Training at Qatar Foundation proves “Qatar is working hard to be the top”

A “Counsellors’ Workshop” designed to assist in providing guidance to college-bound pupils took place last week at Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development (QF). The training session emphasised the importance of advising high school students early on about college, and revealed how to meet the specific entry criteria for one of QF’s world-renowned universities. 

“QF wants more applicants, and a good thing that QF is doing is that they are telling counsellors to not only counsel their students in the last year of high school, but to advise them in year ten also,” said main presenter of the training session, Dr. Eissa Al Suwaidi, Chief Executive Officer of Ta’allum Training  and Education Group.  “I have discussed with QF their admission processes, and it’s very important the counsellors know these requirements,” he continued. 

QF is now home to nine world-class educational establishments, who offer an array of educational programmes. Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar (WCMC-Q), for example, is tailored to students pursuing biology, mathematics, chemistry and engineering, while Northwestern University in Qatar (NU-Q) attracts aspiring journalists and editors.  

It is therefore important that counsellors understand the requirements their students must meet to earn admission to one of its universities.   For instance, students interested in applying to WCMC-Q may be advised to enrol in advanced physics courses at their high school, while those eager to study at NU-Q should perhaps focus more on their English and writing classes. 

“Qatar Foundation is trying to teach counsellors more about the requirements for admission to Education City.  And because of this, even in the last four years the number of students that have applied to QF have been higher,” said Khalifa Al-Salahi, Recruitment and Outreach Coordinator at QF.  “If students know early on what they are interested in, they will know what university at QF they should apply to,” he continued.

The workshop also encouraged teachers to study and interpret students’ standardised test results, in order to assess their relative strengths in mathematics, English and science. Additionally, counsellors were urged to help their students demystify and navigate the admission process, so as to ensure that acceptance to one of the universities at QF is within their grasp.  

“There is no doubt that I now be able to better prepare my students, because I learned about the acceptable academic tracks for admission to Education City and, ultimately, how to help my students choose their career,” said Abdullah Hamad Almurikhi, Senior Officer of Career Networking at Aspire Academy for Sports Excellence, who attended the workshop. 

Throughout their school lives, pupils are influenced by an array of teachers, coaches and peers. However, it is hoped that this workshop will allow counsellors to view a student's high school career holistically, and bring all the information together to help them select the right academic institution within QF. 

“Today was a chance for counsellors to share both their ideas and difficulties they are facing in their job.  This will help the future of Qatar, because our students will be able to start thinking about their careers at a young age.  Qatar is working hard to be the top,” said Neamat Abd Alrahman Alfayez, Senior Application and Verification Officer from the Higher Education Institute.