University College London Qatar is one of the world's leading universities and the first British university to open a campus in Qatar. A unique partnership between Qatar Foundation and the Qatar Museums Authority, UCL Qatar offers innovative postgraduate degree programmes in the areas of archaeology, conservation, cultural heritage and museum studies.
Director of the University Professor Thilo Rehren talks to Qatar Today about their progress and their plans for the future.
Which is the most popular programme at UCL?
As a new institute it is difficult to answer this, but so far, all three programmes we're offering have proved very popular. Of the two MA programmes, the degree in Museum Studies and Conservation has attracted the most applications, which makes sense in a region with such a growing and flourishing museum sector. But the MA in Arab and Islamic Archaeology has also already attracted a good level of interest, even before we started our formal advertisement! The PhD programme, probably best described as 'small but beautiful', should become our flagship as we develop a strong research presence rooted in Doha. The first two students are already enrolled and will arrive in Qatar in the coming months. Their research shows our international ambition: Maninder Singh Gill studies the beautifully glazed tiles on several major Mogul monuments in northern India which are acutely threatened from destruction, and Loic Boscher, a Canadian student, researches very early archaeological material from Turkey and Iran.
What are you most proud of?
At this point, I would say the recruitment of staff and faculty. We have been extremely lucky, with literally everybody pulling their weight and working as a great team - although they are all new to UCL Qatar. Or maybe because of this? In April 2011 we had a single person here in Doha, and now we are 15 and counting. The buzz is brilliant, and we can't wait to get going with our first cohort of students in early September.
But also our research profile: we have been able to attract some very exciting projects to Doha, contributing immediately to the visibility of Hamad bin Khalifa University through high-profile publications, and the first couple of books are nearing completion. This is a clear reflection of how attractive this region is for archaeology, cultural heritage and museum studies in general. For these fields, this is the centre of the world, literally and metaphorically.
What are the skills that have to be improved or enhanced in leaders, especially in a multicultural environment such as we have here?
Patience and persistence spring immediately to mind, but probably most importantly one has to learn to interpret. Everybody speaks English, which is a very helpful language in which to communicate in such an international environment, but the same sentence can have so many different meanings, depending on the cultural background of the person who says it. 'This is an interesting proposal' can mean just that - or it can mean that the speaker actually thinks it is terrible, but is too polite to say so! The meaning of 'insha'allah' in different contexts is also quite interesting. Knowing stereotypes about different people is important, not least to help to overcome them.
Can you provide some statistics on the courses offered?
We have three programmes (two Master of Arts degree courses and one postgraduate research = doctoral studies). In the first year, we aim to have eight students in each of the MA programmes, growing to twelve in the following year. Since this is a two-year Masters' this would give us 40 students in autumn 2013. In addition, we hope to recruit several PhD students per year, which is very much dependent on individual applications; doctoral study programmes are always tailor-made and have to fit student and supervisor.
How does being in Qatar help your institution?
UCL is ranked in the top ten in most University world rankings, and brands itself as 'London's Global University'. We have another branch campus in Australia, and a partnership with Nazarbayev University in Kazakhstan. Our presence in Qatar is particularly interesting for us due to the strong profile and interest which UCL has in museum studies and archaeology. The UCL Institute of Archaeology is Europe's largest, most comprehensive and most productive department of archaeology; UCL Museums and Collections comprises three major museums, including the world-famous Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology with over 80,000 artefacts from across Egypt and Sudan. As much as this background has prepared us well for our move into Qatar, as much does it now benefit us to have a strong presence right in the centre of the Middle East and the Islamic World. It is here where all the fantastic archaeology and heritage is, and all these visionary museum programmes. This is a region which is of prime academic interest to UCL. It's a huge challenge, but also a huge opportunity to grow our academic profile further.
Do you have corporate programmes? If so, how popular are they?
At present, we offer a range of professional short courses specifically tailored for staff at the Qatar Museums Authority, our joint sponsor (along with Qatar Foundation) here in Doha. We ran a few taster courses last May, which were heavily oversubscribed. There is just this huge pent-up demand for professional training in the museums sector generally, and we expect this to be very attractive also for museums from elsewhere in the GCC countries and further afield. However, what we think is equally important is our commitment to offer courses to the widest possible audience - we will be going to local schools, communities, hospitals etc. to talk about cultural heritage, the role of Islam in the world's history, how this is a shared heritage for all of us, and how Qatar can be proud of taking this active role in protecting and preserving this for all of humanity. The Islamic renaissance which Qatar is driving so strongly has to have deep roots across the country's population. UCL is a leader in this sort of outreach back in London, and we very much look forward to developing this in Doha as one of our core activities. This will be a great way to make Education City and all these museums here so much more relevant for the population in Qatar, nationals and guests alike.
© Qatar Today 2012
