+ A
A -
Tribune News Network
Doha
COLLEGE of the North Atlantic - Qatar (CNA-Q) graduated the largest class in its 14-year history, with 547 students, at Qatar National Convention Centre on Tuesday.
The ceremony was attended by HE Mohammed bin Abdullah al Rumaihi, Minister of Municipality and Environment; HE Dr Saleh bin Mohammed al Nabit, Minister of Development Planning and Statistics; HE Sheikh Faisal bin Qassim al Thani, CEO of Al Faisal Holding; Dr Mohammed al Mulla, CEO of Qatar Petrochemical Company and Vice-Chair of CNA-Q's Joint Oversight Board.
Students graduated from over 30 programs, each of them tailored to the needs of Qatar's economy. The number of graduates in each discipline include: 238 from Business Studies, 123 from Engineering Technology, 80 from Health Sciences and 106 from Information Technology programs.
The 12th graduation ceremony was an opportunity to congratulate the Class of 2016 and celebrate the biggest news for the campus since its establishment in 2002 CNA-Q will be offering applied degrees in the near future.
The exciting news was announced on Monday by Minister of Advanced Education and Skills, Hon Gerry Byrne, representing the Canadian Province of Newfoundland and Labrador, where the home campus of CNA is located.
"I am pleased to be in Qatar to deliver the great news in person, that we have changed legislation allowing CNA campuses, in Canada and Qatar, to offer applied degrees," said Hon Gerry Byrne."On my first visit to Qatar, it is easy to see why CNA-Q remains the premier technical college in the State. Through strong partnerships, CNA-Q will continue to offer quality education and help raise Qatar's knowledge base to build future leaders."
The ceremony was also a time to hear from CNA-Q's Class of 2016 co-valedictorians, Hamad Lari, a Chemical Processing Technology graduate; and Khadija Salim, a Business Management Marketing graduate, who were selected as shining examples of the country's future leaders.
"We are so pleased to see strong, capable graduates enter the Qatari workforce year after year," said College of the North Atlantic President Dr Ann Marie Vaughan."These graduates are the reason we are here. As the future leaders of Qatar, you are the motivation to continue offering high-quality technical, hands-on education. With the credentials they receive tonight, these students will become the leaders that Qatar has envisioned as an amazing country."
The guest speaker of the graduation ceremony was Rashid bin Ali al Mansoori, CEO of Qatar Stock Exchange, who welcomed the graduates to the workforce and addressed them with a speech on his personal study experience and practical life after graduation, as well as the lessons learnt.
Mansoori advised the graduates:"Ambition does not stop at any certain level and thoughts of advancement and improvement are always an obsession of any successful individual or institution that endeavours to stay successful. The sea of knowledge knows no boundaries and learning does not begin or end with your education."
He advised the students to focus on achieving goals and not to be afraid of failure because sometimes failure could be the first step to success.
