance during the coronavirus pandemic, medical radiology, and communication, digital and media production, engineering in electric power and renewable energy, construction engineering, and engineering in automation and control systems, with the addition of a nursing diploma programme in the College of Health Sciences.The university is continuing to build new partnerships that serve its students in several respects, he said. Among these is the development of programmes that take into account the needs of various sectors of work, and provide the students with an opportunity for training and applied research, as well as for employment, in addition to constantly looking for innovation and the latest additions in the world of modern technology that serve Qatar's educational system, and is keen to graduate competencies capable of adapting with variables of the national and global economy.He explained that the local university's partnerships include government agencies from ministries to institutions, as well as companies, the industrial sector, the private sector, and the Qatar Solar Energy Company. He said these bodies send their students to the university to study, design training, professional and technical courses for them, as well as global partnerships with universities and concerned parties in Canada, the US and the UK, in terms of the exchange of students and faculty members, at the same time allowing university graduates to complete their studies in those universities.Al Naemi stated that the number of university students in 2018 was 2,800, and today it stands at 5,400 students from 73 nationalities, distributed among its various faculties, and they embody the university's cultural environment.