Dr César Octavio Malavé, Dean, Texas A&M University at Qatar (L), Michael Trick, Dean of Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar.
Qatar continues to flourish and overcome challenges despite a blockade that has been under way for three years. The country with its citizens and residents were resilient and have found the way through challenges and adopted a new normal life, say deans and senior academics at Qatar Foundation campuses.
Citizens and residents of Qatar have come together, adapt and thrive over the past three years, said Michael Trick, Dean of Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar. “It has been remarkable to see all of us — community leaders, the Qatari people and those from other countries that call Qatar home — come together to help the country adapt and thrive over the past three years. The blockade has created new demands for nearly every sector to innovate. Within the academic community in Education City, we have found that Qatar’s tremendous response has offered ready examples for our students in areas such as leadership and business, technology, science and entrepreneurship, lessons we have used to bring theory to life for our students,” he said. "Qatar’s resilience throughout the blockade has been a strong inspiration and motivation for many of our graduates.”
The blockade has made engineering a patriotic career in Qatar because of the role engineers will play in building the nation and moving it to a knowledge-based economy, said Dr César Octavio Malavé, Dean, Texas A&M University at Qatar.
“Texas A&M University at Qatar is proud to report that the quality of the world-class engineering education we offer did not suffer because of the blockade, and the situation has not affected our student enrollment. The blockade has made engineering a patriotic career in Qatar because of the role engineers will play in building the nation and moving it to a knowledge-based economy. Since the beginning of the blockade, we have had record enrollment of Qatari students and our student body is now 50 percent female in the traditionally male-dominated field of engineering,” he said.
“We have also graduated our 1,000th engineer since establishing our campus here in Qatar. These graduates are moving into leadership positions throughout Qatar, starting their own companies here and around the world, and some are even part of our faculty now, helping to educate the next generation of engineering leaders in Qatar. Our research program is addressing real-world, relevant problems and Qatar’s Grand Challenges and contributing to Qatar’s fight against the COVID-19 coronavirus, and our innovative STEM programs are enhancing the classroom learning of school students in Qatar who are this country’s future engineers.
“We are still engineering leaders in Qatar and the region, and we continue our mission of teaching, research and service to the State of Qatar and the world,” Dr Malavé said.
Amir Berbić, the Dean of VCUartsQatar, who arrived in Qatar here last summer says that Qatar has shown remarkable resilience and people have a more focused, energized and vibrant approach to life.
“I arrived in Qatar last summer, well after the blockade began, and it was quickly apparent to me that not only is daily life not affected by the blockade, but somehow there is an even more focused, energized and vibrant approach to life here,” he said.
“Qatar has shown remarkable resilience, innovation and creativity in response to its challenges over the last three years and has seen tremendous development across many sectors, including design and the arts. We have seen openings of amazing museums and galleries, unveiling of stunning public art, and the staging of hundreds of exhibitions of artist’s work from Qatar and around the world. Qatar continues its generous support of the study of art and design at VCUartsQatar, ensuring the ongoing development of homegrown artists, designers, creatives and art scholars. As a newcomer to this country, I am deeply thankful that my family has been warmly welcomed and we have found a home here,” said Dean Berbić.
Dr Marc Owen Jones, Assistant Professor in the Middle East Studies and Digital Humanities Department, College of Humanities and Social Sciences at Hamad Bin Khalifa University, has said that a new normal has been established in the country.
“The sudden blockading of Qatar resulted in human rights violations for numerous people living across the GCC, a fact documented by Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch. Families were torn apart, students’ education cut short, and many lost their jobs. Three years on a new normal has been established, but justice and restitution for those affected remains a long way off,” he said.
Dr Steven Wright, Associate Professor and Associate Dean, College of Humanities and Social Sciences at Hamad Bin Khalifa University, has said that the illegal blockade of Qatar remains, to this day, one of the darkest episodes in the history of the region.
“It has divided families, imposed restrictions on the freedom of movement of peoples, uprooted students from their degree programs, and all of this has been perpetuated by a hostile media campaign that rests on disinformation. With thousands of human rights violations documented, each case is a tragedy, and it has affected citizens and expatriates both in Qatar and the countries that are taking these illegal actions,” he said.
“These unlawful practices leave psychological and social scars, and this is a deeply rooted trauma that will take a considerable amount of time to heal. Yet, it is important to recognize that there is a difference between these illegal politically motivated actions and the ties that exist between families within the Gulf region. Dialogue and taking incremental steps to regain trust will be an essential part of any moves toward seeing the end to such hostility, but we should always be mindful that the ties between families crosscut the region, are deeply rooted, and it is this foundation that can help relations improve especially as regional cooperation is needed more now than ever before,” said Dr Wright.
