“College of the North Atlantic-Qatar has long been on the leading edge when it comes to TVET in Qatar,” said CNA-Q President Prof. Khalifa Al-Khalifa,”. “As the leading provider of TVET in Qatar, we at CNA-Q feel it is our duty to promote discussion on TVET and bring the importance of 21st Century Skills to the forefront. Expansion of TVET in Qatar is vital to achieve the Qatar National Vision 2030, as technical skills are a vital part of becoming a knowledge-based economy.”
The workshop, entitled Trends in the Development and Integration of STEM into TVET Education Programs: Issues, Concerns and Prospects, explored the best methods of integrating STEM learning at schools and TVET Institutions.
In addition to the Presidents’ Medals, ORXY GTL presented four Distinguished Graduate Awards to one student from each of the College’s academic schools – Business Studies, Engineering Technology, Health Sciences and Information Technology. The students were nominated by their Dean for achieving exemplary academic standing and commitment to campus life, extracurricular activities and volunteerism.
The President’s Medal for Academic Excellence has been awarded since the College’s inception, however it became a gala event five years ago when ORYX GTL became the official sponsor. The sponsorship forms part of the company’s Corporate Social Responsibility program, which aims to promote and celebrate excellence in education. Corporate partnerships have been a mainstay at CNA-Q since 2002, with a large percentage of students sponsored by local industry partners and Ministries.
“This workshop, sponsored by Qatar National Research Fund, is the first of its kind in the Middle East. It combines and addresses two major important aspects of 21st Century education quality needs - TVET and STEM,” said Dr. Ziad Said, who organized the workshop. Dr. Ziad, who also works in the Office of Applied Research and Innovation, at CNA-Q continued. “TVET education in the 21st century requires both cognitive skills, such as numeracy and science literacy, as well as hand skills, IT and communication skills because, the increasing use of integrated technologies is conducted less by hand, which is emphasized in the current vocational education curricula. Therefore, a fundamental reform is needed to integrate these skills into TVET curricula at both secondary and tertiary institutions.”
