Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development is a private, chartered, nonprofit organization, founded in 1995 by His Highness Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-Thani, Emir of Qatar, and chaired by Her Highness Sheikha Mozah Bint Nasser Al-Missned. The Foundation is guided by the principle that a nation's greatest resource is the potential of its people, and aims to develop that potential through a network of centers devoted to progressive education, research and community welfare.
Qatar Foundation is headquartered in a unique Education City in Doha, Qatar, which hosts branch campuses of some of the world's leading research universities, including Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts in Qatar, Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar, Texas A&M University at Qatar, Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar and Georgetown University in Qatar. It is also home to Qatar Academy , the Learning Center , the Academic Bridge Program, the RAND-Qatar Policy Institute, Al Shaqab Stud and Riding Academy, Fitch Qatar and Qatar Science and Technology Park . Future projects include a state-of-the-art conference and cultural center and a 350-bed, all-digital Specialty Teaching Hospital.
Qatar Foundation's other projects include the Qatar Diabetes Association and the Social Development Center.
Through its projects and its partnerships with elite institutions, Qatar Foundation hopes to transform Qatar into a knowledge-based society. Qatar Foundation's mission is to prepare the people of Qatar and the region to meet the challenges of an ever-changing world by providing world-class educational opportunities, to improve quality of life and to make Qatar a leader in innovative education and research
Vision and Mission
Qatar Foundation¹s mission is to prepare the people of Qatar and the region to meet the challenges of an ever-changing world, and to make Qatar a leader in innovative education and research.
To achieve that mission, Qatar Foundation supports a network of centers and partnerships with elite institutions, all committed to the principle that a nation¹s greatest natural resource is its people. Education City, Qatar Foundation¹s flagship project, is envisioned as a center of excellence in education and research that will help transform Qatar into a knowledge-based society.
History
The Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development was founded in 1995 by decree of His Highness Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-Thani, Emir of the State of Qatar. Indeed, the creation of Qatar Foundation was among the Emir's early initiatives, a testament to the importance of the Foundation's mission both to him and to its chair, Her Higness Sheikha Mozah Bint Nasser Al-Missned.
From the beginning the mission of the Qatar Foundation has been to provide educational opportunities and to improve quality of life for the people of Qatar and the region. Our first projects included the Qatar Diabetes Association and the Social Development Center , founded in 1995 and 1996 respectively. In 1996, the Learning Center began working with students facing academic challenges. Qatar Academy opened its doors the same year. In 1998, Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts in Qatar opened its design school, and the far-reaching vision for an entire Education City began to coalesce.
The Academic Bridge Program began its college preparatory courses in 2001. Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar began offering its medical programs in 2002. Texas A&M University at Qatar and the RAND-Qatar Policy Institute followed in 2003. Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar started teaching its first classes in 2004. The newest edition to Education City , Georgetown University , will start its programs in August 2005.
The branch campus concept -- world-class universities bringing their best-regarded programs to Qatar as full-fledged partners with Qatar Foundation -- is unique in the history of education. Education City is, in essence, a university of universities, a community of educational and research institutions that serve the whole citizen, from early childhood education to post-graduate study.
Construction on Education City 's 2,500 acres continues apace. Projects currently in the planning or building phases include Qatar Science and Technology Park , an all-digital Specialty Teaching Hospital and a state-of-the-art conference and convention center.