Five WCM-Q students honored in Qatar Educational Excellence Awards
Dr. Javaid Sheikh, Dean of WCM-Q, meets with Foundation Program students who won Education Excellence Awards. From left: Ghalia Ashkanani, Latifa Mahmoud, Dr. Javaid Sheikh, Asma Al-Kaabi and Alya Ashkanani.
One alumnus and four Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar (WCM-Q) students won awards for academic achievement at the 12th edition of the Qatar Education Excellence Awards, patronized by His Highness the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani.
Alumnus Dr. Abdulrahman Al-Abdulmalek, who graduated in 2018 and is now an Internal Medicine resident physician at HMC, won a Gold Award, as did WCM-Q Foundation Program students Latifa Mahmoud, Alya Ashkanani and Ghalia Ashkanani. Asma Al-Kaabi, also a Foundation Program student, won a Platinum Award.
The four Foundation Program students won their awards for their academic achievements at their secondary schools, while Dr. Al-Abdulmalek won his for his performance in his final year as a medical student. The Education Excellence Awards are administered by the Ministry of Education and Higher Education.
The award winners met with Dr. Javaid Sheikh, Dean of WCM-Q, in recognition of their accomplishments. 
Dr. Sheikh said: “Winning an Education Excellence Award is a fantastic achievement, demonstrating a level of academic ability that places the winners among the very best scholars in the whole of the State of Qatar. We are extremely proud of our five winners and I am very happy to congratulate each of them on behalf of the entire WCM-Q community for their exceptional dedication and ability.”
Dr. Al-Abdulmalek, who completed the Foundation Program at WCM-Q before beginning his pre-medical and medical studies, said: “I feel extremely proud to have won this award. I have to thank my professors and the Student Affairs team at WCM-Q, my friends and family, the Sahtak Awalan – Your Health First campaign for making me one of their ambassadors, and the professors at my old high school. My success is a reflection of the support and encouragement they gave me, without which I never would have been able to win this award.”
Foundation student Asma Al-Kaabi said: “When I got the phone call telling me I had won I was so happy and excited; it was wonderful to hear that all the hard work I put in had paid off.”