28 May 2015
Generous sponsorship from Al Sraiya Holding Group in Qatar will support a prestigious faculty position and support teaching and student activities at Texas A&M University at Qatar.

The QAR 300,000 ($82,192) gift will establish the Al Sraiya Holding Professorship for three years and is a testament to Al Sraiya Holding Group's commitment and contribution to science and education.

Commenting on the partnership, Vice Chairman of Al Sraiya Holding Group Rashid Sraiya Al Kaabi said, "We are more than happy to contribute to and support such a valuable movement. The establishment of the Al Sraiya Holding Professorship is an honor and foregrounds our commitment to cooperate with the education field, further benefiting Qatar National Vision 2030. Education is one of the strong pillars upholding the vision and rewarding those who spend their lives educating new generations is a necessity. We thank Texas A&M for allowing us to be involved." 

Professorships help give universities a competitive edge by providing funds to attract top faculty, which in turn helps attract other top-notch faculty and students.

"We very much appreciate the generous gift provided by Al Sraiya Holding Group to establish a professorship on our campus," said Dr. Mark H. Weichold, dean and CEO of Texas A&M at Qatar. "Such gifts make it possible for us to reward some of our most deserving faculty or attract new faculty with national and international reputation to our campus for the benefit of our students and for the State of Qatar."

Texas A&M at Qatar has a long and rich history of partnering with local industry in Qatar. These partnerships help the branch campus in its goal of being the premier provider of engineering education in region and a valued contributor to Qatar. Engaging with industry enriches Texas A&M at Qatar's core activities of teaching, research and service, and guides teaching, creates enrichment opportunities for students and faculty, and show areas in which the branch campus may be able to give back to the State of Qatar directly, such as outreach programs and resources for commercial innovation so vital to Qatar National Vision 2030.

Established in 1975, Al Sraiya Holding Group has built its core on the idea of "innovation," earning its rank as one of the top in Qatar's construction field. Offering a range of integrated services that cater to the infrastructural development of Qatar, The Group diversified itself through individual groups of companies (industrial, trading, engineering, hospitality and general services), each operating independently and specializing in its field of expertise. Following a tradition of corporate excellence, Al Sraiya has fixed its reputation around efficiency and reliability during its operations, exceeding customer expectations for 40 consecutive years.

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