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DOHA, Qatar -- Texas A&M University at Qatar and the Qatari Businesswomen Association (QBWA) announced signing a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on 24 May in the VIP Majlis in the Texas A&M Engineering Building in Education City.
Through this agreement, the branch campus and QBWA will partner to support female students, and to educate girls and their families about engineering to attract more girls to study engineering. QBWA will also work with current and former Texas A&M at Qatar female students through activities such as a speaker series, mentoring, internships, a self-development program, and other professional and social networking events.
Qatari Businesswomen Association is keen to support female current and former engineering students, and considers that women's participation in different fields is very important; and therefore has been working to build strong partnerships with different organizations locally and internationally specially those who focus on women advancement.
Aisha Alfardan, vice chairwoman of the Qatari Businesswomen Association, praised the conclusion of this agreement, saying she considers it a new step taken by the association to achieve its goals.
Alfardan said, "The QBWA is still employing all their efforts and capabilities to enhance the role of women and to enable them to participate and compete in various fields, and for this purpose, the QBWA seeks to initiate partnerships and collaboration with all institutions that support women. We have found in Texas A&M University at Qatar an important and capable partner who can develop the new generation of women in Qatar and qualify them to play their key role in further developing the country.
"We are very happy to collaborate with Texas A&M University and we are confident that this partnership will greatly benefit both sides and will achieve our common goals and will have a positive impact on the Qatari women in particular, and the Qatari society in general," Alfardan added.
Through this MOU, the partners will deliver, a set of projects and programs that mainly focus on the empowerment of students by offering QBWA membership to the interested students which will give them access to various events organized by QBWA, as well as working to provide a number of internship opportunities for Texas A&M at Qatar female students through the network companies and institutions owned or run by members of the QBWA. It also enhances the possibility of cooperation between the two parties in many other areas, including educating and empowering women through the exchange of experiences and participation in conferences and events.
Dr. Mark H. Weichold, dean and CEO of Texas A&M at Qatar, said, "Texas A&M at Qatar is proud that nearly 40 percent of our enrolled students are female and of the contributions our current and former female students are making in Qatar. We look forward to working with the Qatar Businesswomen Association to attract even more girls to engineering, and to support and empower women once they've graduated from Texas A&M and entered the workplace. We are excited for our female students and the opportunities presented to them by this partnership with the Qatar Businesswomen Association, which, since its founding in 2000, has played a distinguished role in enhancing women's contributions toward the astonishing growth Qatar is experiencing today."
QBWA had signed this year a number of MOUs with other entities in Qatar, such as Qatar National Bank and Qatar business incubation center to implement a range of projects related to women's economic and social empowerment.
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About QBWA
Qatari Businesswomen Association was established in 2000 to enhance women's contribution to the economic activity, which constitutes a real gain both to Qatari women and the society at large. The Qatari Businesswomen Association is chaired by H.E. Sheikha Al Anood Bint Khalifa Bin Hamad Al-Thani and managed by a number of prominent Businesswomen who have a history of success in many businesses in different sectors that they work in or manage. QBWA organizes a number of activities, conferences and programs that support Qatari women and has played a distinguished role in enhancing women contribution to push the economic wheel towards the strategic growth that we are witnessing today, and in line with the wise vision that the government has set.
About Texas A&M University at Qatar
Texas A&M University, recognized as having one of the premier engineering programs in the world, has offered undergraduate degrees in chemical engineering, electrical and computer engineering, mechanical engineering and petroleum engineering at Qatar Foundation's Education City campus since 2003, and graduate degrees in chemical engineering since fall 2011. More than 600 engineers have graduated from Texas A&M at Qatar since 2007. In addition to engineering courses, Texas A&M at Qatar provides classes in science, mathematics, liberal arts and the humanities. All four of the engineering programs offered at Texas A&M at Qatar are accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET. The curricula offered at Texas A&M at Qatar are materially the same as those offered at the main campus in College Station, Texas, and the courses in Doha are taught in English in a co-educational setting. The reputation for excellence is the same, as is the commitment to equip engineers to lead the next generation of engineering advancement. Faculty from around the world are attracted to Texas A&M at Qatar to provide this educational experience and to participate in research activities now valued at more than $196 million, and that address issues important to the State of Qatar. Visit www.qatar.tamu.edu.
© Press Release 2015
