Qatar Foundation invites students and parents to 'Discover Education City - Qatar'

Admissions teams from the universities at Education City in Qatar will be visiting secondary schools in Oman and meeting with students, faculty and counselors.

A school fair will be held on Monday, October 19 starting at 6pm at the Grand Hyatt Muscat.

The program aims to raise awareness of the academic programs, admissions process, financial aid and scholarship options at Education City as well as the vast resources available at Qatar Foundation to complete an overall positive student learning experience.

The event is open to all secondary school students and their parents in Oman, as well as school counselors.

One of the underlying goals of the Qatar Foundation and Education City is to focus and retain the best and brightest youth from the GCC region to become future leaders in the region.

By investing in students from Oman and other neighboring nations, Education City is working to ensure the future prosperity of the region in its cultural, infrastructural and economic progress.

Dennis Roberts, Ph.D., Associate Vice-President for Faculty and Student Services at Qatar Foundation, says:

"Qatar Foundation and its university partners are reaching out to high school students in Oman to acquaint them with the world-class education they will receive at Education City. The programs offered at the universities manifest a rigorous curriculum taught by top international educators and provides student engagement that deepens learning and cultivates leadership."

Education City is the flagship project of Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development. With some of the world's top academic institutions and the finest state-of-the-art facilities, Education City is on its way to becoming an international model for higher education. It is home to branch campuses of six internationally renowned universities: Virginia Commonwealth University in Qatar, Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar, Texas A&M University at Qatar, Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar, Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in Qatar and Northwestern University in Qatar.

Each one of the universities in Education City has been hand-selected to offer its top programs to students in the Gulf region. The Qatar campuses deliver programs to the same standards and award the same degrees as their home campuses in the United States. Programs include business administration, computer science, information systems, engineering, policy and international relations, graphics design, fashion design, interior design, painting and printmaking, design studies, journalism, communications and medicine.

Iman Nasser Al Hashar, class of 2011, is an Omani national studying Interior Design at Virginia Commonwealth University in Qatar.

"Without hesitation, I say that studying at VCU-Qatar is truly one of the best experiences I've had so far. Culturally, I feel I am at home as much as I do in Oman, for our societies are similar in nature and people share the same customs, traditions and values," says Iman. "Further, I am fortunate enough to receive a bachelor's degree in interior design from one of the most internationally esteemed universities in Fine Arts."

Maha Al-Ghafry is a medical student studying at Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar. As an Omani national with high ambitions for her higher education opportunity, she had considered studying abroad in the UK. Instead, she applied to and was accepted at Education City.

She said, "The lure of an American branch campus within the Gulf region was too great. I would be able to obtain a world-class education while still being close to my family. With Qatar being a Muslim country, and the distance between Doha and Muscat only an hour, has meant that I've been able to spend every Eid with my family, in addition to other holidays and weekend-getaways."

Maha continues, "And with the Omani community growing here in Education City, you'll always find a face that will remind you of home."

Representatives from each of the six universities as well as Qatar Foundation will be at the event to explain how the selection procedure is conducted and how applications should be prepared in order to maximize the opportunity for admission. Information about financial aid and scholarship details will also be available. Current students and alumni will provide first-hand accounts of their own special Education City experiences.