Foreign Universities in Qatar: A Critical Review of Policy and Sustainability Issues
Qatar is transitioning toward a knowledge society and aims to become a hub for international education. Qatar’s Permanent Constitution and Nation Vision 2030 explicitly refer to the role of government in promoting sound education and making it the prime driver of human, social, and economic develo...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Nicolae Titulescu University
2019-06-01
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| Series: | Global Economic Observer |
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| Online Access: | http://www.globeco.ro/wp-content/uploads/vol/split/vol_7_no_1/geo_2019_vol7_no1_art_006.pdf |
| Summary: | Qatar is transitioning toward a knowledge society and aims to become a hub for international
education. Qatar’s Permanent Constitution and Nation Vision 2030 explicitly refer to the role of government in
promoting sound education and making it the prime driver of human, social, and economic development. The
government has invested 3.5% of its GDP in education. Since 1998, Qatar has succeeded in contracting with
11 international foreign universities to open International Branch Campuses (IBCs) in Qatar, including Texas
A&M University, Weill Cornell Medicine, Georgetown University, University College London, and the
University of Calgary. These IBCs offer a range of specializations and degree programmes, such as medicine,
engineering, foreign affairs, journalism, and tourism. Hence, this study attempts to examine Qatar’s policy on
IBCs and investigate its sustainability. The paper focuses on discussing critical policy issues, including English
as a language of instruction, mixed-gender education, and IBC ‘glocalization’, and addresses sustainability
issues related to the IBCs such as political will, economic diversification, and the contribution of the IBCs to
Qatari society. This library-based, theoretical, and critical study provides a basis for extended scholarly
investigations and debates on Qatar’s unique model of hosting foreign universities’ campuses. |
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| ISSN: | 2343-9742 2343-9750 |