Qatarisation in the energy and industry sector has been progressing well, a recent meeting of the Energy and Industry Sector Qatarisation Steering Committee was told.
The recent meeting was held to discuss topics relevant to the strategic direction of the Qatarisation plans in the said sector.
The meeting, called by the chairman of the Steering Committee, Essa R Al Kaabi, was attended by senior representatives of all participating companies in the sector’s Qatarisation plan.
The participants included Dr Mark Weichold, Dean and CEO at Texas A&M University at Qatar (TAMUQ); Dr Adil Yousef and Dr Nancy Allan of the Research Office, Qatar University; Dr Mazen Hasna, Dean of the College of Engineering, Qatar University; and Mohd Bahlool, Manager, Qatar Independent Technical School.
Mark Weichold provided statistics on the university’s admissions and an interesting insight into the views of students at TAMUQ through a short video. Classes at the university started in September 2003 in chemical, electrical, mechanical and petroleum engineering. A total of 339 students were enrolled in spring 2009, of which 104 students are registered for petroleum engineering. Earlier this month, TAMUQ graduated its 100th student. By far the largest enrolment is of Qataris, who make up 50 percent of the student body, said Weichold.
Nancy Allan shared highlights of a survey among Qatari youth conducted during 2008 to identify the perceptions and expectations of Qatari youth from this sector and to recommend an appropriate strategy. Three segments of the Qatari population were targeted – high school students, university students and recent graduates, and almost 2,000 interviews were conducted. The findings showed that the general perception and attitude towards the energy and industry sector was very positive in each targeted group.
Mazen Hasna said the College of Engineering had 923 active students, a majority of them women, and expects to graduate 130 this year. He noted that the College had introduced the Gas Processing Centre, the Qatar University Wireless Information Centre, and a masters programme in computing — the first of its kind in Qatar. He also informed the participants of a new chair sponsored by Qatalum in addition to the chairs sponsored by Qatar Petroleum, RasGas, Qatargas and QEWC. The College is also cooperating on a project with Q-Chem to design personal protective equipment, the results of which will be announced shortly.
Since 2007, Qatar Petroleum has successfully run the Qatar Independent Technical School. The manager of the school, Mohd Bahlool, shared details about the school, its programmes and plans for the future. The school, which has more than 500 students, conducts classes to meet the vocational education needs of different industrial sectors, including the energy and industry sector.
The Annual Qatarisation Review Meeting chaired by the Deputy Premier and Minister of Energy and Industry,
H E Abdullah bin Hamad Al Attiyah, will take place on May 17. Members of the Steering Committee received a brief on the programme for the day-long meeting, which includes an overview of Qatarisation in the sector, several high level presentations and, new for 2009, two tailored workshops designed to improve the management of human resources and performance.
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