Qatar Foundation honours 298 long serving members of staff

This year marks Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development’s (QF) 20th anniversary, and over the last two decades, the organisation has been committed to investing in human potential by fostering a well-educated and highly-capable workforce. As part of this dedication, QF has honoured 298 of its longest serving members of staff at an award ceremony at the Qatar National Convention Centre.

During the annual Long-Service Awards ceremony, certificates of appreciation were awarded in three categories to employees for their contribution to the organisation, with 236 members of staff recognised for five years of service, 56 for 10 years, and six for 15 years of employment.

To reflect the importance of the occasion, a number of senior management members attended, including Engineer Saad Al Muhannadi, President of Qatar Foundation, Fahad Saad Al Qahtani, Group Executive Director of QF Administration, Engineer Jassim Telefat, Group Executive Director of Qatar Foundation Capital Projects and Facilities, and Soud Al-Tamimi, Vice President of Operations at Hamad Bin Khalifa University.

The ceremony was also attended by Ahmed Al Muftah, Executive Director, Organisation Development, Mohammed Al-Suwaidi, Executive Director of Operations and Nabeel Al-Salem, Executive Director of Outreach & Communications, QF Research and Development (QF R&D).

In his remarks, Engineer Saad, said: “Qatar Foundation is proud of your achievements, and grateful for what each and every one of you has accomplished.”

“As you all know, Qatar Foundation’s objective is to lead human, social, and economic development in Qatar by unlocking human potential and supporting creativity to effect positive changes in the community. QF’s vision underpins the broader objectives of Qatar National Vision 2030, which is to build a knowledge-based economy and promote the growth and overall wellbeing of the country,” he added.

Qatar Foundation is dedicated to developing its employees’ personal and professional skills. Indeed, the organisation’s increasing retention rates reflects how QF is helping to create a capable and motivated Qatari workforce, which supports the Qatar National Vision 2030 (QNV2030) plan for the long-term growth and prosperity of the country.

Furthermore, since its establishment in 1995, QF has significantly increased the number of nationals within the organisation.  Qatari employees accounted for 46 per cent of the employees at QF in 2014 which, with a target of 50 per cent to be met by June 2016, it demonstrates that the organisation has made great progress in its commitment to ensuring opportunities for talented nationals.

The ceremony saw honours awarded to employees in various divisions and departments within QF’s three pillars, Education, Science and Research, and Community Development, which, collectively, enable QF to fulfil its goal of unlocking human potential.

The ceremony also highlighted the complete educational cycle that QF offers.  Starting as young as six months, the unique environment provides primary, secondary and higher education opportunities at undergraduate, graduate and doctoral candidate level. All the way through, the cycle is carefully planned, so at each stage, students receive the full preparation to advance and thrive at the next stage of their advancement through the education system..

Through this approach, QF is nurturing creativity, innovation, and is prioritising the cultivation of research skills, providing the academic and personal development that these students need to shape them as future innovators and leaders from an early age.

Suad Al Kindi, Director of Qatar Academy Msheireb, a member of QF, shared her joy at being honoured for completing five years of service. “I consider it a privilege to be part of Qatar Foundation, an organisation that is successfully combining education, science, and social development, while supporting the country on its journey from a carbon-based to a knowledge-based economy,” she said.

“Now, as QF celebrates its 20^th anniversary, it also celebrates its greatest achievements in education, science and research, and community development. Thousands of well-educated and broad-minded students have graduated from QF as a result of its unique academic programme, which, alongside its certificates of accreditation, also places emphasis on Arabic language and Islamic studies.”

“Our specially created programmes combine academic education and extra-curricular activities and are designed to help children unlock their potential. We are all proud to see so many young people graduate and go on to help in the development of our country, joining research centres and becoming more creative,” continued Suad Al Kindi.  

A number of employees in QF R&D were also honoured during the ceremony. Ahmed Salem Al-Enazi, Operations Manager, Qatar Science & Technology Park (QSTP), was awarded for five years of service. “Qatar Foundation is a wonderful organisation to work for. You can see the impact that it is having in the fields of education, science and research, not just in Qatar but overseas as well,” Ahmed said. “I am proud to be part of such a caring organisation that is doing wonderful things locally, regionally, and internationally.”  

“Indeed, within the research pillar specifically, the QF centres, through a complete and integrated cycle, help to deliver economic diversification and innovative home-grown technology. Firstly, QF provides researchers with practical support, like infrastructure, financial backing, coaching, and direction, through Qatar National Research Fund (QNRF). And in doing so, the centre helps students develop commercially viable projects.  The next stage of the process is facilitated by QSTP, which assists the commercial development of the product and enables research ideas to be developed into patented products that are then marketed for the benefit of the Qatari community as whole.”

QF is playing an instrumental role in a number of different industries, including health, cultural development, heritage preservation, continuous learning, sustainability as well as sport and wellbeing.