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Ailyn Agonia
DOHA
THE Amir HH Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al Thani graced the 12th Annual Qatar Foundation Convocation held in Education City Ceremonial Court on Tuesday.
QF Chairperson Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser also attended the ceremony.
Prime Minister and Minister of Interior HE Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa al Thani, Vice-Chairperson and CEO of Qatar Foundation Her Excellency Sheikha Hind bint Hamad al Thani and President of Qatar Olympic Committee HE Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad al Thani attended the ceremony alongside ministers and dignitaries, university deans, faculty and family members of the students.
Sheikha Hind honoured the 787 graduates representing 70 nationalities from homegrown university Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU) and QF’s eight partner universities during the event witnessed by other dignitaries.
The Class of 2019, which includes 378 Qataris, officially joins the more than 5,000 network of QF alumni excelling in various industries both locally and internationally.
A total of 484 female and 303 male graduates proudly marched the elaborately designed convocation venue. The batch comprises 173 graduates from HBKU, 111 from Texas A&M University at Qatar, 68 from Northwestern University in Qatar, 84 from Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts in Qatar, 49 from Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar, 79 from Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar, 64 from Georgetown University in Qatar, 30 from University College London Qatar, and 129 graduates from HEC Paris in Qatar.
Sheikha Hind said, “For our Class of 2019 graduates, convocation is many things: a personal and shared celebration, a source of pride, and a time to reflect on their achievements and experiences at Education City. It is a culmination – but it is also a beginning.
“At convocation, the talented, dedicated, and ambitious young people that Qatar Foundation is proud to have called our students step out of one phase of their lives and into the next. A future that holds challenges and possibilities awaits them, but wherever their path leads, they will travel it empowered by the knowledge that they are as well-equipped to create, innovate, contribute, and thrive as any set of graduates in the world.”
She added, “Every member of our Class of 2019 has recognised and maximised the unique educational opportunity that Qatar Foundation provides. Their academic excellence has been matched by their growth as knowledge-seekers, critical thinkers, and active citizens who are determined to be drivers of positive change. As embodiments of QF’s belief in what quality education stands for, and what it makes possible, they will always be part of our story – and we will watch with pride as they write their own.”
This year’s keynote speaker was Brandon Stanton, American author and founder of street portrait blog Humans of New York. In his remarks, he inspired the graduates with his personal journey towards realising his life mission that eventually led to his initiative which to date has millions of followers. He stressed the importance of finding time to focus on a task that a person enjoys and loves the most.
The event also saw the honouring of Team Mobsron as winners of the Cycle 2 of Akhlaquna Award. HH Sheikha Moza honoured the winning team as well as the other finalists. Mobsron is fully-audible mobile application that provides people who are blind and visually impaired with a tool for ordering food, reviewing ingredients and comparing prices.
The convocation ceremony concluded with the graduates receiving a specially engraved QF Convocation Ring and proudly walking through the ‘Door to the Future’, a long-standing tradition of QF convocation symbolising the start of a new chapter in their lives.
In an interview prior to the ceremony, some of the graduates shared their experiences at QF and its universities.
Yasamin Shaikhi from VCUarts Qatar said, “Four years ago, I never thought I will be standing here. I can’t believe now I am here with the support of my family and friends. With QF and VCUarts, I have been able to get opportunities that I will not get anywhere else.”
Hassan al Jahni from NU-Q said he wanted to tell stories of Arabs through media. “I’ve been here for over 10 years. I started off at QA Doha and then joined NU-Q. I have grown up here and am ready to take on the world now.”
Salman Shabar, a graduate from HEC Paris Qatar, shared his fond memories of meeting students from different backgrounds. He also lauded the faculty of HEC Paris whom he referred to as “top-notch”.
DOHA
THE Amir HH Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al Thani graced the 12th Annual Qatar Foundation Convocation held in Education City Ceremonial Court on Tuesday.
QF Chairperson Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser also attended the ceremony.
Prime Minister and Minister of Interior HE Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa al Thani, Vice-Chairperson and CEO of Qatar Foundation Her Excellency Sheikha Hind bint Hamad al Thani and President of Qatar Olympic Committee HE Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad al Thani attended the ceremony alongside ministers and dignitaries, university deans, faculty and family members of the students.
Sheikha Hind honoured the 787 graduates representing 70 nationalities from homegrown university Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU) and QF’s eight partner universities during the event witnessed by other dignitaries.
The Class of 2019, which includes 378 Qataris, officially joins the more than 5,000 network of QF alumni excelling in various industries both locally and internationally.
A total of 484 female and 303 male graduates proudly marched the elaborately designed convocation venue. The batch comprises 173 graduates from HBKU, 111 from Texas A&M University at Qatar, 68 from Northwestern University in Qatar, 84 from Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts in Qatar, 49 from Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar, 79 from Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar, 64 from Georgetown University in Qatar, 30 from University College London Qatar, and 129 graduates from HEC Paris in Qatar.
Sheikha Hind said, “For our Class of 2019 graduates, convocation is many things: a personal and shared celebration, a source of pride, and a time to reflect on their achievements and experiences at Education City. It is a culmination – but it is also a beginning.
“At convocation, the talented, dedicated, and ambitious young people that Qatar Foundation is proud to have called our students step out of one phase of their lives and into the next. A future that holds challenges and possibilities awaits them, but wherever their path leads, they will travel it empowered by the knowledge that they are as well-equipped to create, innovate, contribute, and thrive as any set of graduates in the world.”
She added, “Every member of our Class of 2019 has recognised and maximised the unique educational opportunity that Qatar Foundation provides. Their academic excellence has been matched by their growth as knowledge-seekers, critical thinkers, and active citizens who are determined to be drivers of positive change. As embodiments of QF’s belief in what quality education stands for, and what it makes possible, they will always be part of our story – and we will watch with pride as they write their own.”
This year’s keynote speaker was Brandon Stanton, American author and founder of street portrait blog Humans of New York. In his remarks, he inspired the graduates with his personal journey towards realising his life mission that eventually led to his initiative which to date has millions of followers. He stressed the importance of finding time to focus on a task that a person enjoys and loves the most.
The event also saw the honouring of Team Mobsron as winners of the Cycle 2 of Akhlaquna Award. HH Sheikha Moza honoured the winning team as well as the other finalists. Mobsron is fully-audible mobile application that provides people who are blind and visually impaired with a tool for ordering food, reviewing ingredients and comparing prices.
The convocation ceremony concluded with the graduates receiving a specially engraved QF Convocation Ring and proudly walking through the ‘Door to the Future’, a long-standing tradition of QF convocation symbolising the start of a new chapter in their lives.
In an interview prior to the ceremony, some of the graduates shared their experiences at QF and its universities.
Yasamin Shaikhi from VCUarts Qatar said, “Four years ago, I never thought I will be standing here. I can’t believe now I am here with the support of my family and friends. With QF and VCUarts, I have been able to get opportunities that I will not get anywhere else.”
Hassan al Jahni from NU-Q said he wanted to tell stories of Arabs through media. “I’ve been here for over 10 years. I started off at QA Doha and then joined NU-Q. I have grown up here and am ready to take on the world now.”
Salman Shabar, a graduate from HEC Paris Qatar, shared his fond memories of meeting students from different backgrounds. He also lauded the faculty of HEC Paris whom he referred to as “top-notch”.
