Discover Education City roadshow begins

Around 600 people attended the first Discover Education City exhibit in Doha this month, the curtain-raiser for a regional campaign to showcase "five world-class universities under one roof".

High school students and their parents were among the crowds who learned about the range of academic programs offered by WCMC-Q, Virginia Commonwealth School of the Arts in Qatar, Texas A&M University at Qatar, Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar and Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in Qatar at Qatar Foundation’s (QF) Education City.

WCMC-Q's booth had a strong presence at the Doha exhibit, with hand-out copies of the student prospectus and Qatar Chronicle; and pre-medical faculty, staff and medical students available to answer questions. Among those attending were professor of chemistry, Terrance Murphy, Ph.D.; assistant professor of chemistry, Michael Pungente, Ph.D.; lecturer in biology, Christopher Ogden, Ph.D; director of admissions, Lee Askin, and medical students from the Class of 2008 and Class of 2009.

Director of Public Relations and Marketing at QF, Robert Baxter, said he was delighted by the level of interest at this opening event and looked forward to moving on to neighboring countries Bahrain, Kuwait, Abu Dhabi (the UAE), Oman and Jordan.

He said the campaign included two elements - visits by an admissions team to schools in the region, and evening exhibits open to the public in major cities.

The aim of the campaign is to raise awareness about the institutions in Education City and the programs they offer. It also aims to inform high school students on admissions requirements, the applications process, and how to prepare for higher education.

First year medical student Nancy Zaki said she attended the Doha event to enlighten people about the education she was getting at WCMC-Q.

"It's such a good opportunity to get the same medical education as the students in the US with such a reputable school," she said.

"The (prospective) students are very interested in Weill Cornell and they’re asking all the right questions, like what subjects they need to have done."

M.E.S. Indian School student Pankit Vachhani, 17, said he became interested in medicine at the age of 11 and hoped to study at WCMC-Q because it was "a reputable college".

"My relatives, friends and neighbors have inspired me to work in medicine. Some of them are specialists," he said.

He said he had been researching and reading about the application process for WCMC-Q and he had been working hard at school to give him the best chance for acceptance.

Professor of chemistry Dr. Terrance Murphy said he had travelled with WCMC-Q admissions staff on previous occasions for recruitment purposes and attended conferences in Syria and the UAE.

"This exhibition is quite different because it’s the first one dedicated to institutions based at Education City - it's very specific," Dr. Murphy said.

"There are a lot more people here tonight than the conferences I’ve been to before and it's good that some of our medical students are here to answer questions."

  

  Krista Dobinson, Assistant Editor/Writer

The schedule for the Discover Education City road show is as follows:
Bahrain: Tuesday, November 29, Ritz Carlton
Kuwait: Sunday, December 4 – Monday, December 5
Muscat, Oman: Wednesday, December 7, Sheraton Hotel
Abu Dhabi, UAE: Monday, December 12, Royal Meridien Hotel
Amman, Jordan: Wednesday, February 8, 2006, Grand Hyatt Hotel