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.