During her participation as head of the Qatari delegation, Her Excellency Ms. Buthaina bint Ali Al-Jabr Al-Nuaimi, Minister of Education and Higher Education, has spoken on behalf of the State of Qatar at the 18th Conference of Ministers of Higher Education and Scientific Research in the Arab World currently being held in Algeria, which focuses on “Higher Education and Scientific Research in the Arab World by 2030: Vision and Directions.”
Her Excellency Ms. Buthaina Al-Nuaimi, Minister of Education, has said that we need to consider the future of education in the remaining ten years of the Sustainable Development Agenda, identify the most urgent needs resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, and identify challenges and priorities, in order to develop recovery plans and meet such needs in light of the 2030 sustainable development goals. Her Excellency has appreciated that ALECSO included the draft Arab education plan in emergencies and crises within its programmes.
Her Excellency the Minister added that university is the center of gravity of the educational system in any country, as it actively contributes to the development of human capital with high scientific skills and abilities, and that we need to develop educational policies capable of qualifying graduates for future jobs, a future with rapid changes and serious challenges. We live in times of successive new developments in knowledge, education and training, and associated technological, social, economic and environmental developments, and development in artificial intelligence, stressing that one of the most prominent challenges of tertiary education will be harnessing artificial intelligence to improve teaching and learning, and creating new learning opportunities for university students and providing them with the skills and knowledge that qualify them to successfully enter local and international labor markets.
On the reality of higher education and scientific research in the State of Qatar, Her Excellency affirmed that Qatar has experienced an increasing and diversified growth in the number of higher education institutions in collaboration with the most reputable international higher education institutions, bringing the number of such institutions in 2021 to 32. All such higher education institutions offer 365 academic programs across various specialized educational tracks, providing students with a range of learning options, in addition to delegating students abroad on scholarships to pursue their studies.
Furthermore, the number of scientific research institutions and centers has grown steadily in Qatar, bringing their number to 33 centers and institutions, with various interests across various topics such as environment, energy, medicine, entrepreneurship, computing, social, human and educational studies, technological innovations and sustainable development.
Source: Minister of Education & Higher Education