RAJESH MISHRA

DOHA THE Ali Bin Ali Group will sponsor four meritorious students of Qatar Foundation, from weaker economic sections, irrespective of their nationality, every year.

The signing of the partnership between the two organisations was announced during a joint press conference at the ABA Group headquarters on Wednesday.

Ali Bin Ali Group Vice-Chairman Nabeel Ali Bin Ali said, “We decided on this mentoring initiative because we wanted to be a part of something that reflected our commitment to the education sector and to the growth of professionalism among the youth of this country.” The sponsored students will first be provided with a scholarship from the ABA Group. After successfully graduating, they will be entitled to an internship within the Group. Finally, on completion of internship, the trained candidates will have the opportunity to join a suitable job within one of the many companies of the ABA Group.

Students selected this year included one each from Weill Cornell Medical College, Northwestern University, Carnegie Mellon University and Virginia Commonwealth University-Qatar. The students were selected on the basis of a detailed assessment of their financial needs and merit by a team of officials comprising members of the ABA Group and Qatar Foundation. The same practice would be followed to determine future beneficiaries.

According to the agreement the ABA Group will on an average add two more beneficiaries to the list every year.

He said that at a future time, the Group might think of sponsoring even those who wanted to pursue higher studies.

Nabeel Ali Bin Ali said, “We came up with this idea of supporting a few students on an annual basis and bringing them in to allow them to gain valuable hands-on experience at our industries. ABA Group is a versatile company, which is capable of offering the youth opportunities to gain a certain measure of experience in one of the multiple industries we lead in.” Qatar Foundation Associate Vice-President (Higher Education) Ahmad Hasnah said, “We are happy to work in partnership with one of Qatar’s most successful conglomerates. We are especially pleased because we know that the ABA Group truly believes in fostering local talent and equipping young people with professional skills in order to prepare the next generation of business leaders. This is a goal, Qatar Foundation shares and readily supports.” Ali Bin Ali Group General Manager (Marketing) Suha G Shatila said, “Priority will be given to those students who are needy and who fulfill the requirement of 3.2 grade point average (GPA) for the scholarship. However, their performance would be monitored carefully throughout the semesters and if their performance goes from bad to worse, the scholarship would be withdrawn after a certain level.” She said that the students would go through an internship programme after which they would be given opportunities to join the ABA Group in industries and sectors of their choice in which they could perform to the best of their abilities.

The ABA Group’s divisions such as International Agencies, Qatar Quality Products, Ali Bin Ali Medical & Fauchon have come forward to support this endeavour in order to reiterate ABA’s commitment to society.