Qatar Foundation has welcomed His Excellency Dr Khalid bin Mohamed Al-Attiyah, Minister of State for Defense Affairs, to Education City to visit QF’s higher education and research and development facilities, and to discuss potential collaboration with the Ministry of Defense (MOD) across areas of education, training and research.

HE Dr Al-Attiyah, who was accompanied by a high-level delegation from the MOD, met with senior leadership from QF’s homegrown Hamad bin Khalifa University (HBKU), and with Deans from QF’s partner universities on Thursday, 20^th October. The MOD delegation was also introduced to the work of Qatar Science and Technology Park (QSTP), part of Qatar Foundation Research & Development (QF R&D).

Commenting on his visit, HE Dr Al-Attiyah said: “I am delighted to have been invited to Education City to witness firsthand the amazing work being undertaken in support of our nation’s ambition to build a diverse, knowledge-based economy. Qatar Foundation has a vital role to play in achieving this aim, and the people within the organisation, who are working each day to educate and innovate, are key to Qatar’s long-term objectives.”

HE Dr Al-Attiyah toured HBKU’s extensive Research Complex, where the MOD delegation was introduced to the Qatar Computing Research Institute (QCRI), one of HBKU’s three research institutes, and met with HBKU’s President Dr Ahmad M Hasnah and QCRI’s Executive Director Dr Ahmed K Elmagarmid. The visiting group was given a presentation on some of the centre’s technology research and development projects, including Arabic Language Technologies such as Speech Recognition and Machine Translation research.

Dr Ahmad M Hasnah, President of HBKU, said: “Qatar’s stability, security and continued growth and development are of the utmost importance to HBKU. Our university seeks to be a national resource of knowledge, supporting the country in tackling the challenges of today and tomorrow, through unique programmes like the Master of Science in Cybersecurity, the first programme of its kind offered in the region.

“This meeting with Qatar Ministry of Defense opens the door to future collaborations in the areas of education, research and executive education, allowing us to build human capacity in strategic industries, and helping to pave the way for a bright and sustainable future for the country.”

As part of his visit to QF, HE Dr Al-Attiyah met with Dr Hamad Al-Ibrahim, Executive Vice President, QF R&D; and with Dr Maher Hakim, Managing Director, QSTP, the primary incubator for technological development in Qatar.

Commenting on the visit, Dr Al-Ibrahim said: “It’s a great privilege to welcome His Excellency Dr Al-Attiyah to Qatar Foundation, and to demonstrate our commitment to excellence in education, research and community development to the Ministry of Defense delegation. This visit serves to strengthen our resolve to building bridges that support our country’s transition to a knowledge-based economy through research and innovation, and through producing highly educated, productive, global citizens at our higher education and R&D facilities.”

The MOD delegation also met with Ms Buthaina Al Nuaimi, President, Pre-University Education; and with Sheikha Noof Ahmed bin Saif Al-Thani, Executive Director, Education Development Institute.