“Education and business go hand in hand” – Sheikh Faisal bin Qassim Al-Thani
(Doha, March 30) Al-Faisal Holding, one of Qatar’s leading diversified business groups, and Carnegie Mellon Qatar today announced a landmark co-operation agreement, that cements the link between business and education in Qatar. The agreement was signed by Sheikh Faisal Bin Qassim Al Thani, the Chairman of Al Faisal Holding, and Dr. Ilker Baybars, Dean of Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar in the presence of Mr. Fadhel Annan, Assistant Dean of Government Initiatives and Corporate Affairs.
Under the agreement, the two parties intend to create close cooperation and coordination involving each other in agreed projects and programs. This will focus on utilization of some of Carnegie Mellon Qatar’s most important education programs, research and strategic studies, namely Computer Science, Business Administration, Biological Sciences, Computational Biology and Information Systems. The agreement also extends to programs provided by Carnegie Mellon Qatar’s selected Schools and Scientific Research Institutes in the United States of America, giving Al-Faisal access to the University’s 5,000 global faculty members.
In particular, the agreement will see Al-Faisal and Carnegie Mellon Qatar cooperate on scientific and strategic research which helps develop the business needs of Al-Faisal. The two organisations will share professional expertise, scientists and researchers in Business Administration, Information Systems and Public Policy.
Al-Faisal’s senior leadership and managers will be able to access the leading education and training provided by Carnegie Mellon Qatar. In return, the university’s students will be able to experience business at first hand through scholarships and placements in Al-Faisal’s range of international businesses, and will be encouraged to join in the extensive community and CSR projects that Al-Faisal implements. The two organisations will also organise a series of joint conferences, seminars, and workshops.
To initiate the partnership, the university invited Sheikh Faisal to share his experience as a businessman through a lecture entitled “The Active Role of Family Entrepreneurship in Contributing to Qatar’s National Vision 2030.” Staged as part of the university’s Dean’s Leadership Series, Sheikh Faisal’s lecture, followed by questions from the students, underlined the strong connection between learning and business.
“I am delighted that we have been able to reach this far-ranging agreement with an organisation as prestigious as Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar” Sheikh Faisal commented. “I have always believed that business and education go hand in hand. Working together we can develop and commercialise great ideas, to the benefit of each other, but more importantly our customers, consumers and society. Developing education and research is central to my company and my personal philosophy, so I look forward to working with Carnegie Mellon Qatar in the years ahead”.
Dr. Ilker Baybars, Dean at Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar, highlighted the role of Carnegie Mellon Qatar’s business strategy, and consequently to Qatar’s National Vision 2030, particularly with its mission to aid in the development of Qatar’s population to build a prosperous society.
For over a century, Carnegie Mellon University has been a producer of revolutionary innovation. It has always been ranked among the world’s best and most prestigious universities, offering a range of academic programs for over 12,000 students, 90,000 alumni and 50,000 faculty through its branches around the world.
It joined Education City in 2004, at the invitation of the Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development, to become a leading center for scholarship and scientific research. Students from more than 40 difference countries receive a world-class education as part of the Education City campus in Doha.
