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Tribune News Network
Doha
Students from UCL Qatar have won top awards for their submissions to the global UCL 'ChangeMakers' scheme.
The recognition has come for projects that are improving the academic and education landscape in Qatar.
The ChangeMakers evaluation team in the UK singled out two winning initiatives in Qatar. The first is a project to maximise the benefits of libraries for Qatar's schoolchildren and teachers in unaccredited schools with the aim to help the schools obtain full accreditation.
The second project is designed to encourage the creation of a wider community of academics and staff in the cultural heritage field by raising the profile of the research work being produced in the country.
The ChangeMakers initiative was launched by UCL's main campus in 2014 and the award to the two UCL Qatar projects, initially won in 2017, has recently been renewed for the academic year 2018-19.
The initiative invites tens of thousands of UCL students from all over the world to put forward ideas for how to improve the learning experience at UCL and the local and international communities the university touches through its courses.
Master's students on UCL Qatar's Library and Information Studies programme were recognised for partnering with a non-accredited Doha-based school to introduce reforms to ensure its library is fully compliant with the Qatar National School Accreditation (QNSA) standards to help the school move a step forward in the process of obtaining full accreditation.
The educational benefits of the reforms being suggested to the schools will be shared with Qatar's Ministry of Education and Higher Education. The team involved, which includes students from Qatar, Ghana, Canada and Zambia, now plans to extend the project to more unaccredited schools in Qatar, ensuring their libraries are up to the required standards needed for accreditation.
Students on UCL Qatar's Museum and Gallery Practice programme won the second award for their 'Make our Research Visible' project. The purpose of the project is to develop a strong museums and cultural heritage academic community in Qatar, the wider GCC and beyond by create a learning and research forum for students, staff and alumni.
The team behind the project is kick-starting the forum by personally meeting interested academics in Qatar. Research papers, many of which are coming from UCL Qatar alumni, are currently being reviewed with the aim of publishing a book in Spring 2019.
Describing UCL Qatar's involvement in the ChangeMakers programme, Sam Evans, director of UCL Qatar, said:"This is an international scheme, open to tens of thousands of students. So, winning these awards is a huge achievement! Congratulations to all involved."
