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On Monday September 17, the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies (DI) organized an induction event for new students completing their postgraduate studies for the academic year 2018-2019, in the presence of Acting DI Provost, Dr. Yasir Suleiman and Dr. Hend Al-Muftah, Vice President for Administration and Finance.

The aim of the induction event is to give new students an idea of university life, to create an atmosphere conducive to communication and interaction, and to introduce the schools and the many and varied educational facilities the DI provides together with the administrative departments that work together to provide the best possible academic life for students. The event also familiarizes students with the university environment in general, the rules and regulations governing the various schools, and the services the DI offers to students during the course of their education and to inform them on how to choose and register for courses.

In his welcoming speech, Dr. Suleiman, the Acting DI Provost, stressed how the DI combines theory and practice, has an interdisciplinary focus, and aims to achieve the highest standards in education and research in the humanities, social sciences, public administration, development economics, psychology, and social work.

Dr. Hend Al-Muftah, the DI’s Vice President for Administration and Finance said, “We congratulate you on your joining the Doha Institute. We hope that it will have a marked impact in enabling you to pass through an important stage of your academic life, by advancing you, developing your skills, and qualifying you for a bright future in which you can build your academic, research, and professional personalities. We at the DI are delighted to share the writing of a chapter of your success story with you.”

Dr. Al-Muftah continued, “Since its inception in 2015, the Doha Institute has acted to create a learning environment that is serious, inspiring, and enjoyable; an environment that is multicultural and diverse, so that your experience is rich and rewarding. We, here, do not consider you just as students passing through, whose relationship with us ends at graduation. Rather, we consider you as partners on the journey and allies in making it a success.  The DI could not succeed and would not exist without you. We sincerely hope that your choice to join the Doha Institute will develop into academic and research commitment, integration, and participation, and that you will benefit from its programs, professors, researchers and partners, and take part in its conferences and events.”

This year, the DI welcomed 187 students fulfilling the DI’s entry requirements from some 24 countries to study in the 17 master’s programs it offers. Work is also still underway to accept students on the dual MBA program in Business Management and Public Administration, which the DI launched this year in cooperation with the European School for Management and Technology (ESMT) in Berlin. First of its kind in Qatar and the Arab region as a whole, this program allows students to receive two separate Master’s degrees, one in Business Administration and one in Public Administration from both the DI and ESMT (Berlin).

Overall, 209 students were accepted for admission to the DI this year out of more than 2,900 applicants. These are spread across three schools, in addition to the Program on Conflict Management and Humanitarian Action: 78 students enrolled in the School of Social Sciences and Humanities; 69 students in the School of Public Administration and Development Economics; 22 students in the Faculty of Psychology and Social Work; and 18 in the Program on Conflict Management and Humanitarian Action.

Qatari students came top of the list of admissions to the DI with a total of 67 Qatari students.

The DI is also welcoming the third cohort of students for the Executive Masters in Public Administration, which is designed to enhance the leadership skills of executive managers in all Qatari ministries, agencies, and institutions. Twenty-two students have been accepted and enrolled in this program, having been selected from more than 40 candidates for admission.

Offering guidance and advice, Dr. Abderrahim Benhadda, Dean of Student Affairs, called upon the new students to be proactive and self-motivated. He referred to two areas in which initiative is essential, namely, reaching out to academic guidance support, and the mandatory hours of work in the student’s research field as a condition of financial support—every student is required to work 10 hours a week as a research assistant with his or her professor or in one of the other departments of the DI.

Dr. Benhadda stressed that all the departments of the Office of the Dean for Student Affairs are working to provide the conditions for students to succeed, and to that end, their doors are  open to respond to any queries. They also provide spaces for creativity and debate, noting that there are clubs and societies run by students themselves, as well as the Politics Salon, which is a space for discussion of political issues.

Dr. Abdel Rahim Benhadda had previously announced that the overall number of applicants for Master’s programs for the year 2018-2019 came to 2,948 candidates, of whom 1,452 went through the admissions process, submitting their files for assessment by the DI Admissions Committees. Some 400 students attended admission interviews with the DI Academic Committees. It is expected that the DI will announce the opening of admissions for the fifth cohort 2019-2020 starting at the beginning of October.